LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The FGCU swim team finally got its season started on Friday at the Bellarmine Duals and got off to a strong start as they lead against all three opponents. The Eagles are out in front over the Knights 120-46, Gardner-Webb, 116-50, and Southern Indiana, 139-27.

"Very proud of how we raced today," said head coach Dave Rollins. "We can be a bit better with the technical aspects of our races, turns, breakouts, etc. but for our first meet, it's been great to see the team competing together! We welcome in so many new faces this season, it's great to see them racing. As a team we are figuring some things out, relay orders, events, etc. but that's what these opportunities are for. Excited to come back tomorrow and have another strong day."

The night got started with the Eagles finishing first, second, and fourth in the 200 medley relay. Lucija Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia) was the lone Green and Blue veteran leading a group of newcomers – Jenna Gwinn (Baltimore, Md.), Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio) and Mia Burke (Owings Mills, Md.) – to touch first in the event with a time of 1:45.93, over two seconds faster than the rest of the field.

Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia) continued FGCU's fast start, touching first in the 1000 free with a time of 10:40.28. Izabela Zekuciova (Drmoul, Czech Republic) was right on her heels, finishing second with a time of 10:40.55 after 40 laps.

In the 100 back, the Eagles had five of the top six finishers led by Louisville native Emma Hixenbaugh who touched first with a time of 58.14 followed by Sulenta at 58.39.

In the 200 breast, Anna Hogan, another Louisville native, was the top Eagle in the race, finishing second with a time of 2:25.51.

FGCU picked up a sweep in the 50 free as Hailey Jerew (24.12) Sulenta (24.69), and Dani D'Ambrosio (24.95) went 1-2-3.

A pair of freshmen won the next two events as Kuriger touched first in the 100 fly with a time of 57.67 before Burke won the 200 free with a time of 1.56.96, nearly a second faster than the field.

The Eagles will be back in the pool tomorrow at 10 a.m. for day two in Louisville.

2022-23 CCSA Top 10
50 Free
Hailey Jerew – 24.12, 7^th

1000 Free
Sara Niepelova – 10:40.28, 10^th

100 Back
Emma Hixenbaugh – 58.14, 9^th
Lucija Sulenta – 58.39, T-10^th

100 Fly
Cameron Kuriger – 57.67, 6^th
Julia Rodriguez – 57.80, 8^th

200 Medley Relay
1:45.93, 4th

400 Free Relay
3:35.93, T-4th

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HEAD COACH DAVE ROLLINS
Head coach Dave Rollins is only the second coach in program history. He was hired Sept. 1, 2016 and owns a 35-26-1 (.573) dual meet record, which includes a 14-2 (.875) mark against CCSA opponents, in his seventh season. Rollins guided FGCU to back-to-back CCSA titles (2017, 2018), marking the ninth championship in 10 years before winning the 10th championship in program history in 2021. In addition, he has been awarded CCSA Coach of the Year in two of his seasons at the helm. Previously, Rollins was the associate head men's swimming coach at The Ohio State University. Rollins brings over a decade of coaching experience to The Nest, which includes helping to develop Olympians, NCAA Champions and All-Americans, along with multiple conference champions. A native of Brockton, Mass., he was a standout collegiate swimmer in his own right and was inducted into the University of Arizona's Hall of Fame in 2017, as a nine-time NCAA All-American, national champion, school record holder and team captain.
 
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.