Naples Standard

Florida Gulf Coast University Athletics issued the following announcement on Nov. 6.

The FGCU swim and dive team faced a tough task against seven-time defending Conference USA champion FIU, Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Aquatics Complex, ultimately falling to the Panthers. 189.5-110.5. Despite the results, the Eagles walked away with performances to build from.

"Overall, very solid day for the Eagles," said head coach Dave Rollins. "For us, this is always a transitional time of the season. Sometimes we see some amazing performances, sometimes we don't, and that's alright. Our focus is locked in on being our best when it matters most, and I'm excited to see where we are. We have some work to do, but that's what makes it fun."

Seniors Petra Halmai (Dombovar, Hungary/Lanczos Kornel Secondari Grammar School) and Wiktoria Czarnecka (Lublin, Poland/Liceum 10 NR W Lublinie) again produced some of the fastest times in the CCSA as well as the country. Halmai secured NCAA "B" cut times in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke with times of 1:01.06 and 2:11.17, respectively. Her time in the 200 is 10th fastest in the country while her 100 time is 19th.

Czarnecka, already with the top CCSA times in both the 50 free and 100 fly, added another top CCSA time in the 100 free with a time of 51.79, accomplishing the mark as the lead leg of the 400 free relay. She also picked up a victory on Saturday, touching first in the 50 free with a time of 23.50.

Junior Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia/Gymnazium Pierra de Coubertina/ECU) also picked up a win on the day as she claimed victory in the 1000y free with a time of 10:38.87. She also finished second in the 500 free with a time of 5:07.93.

In the diving events, Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) led the way for the Eagles, finishing third overall in both the 1m (261.45) and the 3m (256.13). Her 3m score is a season-best and is the second-best mark in the CCSA this season. Her 1m score of 268.95 against Vanderbilt is still the top mark in the CCSA.

Most of the Eagles will return to the pool on November 18-20 when they host the FGCU Invitational. A few Eagles' swimmers will head to Atlanta to compete in the Georgia Tech Invite that same weekend.

Original source can be found here.