Women’s Tennis
FGCU women’s tennis announced the signing of Nora Svensson.
Svensson is a native of Vasteras, Sweden, and attends Widenska Gymnasium. She was the under, 18 Swedish champion in singles and doubles in 2022, and the runner, up in U18 doubles in the Swedish championships this year.
“We are overjoyed to have Nora join the Eagle family. In my first phone call with Nora, I could tell she was a special young woman. Her connections to Ida (Ferding) and Fanny (Norin), who have been at FGCU for a few years, are strong, and she is a bright, talented young woman. We are very thankful Nora made the decision to come to FGCU, and we cannot wait for her to arrive,” said head coach Courtney Vernon.
Svensson said she chose FGCU because of the warm weather and wanting to play outdoors. She comes from a tennis background, as her mother, Asa Svensson played professional tennis, with a career, high ranking of 28 in both singles and doubles on the WTA Tour.
Athletes of the Month
The Suncoast Credit Union FGCU Scholar, Athletes of the Month for October are women’s volleyball player Juliana Lentz and men’s golfer Austin Cherichella.
One male and female FGCU student, athlete is chosen for the honor each month throughout the academic school year. Factors in the selection include significant athletic success, as well as overall academic success.
Lentz, a Miami native, is currently ranked eighth in the country in total blocks with 130. She is second all, time in blocks in a season in FGCU history. She was named Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Week Oct. 23 after totaling 11 blocks in a win at Eastern Kentucky.
In the classroom, Lentz is a double major in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies with a GPA of 3.679.
Lentz’s head coach, Matt Botsford, had a lot of praise for her.
“I know how hard Juliana works on the academic side of things, so I am proud to see her being recognized for her efforts. She is as tenacious and serious about what goes on in the classroom as she is out on the court, so it’s not a surprise that she finds success in both areas,” he said.
Cherichella, an Orlando native, was an ASUN Second Team member last season. This year, he has helped the Eagles to a win at the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wis., with a second-place finish on the individual leaderboard. He finished tied for fifth the next time out at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. In the final tournament of the fall, Cherichella finished in a tie for eighth as FGCU finished in second place as a team at the Kapolei Invitational in Hawaii.
Andrew Danna, Cherichella’s coach, had a lot of praise for him.
“We are very proud of Austin for all he’s accomplished on the golf course and in the classroom. This award is a testament to his consistent work ethic in the classroom,” he said.
Cross, Country
Four Eagles stamped their names in FGCU’s record book after delivering stellar performances at the NCAA South Regionals.
Bramwell Havi led the Eagles, breaking a 10, year record in the men’s 10K originally set by Argeo Cruz in 2013. Havi ran a 30:38.8 in the event, seven seconds faster than Cruz’s time of 30:45.35.
Havi finished 55th overall to lead the Eagles to a 15th place finish to defeat the University of Miami (18th), Mercer (19th), Stetson University (20th), and University of South Alabama (21st).
Interim head coach Alvaro Rivadeneira had a lot of praise for the men’s team.
“The coaching staff is very proud of everyone on the team today. We went out there and executed the race plan well, and they had fun along the way. We are very proud of their positive attitude and overall performance. Placing 15th is big for us,” he said.
Nekhi Perry also entered the top 10 list with a time of 31:37.8.
Hudson Jessep produced the 12th best time in program history, ending with a time of 32:23.6 and finishing 112th.
Abel Ramos ended with the 13th best program time at 32:29 while finishing in 115th place.
Evan Crane ended in 153rd place with a time of 34:06.0.
On the women’s side, Karley Piers produced the third, best time in program history, ending with a time of 20:46.2 while finishing in 87th place. Gabrielle Spain was 192nd with a time of 23:01.3, while teammate Maricel Esquilin finished 193rd with a time of 23:01.6.
30 teams featuring 214 student, athletes competed on the women’s side, with University of Tennessee taking first place, University of Florida second and Ole Miss third.
Meanwhile there were 25 teams with 171 racers on the men’s side with Tennessee taking first, followed by Florida State and Alabama.
For more information, visit www.wgcu.org.
Men’s Basketball
FGCU’s men’s basketball team took down Ave Maria in their home opener with a final score of 80, 71.
Franco Miller, Jr. helped lead the eagles to the win, adding 15 points off the bench.
Head coach Pat Chambers was very pleased with what he saw from his team.
“We knew coming in that Ave Maria was playing really well and they were going to give us a fight. I’m really happy with how our guys continued to compete even when things weren’t going well. Our big guys ended up really doing a lot to take over the longer the game went on. We had a great crowd out there tonight that brought a lot of energy and I’m happy we were able to give them a win,” he said.
Keeshawn Kellman finished with 14 points, while Cyrus Largie and Zach Anderson scored 10 points each.
Andre Weir finished with a game, high eight rebounds to go with his nine points.
In his first action of the season, Isaiah Thompson had five points of his own with a pair of assists.
The Eagles were down by seven points with 14 minutes to go, before a 13, 0 run led by Cyrus Largie put the Eagles up 64, 58.
The Eagles return to action Monday night against the Pittsburgh Panthers at 7 p.m.
For more information, visit www.wgcu.org.
Women’s Volleyball
FGCU’s women’s volleyball team won its 16th match in a row, defeating the North Florida Ospreys.
The Eagles were led by Skylar English, who had a career, high 19 kills while hitting a .462.
Head coach Matt Botsford had a lot of praise for his team.
“I’m very proud of this group for finding a way to gut out a win when we are having a tough time getting comfortable. I loved the way our defense responded as the match got extended, and of course, Skylar was lights out,” he said.
English finished one dig shy of a double, double and also added two aces and three total blocks for a 22.5, point night.
Alexandra Zakutney added 14 kills of her own to go alone with six digs and four aces.
Shelby Kent ended with a double, double, recording 11 kills and 11 digs.
Lily Tessier led the FGCU offense with 48 assists to go along with four kills, three blocks and two aces.
Claire Ertel added 17 digs of her own, while Resse Burry added a dozen.
The win gave FGCU their best start in ASUN play in program history.
The win also means that the Eagles will win the ASUN regular season championship as Lipscomb can no longer tie them.
For more information, visit www.wgcu.org.
Women’s Soccer
FGCU’s women’s soccer team fell to the 2nd seed Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past Friday.
Head coach Jim Blankenship was proud of the way his team played, despite the loss.
“Tough loss. The ladies fought with tremendous heart and demonstrated their rightful place. I’m incredibly proud of their growth this season. Excited to witness the future with this young team. Our seniors should take immense pride in their leadership and back, to, back championships,” he said.
Freshman goalkeeper Olivia Molina did everything she could to help the Eagles win, keeping the Red Raiders off the scoreboard for nearly 80 minutes.
Molina had a season to remember, ending with 117 saves, a FGCU single, season record.
The Eagles are now 1, 8 all, time in the NCAA Tournament.
FGCU ended the season with a record of 12, 5, 5.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.