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FGCU Students and Staff Celebrate NCAA Wins

Ashley Lopez
/
WGCU

Hundreds of Florida Gulf Coast University staff and students gathered in Alico Arena on Monday to celebrate the men’s basketball team’s victories in the NCAA tournament this past weekend.

Florida Gulf Coast University is the underdog that won two big games against two higher ranked schools. And, set a record as the first No. 15-seed school to ever advance to the “Sweet Sixteen” in the NCAA “March Madness” tournament.

FGCU Basketball coach Andy Enfield said it’s unlikely that the school will be able to garner the level of media attention they are getting now every year, but he’s hopeful FGCU students will be as enthusiastic next year as they are today.

“That’s what college is supposed to be,” Enfield said. “Have a sports program or programs you can wrap your arms around and feel part of it. So, this is a celebration of our whole university not just our basketball team.”

Enfield said the team is going to bask in the excitement for the moment. However, they are going to have to buckle down this week and prepare for their next game against the University of Florida in Texas on Friday.

Ashley Lopez is a reporter forWGCUNews. A native of Miami, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a journalism degree.