FORT MYERS, Fla. – After making history as the first FGCU athletics program to earn an at-large bid, the men’s golf team will officially begin play at the NCAA Columbus Regional on Monday morning. Hosted by Ohio State at The OSU Golf Club, the 13-team regional field will start with 7:30 AM tee times off the No. 1 and No. 10 holes. Live stats will be available for each round on Monday through Wednesday through www.GolfStat.com.
The regional will be played on the OSU club’s Scarlet Course (Par 71, 7422 yards) in Columbus, Ohio. The top five teams after the three rounds and the top individual not on one of those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship at the Grayhawk Club in Scottsdale Arizona. The Eagles are seeded ninth overall in the regional field.
This also marked the first time in the FGCU men’s golf program’s history to make an NCAA regional as a team. Previously, the Eagles have sent four individuals to the postseason including Van Holmgren last season. Brandon Pena (2012), Edward Figueroa (2013), and Jake Sherwin (2015) were the others who qualified.
FGCU has turned in a spectacular season in 2021-22 with wins at the Coral Creek Club Invitational and the Auburn Invitational while taking second at the Graeme McDowell Invitational, the Carolina Collegiate Invite, and the ASUN Championship. The Eagles also placed third at The Hayt and fifth at the Florida Gators Invitational.
Austin Cherichella leads the Green and Blue with a 72.00 scoring average, while Frankie Capan III, who was the individual winner at the Auburn Invitational, is second with a 72.17 scoring average. Pierre Viallaneix (72.33) and Jon Hopkins (72.47) round out the top four, while Brady Madsen (73.15) finishes out the line-up. Both Madsen and Capan have tied the program’s low round record after shooting 64 during the season.
The Eagles were one of the last programs out of the 2021 NCAA Tournament after jumping from No. 257 in the 2019-20 GolfStat rankings to No. 65 to close out the 2021 campaign. In 2022, FGCU was the runner-up at the ASUN Championship for the second straight season, picked up two team tournament wins, and enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 51 in the most current GolfStat rankings.
FGCU Lineup:
1. Austin Cherichella
2. Frankie Capan III
3. Pierre Viallaneix
4. Jon Hopkins
5. Brady Madsen
Ohio State Golf Club – Columbus, Ohio
Hosted by Ohio State
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. #2 Oklahoma State
2. #11 Georgia Tech
3. #14 Arkansas
4. #23 Clemson
5. #30 East Tennessee State
6. #35 Ohio State
7. #41 Duke
8. #44 Northwestern
9. #51 Florida Gulf Coast
10. #61 San Francisco
11. #65 Kentucky
12. #89 Wright State
13. #151 Southern Illinois
For complete coverage of FGCU men’s golf, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram (@FGCU_MGolf), Facebook (@FGCUAthletics), and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men’s golf and all 15 sport programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal – a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
HEAD COACH ANDREW DANNA:
Danna is in his third year at the helm of the men’s golf program with the Eagles earning FGCU’s first-ever NCAA Tournament at-large berth in department history during the 2022 season. He has led the Eagles to second-place finishes at the 2021 and 2022 ASUN Championships and was named the program’s first-ever ASUN Coach of the Year (2021) and repeated in 2022. One of the best turnarounds in NCAA history saw the Green and Blue, led by Van Holmgren who became the first player to earn PING All-Region honors, jump from No. 257 in the final 2019-20 GolfStat.com rankings to a then program-best 65 to close out 2020-21. The Eagles set a new program-best during the 2022 season at No. 47 in the GolfStat.com rankings. Holmgren won the ASUN Championship individual title to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. Before taking over in Fort Myers, he served the 2018-19 season as the assistant at LSU. Prior to that he was the ultra-successful head coach for six years at Lynn University where he led them to the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship and was, subsequently, chosen the David Williams National Coach of the Year. He also led the Fighting Knights to three national runner-up placements, with a third and eighth place finish in his other two seasons.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics’ charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 plus 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.
—FGCUATHLETICS.COM—
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