FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU men’s golf tees off the 2022 fall slate this weekend with the Rod Myers Invitational in Durham, North Carolina, hosted by Duke University.
The Rod Myers Invitational (Sept. 9-10) will be the first of four team events this fall for the Eagles. Friday’s season-opening action will consist of 36 holes as the final round of 18 will be played on Saturday.
Last season, men’s golf made history as the first program in FGCU athletics history to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles were selected as the ninth-seed at the Columbus Regional, finishing 12th in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
FGCU also was the runner-up at the ASUN Championship for the second straight season. The Green and Blue entered the postseason ranked No. 51, picking up two team tournament wins throughout the year.
In 2021-22, the Eagles posted the lowest team scoring average (287.14) and the most par or better rounds (18) as a team in program history. FGCU enters the 2022-2023 campaign ranked No. 54 overall with five returning student-athletes.
| Pl. Year (Coach) | Team Avg. Score | Rounds |
| 1. 2021-22 (Danna) | 287.14 | 36 |
| 2. 2020-21 (Danna) | 287.67 | 24 |
| 3. 2010-11 (Jensen) | 290.82 | 33 |
| 4. 2003-04 (Suttie) | 292.42 | 27 |
| 5. 2002-03 (Suttie) | 292.46 | 28 |
The Rod Myers Invitational this weekend will feature seven teams ranked top-55 in Golfstat’s collegiate rankings, including No. 34 Charlotte, #35 Liberty, #36 North Florida, #42 Duke, #45 Missouri, #49 Alabama and #54 FGCU.
FGCU’s projected starting five is senior Pierre Viallaneix (Apopka, Fla.), junior Austin Cherichella (Orlando Fla.), senior Jon Hopkins (Bishop’s Stortford, England), sopohmore Lucas Fallotico (Cernusco Sul Navigle, Italy) and freshman Lukas Roessler (Santiago, Chile).
Viallaneix posted one top 10 and two top five finishes last season. In 36 rounds of play, he averaged 72.39 with a low round of 66 at the Sea Best Invitational where he finished tied for fourth individually. Viallaneix’s round of 66 was the 13th lowest round in program history.
Cherichella led all Eagles at the NCAA Regional, placing tied for 15th. He recorded two top five finishes and two top 10 finishes a season ago, including a season-best finish of 2nd at Coral Creek Invitational. Cherichella averaged a team-leading 71.94 over 36 rounds of play with eight rounds in the 60s, including a round of 66.
His 71.94 average last season placed fifth all-time in FGCU’s single-season scoring average. Cherichella also sank the most birdies in a single-season (130), surpassing Daniel Mazziotta’s 121 in 2010-11.
| Pl. Player (Year) | Single-Season Scoring Avg. | Rounds |
| 1. Joseph Lamielle (2004-05) | 71.33 | 12 |
| 2. Daniel Mazziotta (2010-11) | 71.61 | 33 |
| T3. Joseph Lamielle (2003-04) | 71.52 | 27 |
| T3. Van Holmgren (2020-21) | 71.52 | 27 |
| 5. Austin Cherichella (2021-22) | 71.94 | 36 |
Hopkins averaged 72.94 with nine rounds in the 60s last year. He posted a season-best finish at the Coral Creek Invitational, tying for third. Overall, Hopkins posted four top-15 efforts on the individual leaderboard in 2021-22.
Fallotico carded two top-15 efforts and one top-10 performance last season. He averaged 73.14 over 21 rounds of competition. Fallotico tallied a season low round of 67 at the Carolina Collegiate Invite, finishing 13th.
In July, Fallotico won the Italian Amateur Championship after placing ninth at the World University Golf Championships and taking part in the European Amateur Individual and Team Championships. He won the Italian event by five strokes overall and was under par in each round.
Roessler finished tied for 29th on the Eisenhower Individual leaderboard on the Labor Day weekend representing Chile. Roessler shot a four-round 281, five under-par with two rounds in the 60s.
Duke University Golf Club (Durham, N.C.)
Par 72: 7,154 Yards
Sept. 9-10, 2022
#49 Alabama
#34 Charlotte
#42 Duke
East Carolina
#54 FGCU
#35 Liberty
Loyola Maryland
#45 Missouri
#36 North Florida
Penn State
Princeton
UNCG
UNCW
Virginia Tech
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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 fourth 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.