FORT MYERS, Fla. – The summer continues to turn in impressive results for the FGCU men’s golf program as a trio of Eagles have qualified for the US Amateur, while Lucas Fallotico recently won the Italian Amateur Championship.
Frankie Capan III spirit Thomas Salanito along with alum Jake Sherwin have made the cut for the US Amateur field which will be played from August 15-21 at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ
This will mark the third consecutive year that FGCU has been represented in the Amateur Championship. Last season, Van Holmgren reached the Round of 16 in match play as the deepest run of any Eagle in the tournament. In 2020, both Holmgren and Capan played in the tournament with Capan reaching the Round of 32 for match play.
Having three Eagles in the Amateur marks a new program record as well.
Capan and Sherwin won their qualifiers at the Milburn Country Club in Overland Park, Kansas, and at the Cypress Lake Golf Club in Fort Myers, respectively, earlier in July. Salanito was an alternate after placing third at the Cypress Run Golf Club Qualifier in Tarpon Springs, Fla., but received an invitation for the USGA to participate in the championship field.
Fallotico won the Italian Amateur Championship to close out July after placing ninth at the World University Golf Championships and taking part in the European Amateur Individual and Team Championships. With the win of the Italian Amateur, Fallotico received the Franco Bevione Trophy. In the 72-hole stroke play championship, Fallotico shot an overall score of 276 highlighted by a 67 in the third round and a 65 in the fourth round. He won the event by five strokes overall and was under par in each round.
Capan, Fallotico, and Salanito all played key roles in helping FGCU qualify for the NCAA Tournament this past spring with an at-large berth following the Eagles’ second straight season as ASUN runner-ups. Sherwin reached the NCAA Tournament as an individual during the 2015 campaign. He continues to hold the FGCU career records for rounds played (120), birdies (332), and eagles (12). In his Green & Blue career, he posted a 74.69 scoring average through 40 tournaments between 2012-16.
Leading up the NCAA Tournament appearance, its first as a program at the Division I level, FGCU 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.
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 sports programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
EAGLE 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 EAGLE Campaign – Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your marriage 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 use 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 DI 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 an 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—