Wednesday, January 12, 2011

MACON, Ga. - Standing at 12-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, FGCU's women's basketball team remains as one of two undefeated teams left in the nation alongside No. 3 Duke at 15-0. The Eagles' play on the court has paid off as the Blue and Green have started to receive national recognition for their season's success.

For the seventh-straight week, the FGCU women's basketball team earned a third-place ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major Top-25 Poll and also picked up two first-place votes. Trailing only Wisconsin-Green Bay (15-1) and Bowling Green (14-1), the Eagles have climbed their way to the top of the poll after being ranked 14th in the preseason poll.

On a national note, FGCU picked up votes in both the USA Today/ESPN Women's Coaches poll and the AP Top 25 with 16 and 1 point, respectively. This marks the third time in program history that the Eagles have earned votes in both polls in the same week. It is also the fifth consecutive week that the Eagles have earned at least one vote in the USA Today/ESPN poll. FGCU earned six points in last week’s poll (Jan. 3).

The Blue and Green’s one vote in the AP Poll is the sixth time the program has received votes in the national poll. FGCU received one vote in the 2009-10 AP Preseason Top 25 and also picked up a vote in back-to-back weeks in the AP Top 25 to close out the 2008-09 season.

Before its postponement due to winter conditions, the FGCU-USC Upstate game scheduled for Jan. 10th was named to the "Watch to Watch for in the Week Ahead" by ESPN.com's Graham Hays. Hays also has the Eagles ranked as his No. 7 team in his Mid-Major Poll, which includes programs from Conference-USA, Mountain West Conference, Western Athletic Conference and the Atlantic 10.

The Eagles look to extend their undefeated season this weekend as they host Kennesaw State on Saturday, January 15th and Mercer on Monday, January 17th in Alico Arena. FGCU holds the third-longest home winning streak at 30 games, which trails only No. 2 Connecticut and No. 4 Stanford.

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