Huge Weekend Awaits Hatters at the FIU Surf and Turf

Stetson to face four Top 20 teams including No. 1 UCLA

Miami -- For just the second time in school history, the Stetson Hatters will play three Top 10 opponents on the same day as Stetson travels to Miami Beach this weekend for the FIU Surf and Turf Invitational.

On Friday, No. 10 Stetson will face No. 8 FIU (8-5) at 10 a.m., No. 4 LSU (13-4) at 1 p.m., and top-ranked UCLA (17-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday, the Hatters will battle No. 20 TCU (10-10) at 12 p.m. and Tulane (14-8) at 5 p.m.

"It is a very, very tough field of competition," Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez said. "Obviously there are a lot of big opportunities for us to do some things in terms of trying to build our resume for the NCAA tournament. We have a lot of prep to do for that. We have a big slate on Friday with FIU, LSU and UCLA. We have to be ready to compete in a really great tournament."

Stetson (16-4) enters the weekend having won 11 out of 12 including a pair of victories at FGCU on Wednesday. Stetson is 8-4 against ranked opponents this season with a pair of Top 10 wins.

No. 1 seed Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales and No. 2 seed Sammee Thomas and Darby Dunn are each 15-5 on the season, while No. 5 seed Quinci Birker and Rebecca Ingram are 15-3. Thomas and Dunn have won eight duals in a row.

The last time Stetson played three Top 10 teams in the same day was at the 2015 AVCA Collegiate Beach Championship in Gulf Shores where the Hatters faced No. 1 USC, No. 3 FIU, and No. 5 Georgia State.

The Hatters will also play a No. 1 team for the fifth time in school history. Stetson has faced USC three times as the No. 1 team and Florida State once.

There will be no live scoring available. Follow @StetsonBeach on Twitter for the latest results.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.

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