The No. 15 Florida Atlantic University’s beach volleyball team (14-13, 3-1 CUSA) finished second in their only home tournament of this season on April 11 through 12. 

The Capri Classic is a dedication to their head coach Capri Grotowski, who coached from 2014 until her passing from cancer in 2022. FAU’s head coach Steve Grotowski said it’s an annual tournament to celebrate her life and legacy. 

“I’m really working hard to get more home events. The title of this event is really special to me. It’s after our former coach and my late wife, so we recognized her in a couple of different ways, with the name of the tournament and some leadership awards that we gave to each team that was participating,” said Grotowski. 

The tournament unveiled the Sandy Owls expansion from three courts to five that began following their 2024 season. Funds came through the $5 million donation in 2022 from Michelle and Michael Hagerty. 

In attendance for the Capri Classic and senior weekend were the University of Texas at El Paso Miners (11-14, 2-2 CUSA), Florida Gulf Coast University (18-10, 5-2 ASUN) and the University of South Florida Bulls. 

On the first day of the tournament, FAU played UTEP at 12 p.m. and FGCU at 4 p.m. The Owls swept the Miners 5-0, earning themselves their fourth sweep of the season. All five of the pairs that played won out their games in two sets. 

“We’ve had a couple of injuries. It’s caused us to move the line up around a little bit. I think sometimes when things are different and there’s change it could be really challenging,” said Grotowski. “I think the way the girls have approached that has been really impressive.” 

The Eagles proved to be a tougher battle for the Owls as the first game came down to a three-set battle. Kate McLaughlin and Juli Honzovicova won it out, 21-17, 18-21, 15-11, to finish their day 2-0. Ashleigh Adams and Marketa Svoziloca were another pair who finished 2-0 on April 11. They extended their team-leading season record to 18-4. 

On Saturday, the Owls played USF at 8:30 a.m. before the Championship match at 2 p.m.The Owls kicked off the morning by defeating the Bulls 4-1. 

FAU’s Kate Stoughton and Reese Edwards were paired up against USF’s Cornelia Crudu and Alyx Zapatka. The Bulls won that match 21-13 both sets and constantly utilized the tool off the block and limited their self-made errors to push for the win.

After the matchup against the Bulls, the Owls recognized their five seniors, McLaughlin, Kelsie Roberts, Sydney Schroder, Svozilova and Honzovicova. They walked through a tunnel of their teammates raising arms with family coming out to support the graduating ladies. 

“That group is really impressive. It’s unusual these days in college sports for a group of freshman to come in and stay together four four years…That group of girls has been a huge part of our success over the last four years so definitely going to miss them and miss all their contributions,” said Grotowski. 

In the Championship match, FAU fell to FGCU once again, 4-1.McLaughlin and Honzovicova won both of their games in three sets on Saturday to improve to 5-2 on the season as a pair. 

The Owls, the Eagles offensive momentum proved to be strong again and they gathered three straight points by winning on courts three, four and five to secure the dual. 

The Sandy Owls will finish their regular season play as they head to New Orleans, La. on April 18 and 19 to play in the NOLA Classic, featuring two conference opponents. 

From there, they will play in the Conference USA Championship from April 24 to the 26, with times yet to be determined. 

Megan Bruinsma is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories email her at mbruinsma2022@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma or Twitter @MeganBruinsma.