Football
Florida State faces its first major test of the season tonight, taking on the No. 19 SMU Mustangs in the Seminoles’ ACC opener — and most of the Tomahawk Nation staff doesn’t have confidence in an FSU win:
The same goes for Tomahawk readers, with 71% of you expecting a loss vs. SMU tonight — 46% of whom believe it’ll be by a big margin. SMU is currently favored by 2.5 points, according to FanDuel.
The Seminoles will be without linebacker Blake Nichelson tonight, with Darryll Desir also being downgraded
to doubtful on the final availability report. On SMU’s side, safeties Ahmaad Moses (recently granted a fifth year of eligibility) and Jaden Milliner-Jones are both now listed as out.
Mike Norvell spoke ahead of the matchup on Friday, calling it a “championship-caliber game:”
FSU will be rocking a sponsor patch come kickoff, with Kin Insurance signing a four-year deal to sponsor 18 Florida State programs:
Soccer
No. 15 FSU tied Rice in its final nonconference matchup:
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Florida State men’s golf seniors Tyler Weaver and Jack Whaley helped Great Britain and Ireland win the Walker Cup on Sunday:
GB&I led the Walker Cup following the first day of play, 6 1/2 -5 1/2, after Weaver contributed a point with a 1 Up victory in the morning foursomes on Saturday. The USA took the lead heading into Sunday Singles after sweeping foursomes.
As the third match in play of 10, Whaley was dominant, winning eight of the 11 holes played to defeat William Jennings, 8&7. Whaley had the largest GB&I singles win in Walker Cup history and tied for second largest ever.
Weaver followed Whaley and was the fourth match in play on Sunday. Weaver took the lead on the fourth hole and extended the advantage to 2 Up following the fifth. Weaver either tied or won the remaining holes, finishing the match with a 4&3 victory over Jay Leng Jr.
Behind victories from Weaver and Whaley, GB&I grabbed four victories in the first four matches to gain the momentum back. The Americans bounced back and took the lead late. Needing 1 ½ point from the final two matches in play, GB&I delivered to win the Walker Cup for the first time since 2015, 13 1/2 – 12 1/2.
Four members of the No. 20 Florida State men’s golf team will compete in the Folds of Honor Collegiate:
Shawn Coultoff, Wilmer Edero, Nils-Levi Bock and Carson Brewer will represent the Noles individually at the American Dunes Golf Club. The Seminoles were tabbed 20th in the Golf Coaches Association of America poll, which was released on Friday.
Coultoff will lead off the individual group for the Seminoles at 12:36 p.m. from the 10th hole, followed by Edero at 12:45 p.m. Bock will start at 12:54 p.m., and Brewer will begin at 1:03 p.m.
Coultoff and Bock will make their debuts in the Garnet and Gold, while Wilmer and Brewer return to the lineup after competing for the Seminoles through the 2026 NCAA Championships.
Starting his sophomore season after sitting out collegiately in 2025-26, Coultoff was the 2025 West Orange High School Athlete of the Year. Bock is the first true freshman to compete in the lineup since Tyler Weaver. He was also the 2025 German National Champion.
Following his junior season, Edero competed in the European Team Championship for Sweden, while Brewer competed in the Sunnehanna Amateur and Southern Amateur Championship.
FSU women’s golf will also kick off the 2026-27 season at the Folds of Honor Collegiate:
Florida State will be one of 12 teams participating in the 54-hole tournament that will run Monday through Wednesday, playing 18 holes each day. The event will be nationally televised on the Golf Channel.
The Seminoles, ranked No. 8 in the Golf Channel preseason poll and No. 21 in the Golfweek preseason poll, will be represented by Sophia Fullbrook, Haruhi Nakatani, Louise Landgraf, Alexandra Gazzoli, and Elin Pudas Remler.
The top returner for Florida State is Fullbrook. The junior earned Second Team All-America honors by both Golfweek and the WGCA last season after registering seven top 10 finishes while claiming three individual titles in three of her last five events. She posted a stroke average of 71.09 with a team-high 23 rounds at or under par. Currently ranked No. 23 in the world by WAGR, Fullbrook has earned multiple preseason accolades heading into the 2026-27 season including Second Team All-America by Golf Channel and Golfweek as well as an ANNIKA Award watch list member.
Also in the lineup are fellow juniors Gazzoli and Pudas Remler. Gazzoli competed in every event for the Seminoles last season, producing a stroke average of 73.64 while recording 12 rounds at or under. Pudas Remler was a mainstay in the last season’s lineup as well, participating in 10 events with a stroke average of 73.87 with 10 rounds at or under par.
Beginning her second season with the Seminoles is Nakatani who looks to build upon a successful freshman campaign that saw her ranked as high as 70th in the nation. She competed in every event for Florida State, posting a stroke average of 72.48 with 18 rounds at or under par while registering four top 10 finishes.
All four Seminoles have experience at the Folds of Honor Collegiate. Fullbrook will be making her third appearance, having placed in the top 10 each of the last two seasons (one of only four golfers to do so). She tied for ninth last season as Florida State’s top finisher. In her freshman season, she tied for sixth. Remler (15th), Gazzoli (tied for 31st), and Nakatani (tied for 31st) each competed at the American Dunes Golf Club for the first time last season.
The lone Seminole set to make her collegiate debut is Landgraf. The freshman has already had an accomplished amateur career, ranking as high as No. 42 in the world by WAGR. She has garnered preseason accolades including Honorable Mention All-America and All-Freshman Team by Golf Channel.
The Folds of Honor Collegiate raises awareness and funds for Folds of Honor and its mission to provide educational scholarships to the children and spouses of fallen or disabled military and first responders. Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded nearly 73,000 scholarships totaling over $340 million in all 50 states. Among the students served, 43 percent are minorities and 57 percent female. A total of 91 percent of expenses fund our mission of providing educational scholarships to the families of our nation’s heroes.
Florida State will co-host the event along with Michigan State. The field also includes Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Navy, North Carolina A&T, Findlay, Arizona, Duke, and Oklahoma State.
FSU volleyball (3-2) took down No. 16 Kansas on Friday, but fell to Lipscomb on Sunday at the LUV Invitational:
Florida State was taken to five sets for the second time in its first four matches and earned its first five-set victory since defeating Notre Dame on Nov. 16, 2025. The victory also marked the Seminoles’ first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 15 North Carolina at home on Nov. 21, 2025.
Senior outside hitter Kyleene Filimaua led the Seminoles with a season-best 23 kills, marking her second double-double of the season after adding 16 digs. She also finished with a match-high 24 points.
Sophomore middle blocker Nenu Kpea was dominant at the net, recording a career-high 17 kills while hitting .536. Florida State had four players record double-digit kills, including freshman outside hitter Sofia Moss, who set a new career high with 14 kills. Junior middle blocker Delaney Ewing added 10 kills while hitting a team-best .556 on 18 attempts.
Junior setter Emma Lilo paced the Seminole offense with a season-high 40 assists, while junior libero Maile Chan led all players with a career-high 17 digs.
Florida State opened the match by battling Kansas point-for-point, taking a 15-14 lead at the first media timeout. Kansas regained the advantage at 21-20, but Florida State closed the set on a 6-3 run to take the opening frame 26-24.
Kansas answered in the second set, with the Seminoles keeping the score close throughout. The Jayhawks held a 15-14 advantage at the media timeout before using a 3-0 run to extend their lead. Florida State battled to stay within striking distance, but Kansas closed the set, 25-21 to even the match.
The Jayhawks carried the momentum into the third set and continued to hold off the Seminoles down the stretch, taking the set 25-19 to move ahead 2-1.
Florida State responded in a back-and-forth fourth set. Kansas built an early 14-10 lead before the Seminoles answered with a 5-0 run to take their first lead since the opening points. The teams traded points late, eventually reaching a 22-22 tie. A solo block from Filimaua and a Kansas attack error gave Florida State set point at 24-22. The Jayhawks responded with three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The Seminoles fought off two match points before kills from Filimaua and Moss gave Florida State another set point, which the Seminoles converted following a Kansas attack error to force a decisive fifth set.
The Seminoles carried that momentum into the final frame, breaking a 7-7 tie with three consecutive points to take a 10-7 lead. Kansas fought back to cut the deficit to one at 12-11, but Filimaua answered with back-to-back kills to give Florida State match point. Kansas trimmed the lead to 14-13, but Filimaua delivered once again, recording her 23rd kill of the night to clinch the five-set victory and complete the comeback against the No. 16 Jayhawks.Against Lipscomb, junior middle blocker Delaney Ewing led the Seminoles with 12 kills while posting a match-high .429 hitting percentage and adding three blocks. Senior outside hitter Kyleene Filimaua recorded her second consecutive double-double, finishing with 11 kills and 15 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Nenu Kpea led all players with four blocks, while junior libero Maile Chan recorded a career-high 18 digs to lead all players.
The Seminoles dropped the opening set for the first time this season, falling behind 11-5 before calling their first timeout. Trailing 19-14 FSU used a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to two before eventually tying the set at 23-23. A service error from FSU and a kill from the Bisons closed out the set, 25-23.
Florida State responded in dominant fashion in the second set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead and forcing a Lipscomb timeout. The Seminoles maintained control throughout the set, never allowing the Bisons to get within six points before closing it out 25-13 to even the match.
Lipscomb opened the third set with a 10-7 advantage, but the Seminoles battled back to tie the set at 11-11 following an FSU timeout. The Bisons held a one-point lead at the media timeout before using a 10-4 run to pull away and take the set 25-18, giving Lipscomb a 2-1 match lead.
Florida State controlled the early portion of the fourth set, holding the lead throughout the first half and taking a 15-9 advantage into the media timeout. With the Seminoles leading 21-17, Lipscomb rallied with four straight points to even the set at 21-21. FSU regained the lead at 22-21, but the Bisons closed the match with a 4-1 run to take the set 25-23 and secure the 3-1 victory.
The Seminoles begin a six-game homestand Tuesday, Sept. 8, when they host Auburn in their home opener as part of the ACC-SEC Showdown at the Net. First serve is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network and live stats will be available on Seminoles.com.
FSU women’s tennis released its 2026 fall schedule:
The Seminoles will open the fall season at the FSU Indoor Courts in the UTR Pro Fall Slam Tallahassee from Sept. 7-13. Five Seminoles are set to compete in the event.
NCAA qualifying for the NCAA Individual Championships will begin Sept. 19-27 at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina. Florida State will also compete at the Bedford Cup in Tampa from Sept. 25-27.
The Noles will return to action at the ITA Regional Championships in Miami from Oct. 7-13 before competing in three consecutive ITF World Tour events, competing at the W35 Redding in Redding, California, Oct. 12-18, followed by the W35 Bakersfield in Bakersfield, California, Oct. 19-25, and the W15 Sumter in Sumter, South Carolina, Oct. 26-Nov. 1.
Two more NCAA national qualifying opportunities are scheduled for Nov. 5-8, with the ITA Sectionals taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Rome, Georgia. The Seminoles will also compete at the UNF Fall Invitational in Jacksonville, Florida, from Nov. 6-8.
The fall season will conclude with the NCAA Individual Championships in Athens, Georgia, from Nov. 17-22.
Florida State returns six players from last season’s team and welcomes a talented trio of freshmen. Senior Eva Shaw will look to make a return trip to the NCAA Individual Championships after qualifying for the tournament and winning her first-round match in 2025. Shaw enters the fall ranked No. 62 in singles.
JoAnna Kennedy, Nicole Okhtenberg and Ariana Gilbert make up Florida State’s freshman class, which ranked No. 9 nationally in June 2026. Kennedy, a five-star blue-chip recruit from Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, enters her first collegiate season ranked No. 8 among newcomers. She is also ranked No. 94 in singles and No. 53 in doubles alongside senior Millie Bissett.
