LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 18, 2016) – The FIU swimming and diving team finished the first day of the 2016 Louisville Invitational with 477 points and sits in second place following five NCAA B standard cuts and three NCAA Zone B qualifying scores.
"The team competed well today," Head Coach
Randy Horner said. "It's nice to see many things we have worked on being executed."
The Panthers also set two school records as the team of
Naomi Ruele,
Letizia Bertelli,
Marie Lauridsen and
Jennifer Deist posted a 1:30.50 in the 200 Free Relay and
Kyna Pereira notched a 4:43.81 in the 500 Free. Ruele's lead off time of 22.28 was the eighth-fastest in the NCAA this season (50 Free) and was her second sub-23 second result in the 50 Free on the day.
The native of Gaborone, Botswana, took first in the 50 Free with a time of 22.44 followed by Bertelli, who finished second with a time of 22.66. Both results were NCAA B Standard cuts.
Ruele and
Karin Tomeckova both tallied NCAA B Standard marks in the 100 Back with their lead off results in the 400 Medley Relay. Ruele (54.27) led the team of
Taylor Grabenhorst, Bertelli and Deist which scored a 3:40.59 and a second-place finish. Tomeckova (54.58) swan the opening leg for the team of
Chase Harris, Lauridsen and
Megan Bowen for a time of 3:46.28.
In the 3-meter program, FIU took three of the top four spots as
Brooke Bouchard scored a 282.85 (2
nd),
Brittany Haskell posted a 282.60 (3
rd) and
Rebecca Quesnel tallied a 280.10 (4
th). All three scores were NCAA Zone B qualifying scores – the second of the season for Quesnel and the first for Bouchard and Haskell.
Action will resume for the Ralph Wright Natatorium on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive) and become a fan on Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSwimmingAndDiving) for all the latest Swimming and Diving news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
