FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Dec. 16, 2013) – The FIU women's swimming and diving team remains in second place with 931 total points after the third day of the Sharks Invitational, hosted by Nova Southeastern. One day remains in the 10-team competition. FIU will then host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday.
 
"I'm proud of how the team is responding as the meet is progressing," said head coach Randy Horner. "This week is a real character revealer. Our 200 flyers stepped up tonight and performed well."
 
In the 200 butterfly event, FIU earned an 18, 17 and 16-point finish. Senior Sarah D'Antoni was FIU's top finisher, earning a time of 2:06.55. Freshman Jennifer Alfani earned 17 points for FIU with a time of 2:07.21, while freshman Jennifer Deist clocked in at 2:09.12 to earn 16 points. Alfani and Deist's times were their career bests.
 
In the 500 freestyle, senior Sonia Perez was FIU's top finisher, earning a time of 4:58.77, topping her season-best time that she achieved at FAU in the season opener. Perez' time was good enough for third place in the event.
 
Also highlighting the evening was a top three finish for the Panthers in the 800 freestyle relay. Joining Perez was junior Johanna Gustafsdottir, junior Courtney Vander Schaaf and sophomore Becky Wilde, who all put together a third place finish with a time of 7:41.34.
 
Gustafsdottir, who also earned points for the Panthers in the 500 freestyle, was FIU's top finisher in the 100 backstroke, earning a time of 58.41 seconds. Junior Danielle Meara earned the top finish in the 100 breaststroke for the Panthers, a time of 1:08.60 in the finals.
 
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 Google+ (FIU Athletics), 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 U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu