MIAMI (Dec. 19, 2013) – The FIU swimming and diving team earned 130-94 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday afternoon at the Biscayne Bay Campus Aquatic Center. The Panthers won nine of the 12 events to earn FIU its first ever win over an ACC opponent.
 
"We competed really well today," said Head Coach Randy Horner. "Winning nine of 12 events against an ACC team is huge for us. That is the first time we have ever done that. A lot of the ladies swan even faster than they did at the Nova meet, so I am really proud of our team."
 
Senior Sabrina Beaupre won both diving events on the day for the Panthers. The Longueuil, Quebec native posted an FIU season-high score of 294.7 points on the one meter dive to earn that event win by more than 20 points. In the three meter dive, Beaupre scored 316.57 points to slide by Georgia Tech's Ashley Hardy, who finished with a score of 309.45.
 
Junior Johanna Gustafsdottir won two events on the day, while finishing third in another. The Reykjavic, Iceland native won the 100 breaststroke title with a time of 1:06.04, posting a career-high and third fastest top time for the Panthers this season. Junior Jean Madison also finished third in the event. Gustafsdottir also earned the 200 freestyle title and finished in third place in the 100 freestyle.
 
Also having a big day for the Panthers was senior Sonia Perez, who earned two first place finishes and one second place finish. Early in the meet, Perez won the 200 IM event by over 2.5 seconds, earning a mark of 2:05.88. Madison also garnered a third place finish in the 200 IM as well. Perez's other victory came in the 500 freestyle as she recorded a time of 5:00.41. Junior Courtney Vander Schaaf also earned points for the Panthers in the 500 freestyle, registering a third place finish. Perez's second place finish came in the 100 backstroke.
 
Freshman Jennifer Alfani had another strong outing for the Panthers, placing first by .01 seconds. Junior Klara Andersson finished just behind Alfani in the event. Alfani and Andersson were also part of the 200 freestyle relay team, along with sophomore Becky Wilde and freshman Jennifer Deist. The team took a first place finish with a mark of 1:36.67. Alfani and Deist won their second relay event of the day along with junior Danielle Meara and senior Valeriia Popova, earning the 200 medley relay title.
 
The Panthers will have off until the Orange Bowl Classic (Jan. 3, 1 p.m.) and the FIU Invite (Jan. 4, 2 p.m.).
 
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/.