MIAMI (Jan. 4, 2014) – The FIU swimming and diving team earned a second place finish in the FIU Invite on Saturday afternoon at the Biscayne Bay Campus Aquatic Center. FIU finished with 458.5 total points, while New Mexico finished in first with 554 points. The Panthers won four events on the afternoon.

"We came back from break on the 27th and have been training every day since," said head coach Randy Horner. "We competed yesterday, practiced this morning and competed again this afternoon. We were off our top times for sure, but they rallied and fought thru. We are ready to get back to school and normal life next week and regroup."

Leading the way for the Panthers was senior Sabrina Beaupre in the diving events. Beaupre earned first place finishes in both the one meter and three meter diving events.

Beaupre earned a score of 332.89 in the three meter dives while her freshman teammate Lilly Kaufman posted a third place mark of 273.15. Beaupre's one meter diving score was 281.75.

Freshman Jennifer Alfani had two first place finishes on the day, one coming in the 50 butterfly and the other coming in a relay event. Alfani won the 50 butterfly by posting a time of 26.07 seconds. Her 200 freestyle relay team with freshman Jennifer Deist, junior Klara Andersson and junior Johanna Gustafsdottir earned a time of 1:37.65 for a first place standing as well. Alfani was also part of a 200 medley relay team that finished second, consisting of Anderson, Deist and senior Valeriia Popova. Alfani also placed third in the 100 IM.

Gustafsdottir also earned a pair of second place individual finishes in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. Senior Sonia Perez finished the 100 IM in second place as well.
FIU returns to the Biscayne Bay Campus Aquatic Center next weekend for their senior meet as they host Central Connecticut at noon.

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/.