MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (March 21, 2014) – FIU senior swimmer Sonia Perez made school history on Friday night, becoming the first student-athlete in school history to qualify for the finals in an NCAA Championship event. Perez swam a prelims time of 4:10.27 in the 400 IM, qualifying her for the evening session.
Perez swam even faster in the finals, earning a mark of 4:10.17, the second-fastest time in program history. She finished 13th overall at the NCAA's, the highest-ever finish for an FIU swimmer in any event.
"Today was the day that Sonia has been working towards since NCAA's last year," said head coach
Randy Horner. "I'm so happy for her that she achieved her goal."
Joining Perez at the NCAA Championships is her teammate, junior
Johanna Gustafsdottir. The two both swam in the 200 IM on Thursday and will also swim in the 200 backstroke on Saturday. Gustafsdottir also swam in the 100 backstroke on Friday.
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 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/.
