MIAMI (March 23, 2014) – The FIU swimming and diving team capped off a fantastic and historical 2013-14 campaign by earning its first team finish ever at the NCAA Championships. FIU earned points at this year's championships to earn a 47th place finish, marking the best finish an FIU swimming and diving team has ever had.

"As I look back at this season, one of our biggest goals for the program was achieved," said head coach Randy Horner. "We had been to the NCAA's for the past two years but had never scored as a team.  I'm very proud of the team at C-USA and NCAA's this season."

Led by senior Sonia Perez, senior Sabrina Beaupre and junior Johanna Gustafsdottir, the Panthers also earned a second place finish at their first ever Conference USA Championships. Perez was the driving force at the NCAA Championships, as she made school history this past Friday night, becoming the first swimmer 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. She then 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.

Gustafsdottir was FIU's other qualifier for the NCAA Championships. She swam in the 200 IM as well as the 100 and 200 backstroke. Gustafsdottir also earned the 200 backstroke title at the C-USA Championships, posting a time of 1:55.05, an NCAA B standard. She also had a huge day one for FIU, taking home the C-USA title in the 200 IM. The junior clocked in at 1:57.94 in the finals of that event, which was not only a school record, but a C-USA Championships record as well. Gustafsdottir swam the first leg of the 800 freestyle relay, which broke her own school record for the 200 freestyle.

Perez set the school and C-USA Championships record in the 400 IM while Beaupre won the title in the 1-meter and platform diving. Beaupre and freshman Lily Kaufmann each qualified for NCAA Zone Diving this year as well.

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/.