MIAMI (Jan. 24, 2015) – The FIU swimming and diving team remained perfect in dual meets this season, defeating a very talented Florida Gulf Coast team on Senior Day, earning a 167-133 victory on Saturday at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center. The win over the Eagles is the first ever for FIU and gives the Panthers a win over a team that has been ranked as high as 28
th this year in the national polls.
"We are swimming well," said head coach
Randy Horner. "We stepped up and beat a very good team today. They have been up there, ranked as high as 28
th in the national poll. To come out here, compete well and actually beat them, that's a pretty big accomplishment for us. If we are going to achieve our goal of winning a conference title this year, we've got to compete against teams as good as this."
In her final home meet, senior
Johanna Gustafsdottir picked up three victories on the day. Her first win came in the 200 freestyle, as she posted a mark of 1:52.84 to pick up nine points for the Panthers. FIU earned a nice one-two finish in that event, as freshman
Letizia Bertelli came in second place, earning a mark of 1:53.83. Gustafsdottir earned another victory in the 200 breaststroke, as she clocked a time of 2:20.62. Her third individual victory came in the 200 IM, as she touched the wall in 2:06.16. Freshman
Silvia Scalia placed second right behind Gustafsdottir, earning four points by swimming it in 2:06.68.
FIU had another newcomer step up immediately on Saturday. Freshman
Kyna Pereira earned a first place finish in the 1000 freestyle, as she picked up an FIU pool record time of 10:09.80. Her dominance in the long distance freestyle events continued, as she earned a mark of 5:01.42 in the 500 freestyle to pick up another first place finish.
Junior
Valerie Inghels highlighted FIU's other winners, earning a mark of 2:03.28 in the 200 butterfly. Scalia also picked up a win in the 200 backstroke, earning a time of 2:00.75. FIU's 400 freestyle relay team also earned 11 points for the Panthers, earning a pool record time of 3:29.05.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive), Instagram (FIU_SWIM_DIVE) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSwimmingAndDiving) for all the latest Swimming and Diving news.
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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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
