MIAMI (Oct. 1, 2016) – The FIU swimming and diving team began the 2016-17 season with a strong showing at Miami on Saturday. The Panthers collected four first-, five second-, and five third-place finishes versus the Hurricanes as FIU fell 161-101, at the Whitten University Center Pool on the UM campus.
The meet, which was initially scheduled for Friday evening, was postponed to Saturday morning due to inclement weather the night before.
The Panthers opened the contest with a first-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay as
Naomi Ruele,
Taylor Grabenhorst,
Letizia Bertelli and
Jennifer Deist recorded a 1:44.20.
Kyna Pereira continued where she left of last season claiming the 1000 and 500 Free. The native of Umkomaas, South Africa, notched a top time of 10:17.50 in the 1000 Free and followed that up with a time of 5:02.70 in the 500 Free, beating UM's Claire McGinnis by two seconds for the win. Pereira also finished third in the 100 Free (51.86).
Grabenhorst made the most of her first collegiate outing, winning the 200 Breast (2:23.08), while finishing second in the 100 Breast (1:06.00) and the 200 IM (2:10.50). Also placing in the 200 Breast was junior
Chase Harris, who posted a time of 2:25.57.
Deist, who helped FIU win the 200 Medley Relay, finished second in the 200 Butterfly with a time of 2:06.28.
Naomi Ruele had a third-place finish in the 50 Free (23.96), while junior
Skye Carey posted a time of 2:04.93 in the 200 Backstroke and a third-place result.
The Panthers closed out the meet with a second-place finish in the 400 Free Relay as the team of Bertelli, Ruele, Deist and Pereira scored a time of 3:28.79.
FIU will next travel to Houston, Texas, for Dual-A-Palooza, hosted by Rice Nov. 14-15.
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 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/.
