EMERSON, Georgia (April 23, 2016) – The tenth-ranked FIU beach volleyball team (13-9) had its season end with a 4-1 loss to South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Conference Tournament, Saturday afternoon. The Panthers won their final match of pool play, defeating Florida Atlantic, 3-2, before dropping their match to the Gamecocks.
 
FIU was led by the tandem of graduate student Tina Toghiyani and junior Aren Cupp. The duo went 2-0 on the day, finishing the season as the only pair to go undefeated (7-0).
 
The Panthers began the day with a victory over Florida Atlantic to round out pool play. The Owls picked up an early victory, taking the match on Court 1 to earn the 1-0 lead. FIU quickly responded with a victory of their own at the No. 3 slot by graduate student Martyna Gluchowicz and sophomore Estefanie Bethancourt (21-18, 21-16). Soon after, the Panthers gained a 2-1 lead after the win at the No. 4 spot. Toghiyani and Cupp continued their winning ways with the 21-15, 21-14 victory. FIU clinched the match with the win at the No. 2 position. Junior Katie Hogan and freshman Dominique Dodd rebounded from a rough first day to give the Panthers the dual (21-10, 21-17).
 
The match against the Gamecocks, in the quarterfinals, marked the first time that the Panthers have ever fallen to South Carolina in four meetings. Senior Gloria Levorin was substituted into the No. 1 position and performed admirably, but the effort was not enough to overcome the offense of the Gamecocks. The lone victory of the match came from Toghiyani and Cupp at the No. 4 spot (13-21, 21-15, 15-5).
 
Toghiyani finishes her FIU career as the most winningest player in program history (67). Cupp ranks fourth all-time in school history with 50 victories. As a duo, Toghiyani and Cupp go down in Panther history as the best in the game. The pair finished their career together with a 37-9 mark. The closest pair was Maryna Samoday and Jessica Mendoza (2013-2014) with 28 career wins.
 
Redshirt sophomore Savannah Davis and sophomore Natalia Giron finish the 2016 season with an overall record of 17-5. That mark ranks them third in program history for the most successful tandem in dual play for a single season, only two wins shy of the record.
 
(#10) FIU def. Florida Atlantic, 3-2
 
No. 1 Clesen/Dischler (FAU) def. Boulanger/Sataric (FIU); 21-18, 21-10
No. 2 Dodd/Hogan (FIU) def. Pellitteri/Lewkowicz (FAU); 21-10, 21-17
No. 3 Gluchowicz/Bethancourt (FIU) def. Galinis/Tekavec (FAU); 21-18, 21-16
No. 4 Toghiyani/Cupp (FIU) def. Cunningham/Barker (FAU); 21-15, 21-14
No. 5 Grant/Fraley (FAU) def. Davis/Giron (FIU); 12-21, 21-16, 17-15
 
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 2, 5
 
South Carolina def. (#10) FIU, 4-1
 
No. 1 Mannisto/Williams (SOCAR) def. Boulanger/Levorin (FIU); 27-25, 21-11
No. 2 Blomgren/Ezell (SOCAR) def. Dodd/Hogan (FIU); 21-19, 21-17
No. 3 Tendrich/Reily (SOCAR) def. Gluchowicz/Bethancourt (FIU); 15-21, 21-16, 15-11
No. 4 Toghiyani/Cupp (FIU) def. Vitt/Wood (SOCAR); 13-21, 21-15, 15-5
No. 5 Neuenfeldt/Darby (SOCAR) def. Davis/Giron (FIU); 12-21, 21-18, 15-12
 
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 3, 5

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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 180bachelor'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, theWolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA andhas over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.