MIAMI (September 30, 2017) -- The FIU swimming and diving program took first in nine of the 16 events and opened the season with a lopsided 164.5-115.5 victory over visiting Miami (Fla.) Saturday at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center. The dual win avenged one of only three losses the Panthers suffered last season (10-3 in 2016-17) and gets the team off to a 1-0 start.
 
In her first collegiate meet, freshman Rachel Foord (Melbourne, Australia) posted an NCAA qualifying mark by scoring 290.47 in the 3-meter springboard. Senior and defending Conference USA Diver of the Year Rebecca Quesnel (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) took the top spot in the 1-meter, posting an NCAA qualifying mark of 289.57 from her season-opening program.
 
The 2017 C-USA Swimmer of the Year, senior Letizia Bertelli (Cremona, Italy) won three individual events (50 free – 23.74, 100 free – 51:10, 100 fly – 55.39) and swam the third leg in FIU's first-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay (1:43.39). Three of her times were her fastest for her career in a dual meet.
 
"We had a complete team effort today," notes FIU Head Coach Randy Horner. "The ladies stepped up and competed well. We beat a very good Miami team. This could be the best FIU team we have had."
 
Other individual wins…

• Kyna Pereira (1000 free – 10:35.49)
• Naomi Ruele (100 back – 55.92)
• Stephanie Hussey (200 fly – 2:03.29)
• Sara Gyertyanffy (200 IM – 2:06.59)

The Panthers will split the squad for next weekend's action, with some competing at North Florida against the Ospreys and Georgia Southern in duals and others participating in the FIU Fall Classic, a seven-team home event that starts at 4 p.m. Friday and concludes with Saturday action, beginning at 11 a.m.
                                                                                                                                                                                    
#######
 
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.