MIAMI (September 29, 2017) -- FIU swimming and diving finally hits the pool in an anticipated opening-meet, as the Panthers battle the Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes Saturday at noon at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center. FIU finished 10-3 in duals last season.
 
The Panthers are coming off of three-consecutive Conference USA crowns and both the reigning C-USA Swimmer (Letizia Bertelli) and Diver of the Year (Rebecca Quesnel) return to anchor the Panthers in 2017-18.
 
"We are excited to kick off the season," said FIU Head Coach Randy Horner. "We have a lot of freshmen who we are eager to see in competition, but our returners are going to lead the way. We want to see competitiveness across the board and great team spirit."
 
Nine newcomers join 22 returners to hit the water in competition this season. The Panthers waste no time getting the competitive juices flowing, with a dual Saturday, and two duals next weekend, including the FIU Fall Classic.
 
It was a busy summer for several team members, with Quesnel competing in the 2017 Summer Senior National Diving Championships in June, and rising senior Naomi Ruele going to the 2017 FINA World Championships in July. That followed a record five swimmers and one diver who represented FIU at the NCAA Championships in March.
                                                                                                                                                                                    
#######
 
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/.