CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2018) -  The FIU swimming and diving team fell to Miami on Saturday, as the Panthers dropped their season opener to the Hurricanes at Norman Whitten Pool.

For full meet results, click here.

The Panthers won five of 16 events on Saturday, taking the 200-yard medley relay, 1000-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard breaststroke and 500-yard freestyle. 

Stephanie Hussey led the way for FIU in the pool, taking two events to open her sophomore campaign. Hussey won the 500 and 1000-yard freestyles with times of 5:04.57 and 10:29.37 respectively. Junior Carita Luukkanen also posted a stellar day in the water, earning two victories in the 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard breaststroke. 

Freshman Chloe Hampson began her Panther career with a bang, after winning the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.43 in the event. Hussey was not far behind her Panther teammate in the event as she earned a time of 2:06.44 to place second overall. 

The Panthers saw success on the diving platform as well, with three FIU divers earning NCAA qualifying marks. Maha Gouda qualified for the 1 and 3 meter after scores of 288.30 and 306.23 respectively, while Rachel Foord and Brooke Bouchard qualified for the 1 meter with marks of 286.05 and 270.23 

"We simply got beat by the better team today," head coach Randy Horner said. "We had a lot of bright spots and many performances to build on. Stephanie Hussey really stood out today swimming the 1000 free, 200 Fly, 500 free and 400 Free Relay. A gutty performance and collected wins in the 1000 and 500. Other swims that stood out were freshman Chloe Hampson, winning her first college race in the 200 Fly and Carita Luukkanen who wins the 200 breast."

The meet on Saturday marked the third year in a row that the Panthers have opened up their season against the Hurricanes. Last season, the Panthers took first-place in nine of the 16 events and they opened the season with a lopsided 164.5-115.5 victory over Miami.

The Panthers closed out the 2017-2018 season 8-4 overall and took home their fourth-straight C-USA Championship title.

UP NEXT 
FIU will open the home slate at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center next weekend as the Panthers host the TYR Fall Classic on Oct. 5-6. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIU_swim_dive's Instagram and @FIUSwimmingAndDiving on Facebook and on Twitter @FIUSwimDive. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.