MIAMI (Oct. 19, 2019) - The FIU swim and dive team closed out competition on Saturday, as the Panthers took on Rice and Denver on the final day of Dual-A-Pool-Ooza. 

The Panthers had a pair of narrow defeats on Saturday, dropping hte morning session 102-100 to Rice before falling to Denver 103-102.

The day began with the 200 medley relay, as the team of Julia Miranda, Taylor Grabenhorst, Emily Cordovi and Lamija Medosevic finished two seconds shy of picking up the win in the first relay of the day with a time of 1:44.32. Stephanie Hussey won the 500 free, for the second time this weekend with a swim of 4:55.70. The Owls took second, third and fourth place in the race, with FIU's Rachel Whitaker (5:15.66) and Berta Triola (5:22.00) finished fifth and sixth overall respectively. 

The 200 fly competition came up next as FIU finished fourth-sixth overall. Kasia Kolodziej, Cordovi and Chloe Hampson all placed fourth-sixth for the Panthers. The 100 free was won by Medosevic who swam a time of 51.29 for her second victory of the meet. Helga Fodor chased down fourth with a time of 52.86. After Miranda won the 200 back with a time of 2:03.91, Grabenhorst won the 100 breast after clocking a time of 1:04.23. Delaine Goll took second (1:05.46) in the event, as the Panthers cut the Owl lead to just nine points. 

The 50 fly event followed up next, with the Rice Owls answering back to take the top two spots in the event as FIU finished third, fourth and sixth in the race. In the 400 IM, Hussey won again for FIU as she clocked a time of 4:22.82 for the Panthers. Grabenhorst landed in the number three spot with a time of 4:33.60 to follow up Hussey's top-showing in the event. Moving to the 200 free relay, Miranda, Fodor, Sanchez and Hussey notched second with a time of 1:36.10, while Kolodziej, Bryant, Temperino and Annie Barral picked up fourth with a time of 1:37.46. 

The Owls did not compete in the 1-meter diving event, as FIU picked up 16 more points after divers Maha Gouda, Rachel Foord and Brittany Haskell placed first, second and third. Rice was still able to hold on however, as the Owls took the 102-100 victory. 

After a three-hour break, the evening session got underway at 3:00 p.m. ET between FIU and Denver. For the first time ever, Dual-A-Pool-Ooza featured an open water event as FIU was victorious in the 1200-meter race. Hussey crossed the finish line first with a time of 15:13.50, while Whitaker finished second with her time of 15:32.10. 

Back in the lanes, the team of Miranda, Grabenhorst, Kolodziej and Fodor finished runner-up in the 100 medley relay with a time of 48.55, while the team of Melannie Vargas, Goll, Cordovi and Sanchez touched third at 49.70. During the 200 breast, Grabenhorst came in second (2:19.03) and Goll came in fourth (2:22.05). Medosevic placed second in the 50 free (23.92) along with Hussey who placed second in the 200 fly (2:04.18). 

The Panthers had a couple of wins come soon after, as Miranda won the 100 back with a time of 56.34 before Medosevic followed with a win in the 200 free at 1:51.64. Grabenhorst and Goll combined to gave the Panthers a seven-point push in the 50 free, as they took second and third place with times of 29.52 and 29.90, respectively. 

FIU trailed by just six points before heading into the 100 IM event which resulted in win for Miranda after she swam a time of 57.85. The Panthers took second in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:27.52 to cut the Denver lead to 100-86. 

The divers dazzled and took the top-three spots from the 3-meter event, giving the Panthers a 15-point push. Gouda placed first (347.55), Foord was second (325.00) and Haskell ended third (271.95) to narrow the final score to a 103-102. 

UP NEXT
FIU returns home to take on Miami and Illinois on Friday Nov. 1 -2 with action scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET. 

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