FORT MYERS, Florida (Nov. 19, 2020) - The FIU swimming and diving team capped the opening day of the first-ever FGCU Invitational on Thursday night after not having appeared in a meet since early March of 2020.

"It was great to be back in competition after nine months," said Head Coach Randy Horner. "The ladies did an amazing job today and we look forward to building on our performances the next two days."

FIU's performance was highlighted by sophomore diver Mandy Song, who broke a school record in the 3-meter dive with a score of 378.65 and clinched first place in the A Final. Song previously broke the 3-meter record at the end of last season, when she tallied a 374.55 at the South Florida Diving Invitational back on Feb. 7.

Maha Gouda placed second in the 3-meter A Final with a score of 354.80, while Rachel Foord followed closely behind in third place with a mark of 319.60.

Day one at the FGCU Invitational, which has two days remaining in its slate, consisted of six total events including the 3-meter dive.

FIU took second place in the 200-yard freestyle relay to kick things off with a 1:33.90 mark, propelled by the group of Julia Miranda, Kelsie Campbell, Delaney Biro and Helga Fodor.

Freshman Ellie Maradyn made a splash in her collegiate debut, as she seized second place in the A Final of the 500-yard freestyle with a mark of 4:58.46. Madeleine Anderson placed seventh with a mark of 5:11.51.

In the 200-yard individual medley event, four Panthers finished within the top-8 of the A Final. Eriana Temperino placed fourth and Michaela Trnkova landed at fifth, with times of 2:05.31 and 2:05.59, respectively. Delaine Goll and Emily Cordovi placed sixth and seventh in the event, with marks of 2:06.88 and 2:09.64, respectively.

Miranda also helped FIU secure a fourth place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.58, while Campbell came in at seventh with a mark of 23.77.

The group of Trnkova, Goll, Miranda and Fodor wrapped up the day by grabbing another second place finish in the 400-yard Medley Relay, logging a 3:43.31 mark in the A Final.

The Panthers are back in action tomorrow, Nov. 20 beginning at 10 a.m. for day two of the FGCU Invitational.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive), Facebook @FIUSwimmingandDiving) and on Instagram (@FIUSwimDive). General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.