CORAL GABLES, Florida (Jan. 22, 2021) – The FIU women's swimming and diving team earned its first dual-meet win of the season on Friday, as the Panthers knocked off the Miami Hurricanes on the road in Coral Gables by a final tally of 159.5-137.5.

The win over Miami marks FIU's third-straight dual meet victory over cross-town rival Miami, and the fourth win in the last five dual appearances dating back to Sept. 30, 2017, solidifying FIU's standing as the best swimming and diving program in the 305.

"It's crazy to have our first dual meet of the season in January," said head coach Randy Horner. "Half of our team raced today for the first time since last March. I'm very happy with the way we handled the challenge. We raced hard and competed well against a city rival and I really like where we are as we prepare for [Conference USA Championships] next month."

The Panthers claimed 8 of 16 events on a day that FIU celebrated its Senior Day, as the Panthers honored Melannie Vargas, Rachel Foord, and Rielly McNamara before the meet.

For the full meet results, click here.

Divers Mandy Song and Maha Gouda continued their stellar campaigns in 2020-21, as they claimed first-place in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events with scores of 332.78 and 337.80, respectively.

The group of Julia Miranda, Sara Gyertyanffy, Kelsie Campbell and Lamija Medosevic opened up the slate of swimming events with a first-place finish for FIU in the 200-yard medley relay, posting a time of 1:43.76.

FIU went on to claim the top-two spots in the 100-yard backstroke, as Miranda (56.37) and Michaela Trnkova (57.69) nabbed first and second in the event, respectively.

Former C-USA  Co-Swimmer of the Year Jasmine Nocentini took first in two separate events for FIU, claiming the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.20, and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.16.

Stephanie Hussey hustled her way to a first-place finish in the 400-yard IM, posting a time of 4:22.60 for FIU.

With the competition close down the line, the group of Nocentini, Miranda, Campbell and Medosevic finished strong in the last event of the day, posting a time of 1:33.72 in the 200-yard freestyle relay to nail down the victory for FIU.

UP NEXT
The Panthers face a quick turnaround tomorrow as they travel to Fort Myers this Saturday, Jan. 23, for a dual meet against FGCU. Competition is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET from the FGCU Aquatics Center.  

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.
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