LYNCHBURG, Virginia (Feb. 26, 2022) - The FIU women's swimming and diving team made history on Saturday night, becoming the Conference USA Champions for an eighth-straight season after posting a total of 1,131.50 points in the league meet.
FIU finished 133 points ahead of second-place Rice (998.5), with Marshall (600), North Texas (531), FAU (523), and Old Dominion (358) rounding out the standings.
The Panthers garnered a total of 33 medals in the four-day meet, including 13 gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze. The Panthers also broke 2 program records and a C-USA meet record along the way while sweeping all five relays and winning two of three diving events.
FIU extended its own C-USA record for most consecutive titles won in any sport (8). The swimming and diving team also owns the most consecutive championships by any athletic program in FIU history.
"Pretty fired up," said Head Coach
Randy Horner. "The ladies finished out the meet amazing and had a great last day. It was a complete team effort. [We had] a lot of podium finishes and if we weren't winning it, it seemed like we were getting second and third. It wasn't a perfect meet for us, but it was a great team effort and something that we can be proud of and an experience that the ladies can cherish. It's an honor to be with a group like this that can do this year in and year out, and keep their standards high and stay driven."
Freshman
Christie Chue was announced as the C-USA Swimmer of the Meet, while
Maha Gouda claimed Diver of the Meet for third time in four seasons.
Randy Horner was named Swimming Coach of the Year for the seventh time in eight seasons, and
Nick Yang 3-peated as Diving Coach of the Year.
Chue garnered six gold medals in the meet including three in individual events and three in relays. Gouda won two of three diving events.
"I'm honored to get [Swimming] Coach of the Year, and Nick [Yang] Diving Coach of the Year, but that's really a staff award and something that we earned because of the ladies performing at the level that they did and making us look good. So that's a program award and a full staff award, not an individual award."
The Blue & Gold entered the final day in first overall with 733 points, ahead of second-place Rice by 83 points. The Panthers went on to claim a total of 12 medals on the final day including individual golds in the 200 backstroke, the 200 breast, the platform dive, and the 400 freestyle relay.
FIU graced the podium in all seven events on the day four and saw at least two medalists in five of the six individual events.
For Day Four results, click
here.
Freshman Chue swam an NCAA B Standard time of 2:11.14 to become the 200 breast champion and win her third individual gold.
Delaine Goll followed behind her in second-place with an NCAA B cut time of 2:13.67 to win silver.
On the diving side,
Maha Gouda claimed the platform gold with an overall tally of 254.20.
Raquel Mason recorded her first medal as a Panther with a bronze (235.80).
Julia Miranda picked up her fifth gold medal including relays and became the champion in the 200 backstroke, posting a time of 1:57.68.
Kelsie Campbell followed behind her with a time of 1:58.80 and claimed bronze.
The group of
Stephanie Hussey,
Elinah Phillip, Chue, and Campbell clinched the 400 freestyle relay gold with a time of 3:17.52.
Phillip grabbed a silver medal in the 100 freestyle (49.87), while
Sara Gyertyanffy scored a bronze medal (50.12).
In the 200 butterfly, Hussey earned a silver medal with an NCAA B Standard time of 1:58.90, while
Mia Zahab collected her second individual medal with a bronze and an NCAA B cut of 1:59.22.
Ellie Maradyn posted a time of 16:53.53 to take bronze in the 1650 freestyle.
CHAMPION THE PANTHERS
FIU has launched a fundraising campaign called "Champion the Panthers" in concurrence with Conference USA Championship Week.
Head Coach
Randy Horner is calling on family, friends, and alumni to help the program with any possible donation they can contribute, so that the staff at FIU Athletics may continue to provide a championship-level experience for the Panthers.
To make a contribution, visit
Go.FIU.edu/DonateSwim and select 'Swimming & Diving' from the drop-down box titled 'Athletics Designation'.
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.
