MIAMI — Following a 6-0 opening weekend that featured two wins over Louisville, FIU's softball program earned a spot in D1Softball's Week 1 Mid-Major Top 25 Rankings, as announced on Monday afternoon. 

The Panthers are ranked 17th in this week's edition of the poll, climbing into the rankings after an undefeated weekend to start the season at their home Felsberg Invitational. FIU is the top-ranked team in the poll from Conference USA (CUSA) and one of just two CUSA programs inside the top-25 (Louisiana Tech, 23rd). 

Opening weekend in the '305' started off with back-to-back convincing victories over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the Panthers. FIU then took on ACC-foe Louisville in a marquee matchup under the lights on Friday evening and dispatched the Cardinals, 7-5. 

On Saturday, the Panthers continued their winning ways with two 6-0 wins over Stony Brook and Lehigh to sweep the day and improve to 5-0. FIU's final matchup came on Sunday, taking on Louisville again. The Panthers mounted a late-inning comeback to defeat the Cardinals for the second time in three days, winning 8-5 to cement their 6-0 weekend. 

FIU will take on Czechia in an international scrimmage on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at home before returning to in-season competition this weekend at the University of Florida. The Panthers face off with Marshall and Georgia Tech twice during the three-day tournament and will take on host / sixth-ranked Florida on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. 

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