For the first time this season, both the men’s and women’s team won for Florida Tech swimming, defeating Rollins College on Saturday.
The Panther men secured their biggest winning margin of the season, defeating the Tars 199-63. The FIT women outmatched Rollins by a score of 164-96.
Dar Raz broke her third and fourth FIT records in three meets, taking the 200-yard freestyle with an NCAA B-Cut time of 1:53.68 and then beating her own record to win the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.58.
The Panther team of Raz, Lauren Suarez, Samantha Conger and Bernadette Murphy would place first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:51.70. Suarez also claimed the 100-yard backstroke, touching in 1:02.01. Shelby Pierce snagged the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:16.78, while Suarez’s 25.12 in the 50-yard freestyle was the fastest.
Murphy laid claim to the 100-yard freestyle after finishing in 54.95 and Paulina Bjorkbacka won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:10.56. Conger was the fastest in the 200-yard breaststroke, making the final touch in 2:28.08. Pierce also took home the title in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:16.10. Finally, Raz, Murphy, Suarez and Liana Soileau teamed up to take the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:40.59.
On the men’s side, Nir Barnea, Brian Dumont, Stuart Jamieson and Victor Westerlund joined forces for the win in the 200-yard medley relay, finishing in 1:36.78. Ferruccio Rossi laid claim to the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:02.30, while Barnea grabbed the 200-yard freestyle, touching in 1:44.83. Kaikea Nakachi won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.02 and Dumont took the 100-yard breaststroke after finishing in 1:00.30.
Camden Johnston claimed the title in the 200-yard butterfly after a 2:01.76 finish, while Westerlund’s time of 21.64 in the 50-yard freestyle was the fastest. Barnea notched a win in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.13 and Tyler Phelps won the 200-yard backstroke with a 2:00.12 finish.
Dumont also won the 200-yard breaststroke, making the final touch in 2:15.43, while Rossi garnered another win in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:50.48. Westerlund grabbed the 100-yard butterfly, touching in 52.51 and Hufnagel claimed the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:59.13. Lastly, the team of Barnea, Westerlund, Jonah Rieman and Thomas Steenberg won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.25.
In total, FIT laid claim to 25 of the 28 races, with the Panther men winning every race.
The Panthers will return to competition on Tuesday, Nov. 11 as FIT takes on West Florida at the Panther Aquatic Center beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
