The FIU swimming and diving team remained perfect in dual meets this season, defeating a very talented Florida Gulf Coast team on Senior Day, earning a 167-133 victory on Saturday at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center. The win over the Eagles is the first ever for FIU and gives the Panthers a win over a team that has been ranked as high as No. 28 this year in the national polls.
“We are swimming well,” said Head Coach Randy Horner. “We stepped up and beat a very good team today. They have been up there, ranked as high as 28th in the national poll. To come out here, compete well and actually beat them, that’s a pretty big accomplishment for us. If we are going to achieve our goal of winning a conference title this year, we’ve got to compete against teams as good as this.”
In her final home meet, senior Johanna Gustafsdottir picked up three victories on the day. Her first win came in the 200 freestyle, as she posted a mark of 1:52.84 to pick up nine points for the Panthers. FIU earned a nice one-two finish in that event, as freshman Letizia Bertelli came in second place, earning a mark of 1:53.83. Gustafsdottir earned another victory in the 200 breaststroke, as she clocked a time of 2:20.62. Her third individual victory came in the 200 IM, as she touched the wall in 2:06.16. Freshman Silvia Scalia placed second right behind Gustafsdottir, earning four points by swimming it in 2:06.68.
FIU had another newcomer step up immediately on Saturday. Freshman Kyna Pereira earned a first place finish in the 1000 freestyle, as she picked up an FIU pool record time of 10:09.80. Her dominance in the long distance freestyle events continued, as she earned a mark of 5:01.42 to pick up another first place finish.
Junior Valerie Inghels highlighted FIU’s other winners, earning a mark of 2:03.28 in the 200 butterfly. Scalia also picked up a win in the 200 backstroke, earning a time of 2:00.75. FIU’s 400 freestyle relay team also earned 11 points for the Panthers, earning a pool record time of 3:29.05.
