Facing one of the top teams not only in the Sunshine State Conference but in all of Division II, Florida Tech was swept by Florida Southern Friday afternoon at the Panther Aquatic Center.
The Panther men put up a valiant effort but ultimately were outscored 114-to-91, while the women’s team fell 156-to-45. Ending up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, however, did not deter head coach Justin Andrade from coming out encouraged.
“I think the team swam really well,” he said. “It’s great racing against competition like Florida Southern. I think this is the first time we’ve seen the team step up against such a quality opponent and attack every race. Our technical skills were definitely a lot better than last week. We showed a lot of potential.”
For the second consecutive meet, sophomore Yagoh Kubagawa impressed, tallying a pair of event wins. Kubagawa took the crown in the 400-yard IM (4:00.55) and 500-yard freestyle (4:39.68). The Brazilian’s performance in the 400 IM was quick enough for an NCAA B-Cut time.
Edward Ilako also garnered a win for the Panthers, touching first in the 50 free with a time of 21.65. The FIT men capped the meet by taking the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:24.73. Nir Barnea, Jonah Rieman, Filip Dujmic and Ilako teamed up for the victory.
The Panther men opened the meet with a runner-up performance in the 200 medley relay, with Eric Berg, Brian Dumont, Barnea and Ilako finishing the race in 1:35.99. Emanuele Rossi placed second in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:38.19), while Thomas Steenberg grabbed second in the 200 free (1:43.85) and Adi Davidov was second fastest in the 200 fly (1:57.03).
The meet started with the FIT women’s 200-yard medley relay team of Julie Coen, Christie DeFlumeri, Jill Collins and Willa Huddleston finishing runner-up with a time of 1:54.16. Faryn Duff garnered second In the 200 fly (2:17.10), while Coen touched second in the 200 back (2:09.52).
The meet came to a close for the Panther women with Lauren Suarez, Collins, Bernie Murphy and Huddleston securing four points with a second-place performance in the 200 free relay (1:41.71).
The Panthers won’t have the luxury of rest before their next competition as FIT hosts Savannah College of Art & Design on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET at the Panther Aquatic Center.
