FIU Press Release
Entering the day with 28-10 following the diving portion on the meet on Thursday, the FIU swimming and diving team (10-3) defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls, 185-106, on Saturday afternoon from the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center.
Prior to the meet, the squad’s six seniors were recognized. Jennifer Alfani, Jessica Chadwick, Jennifer Deist, Anna Jonsson, Lily Kaufmann and Karin Tomeckova were honored as Saturday marked the final home meet of their FIU careers.
With the win, FIU finishes the 2016-17 regular season with a 10-3 mark in dual meets.
The Panthers won all 14 events on the day to give FIU its seventh home victory of the year.
FIU got things started, winning the 200 Medley Relay as the team of Alfani, Taylor Grabenhorst, Letizia Bertelli and Jonsson recorded the top time of 1:45.27. The Panthers also took second in the event as Carita Luukkanen, Alexa Bryant, Marie Lauridsen and Deist posted a 1:48.39.
Kyna Pereira won the 1000 Free – her sixth first-place finish in the event this season. Pereira registered a 10:24.94, nearly 10 seconds faster than the second-place swimmer. In the 200 Free, Skye Carey and Berta Triola place first and second, respectively. Carey notched a 1:53.22, while Triola recorded a 1:55.06. The Panthers also took the top two spots in the 100 Back as Naomi Ruele scored a 56.36 to finish first and Luukkanen claimed second with a time of 59.10.
Grabenhorst registered the meet’s top time in the 100 Breast, posting a 1:05.68. Megan Bowen won the 200 Fly with a time of 2:10.16 followed by Ally Mayhew, who notched a 2:11.32. Bowne also claimed the top spot in the 100 Free with a time of 52.10. In the 50 Free, Alfani swam a 24.40 for the first-place finish and Luukkanen took first in the 200 Back, registering a time of 2:07.45.
Pereira was dominant in the 500 Free (5:05.94), winning the event by nearly five seconds for her for her second first-place finish of the meet. In the 100 Fly, Bertelli recorded the fastest time by five seconds with a 55.44, while in the 200 IM, Carey won the event by four second with a 2:12.39.
The Panthers closed out the meet in the same fashion in which it began, taking first in 200 Free Relay. The team of Ruele, Alfani, Jonsson and Deist scored a 1:36.61 for the first-place finish.
On Thursday, FIU diving topped the Owls, 28-10, from Miami-Dade College.
The Panthers were led by Rebecca Quesnel, who posted a season-best score of 307.425 in the 1-meter program. The Burlington, Ontario, native followed that performance with a school-record 325.35 on the platform. Both scores were NCAA Zone B qualifying scores.
FIU’s Brittany Haskell placed third in both events, scoring a 281.7 (1-meter) and a 216.16 (platform). Her 1-meter score was good enough to qualify for NCAA Zone B diving.
The Panthers will now turn their attention to the Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. The back-to-back league champs will look for their third-straight crown beginning Feb. 22.
