After a pair of gold medals on opening night of the 2017 Conference USA Swimming and Diving Championships, FIU continued its hot start and extended its lead in the team standings through the first seven events. Marshall slid into second place with four podium appearances, while Rice sits within striking distance in third.
The three programs remained consistently ahead of the rest of the pack, combining to win 13 of the 15 possible medals handed out on Thursday evening.
Team Standings (After Day Two)
1. FIU (344)
2. Marshall (251)
3. Rice (225)
4. North Texas (133)
5. Old Dominion (99)
6. Florida Atlantic (86)
Action began in the 500-yd freestyle, where FIU’s Kyna Pereira swam a blistering time of 4:47.45. The junior beat out teammate Megan Bowen (4:49.52) and Rice’s Hanna Huston (4:49.90) to clinch first place for the second-straight year.
Results in the 200-yd individual medley saw a bit of a shakeup, as Marshall, Rice and North Texas rounded out the top three. Marshall freshman Catherine Bendziewicz surged ahead in the final moments to claim the Herd’s first gold medal of 2017. Bendziewicz posted a winning time of 1:59.29, just slightly ahead of Jacey Parham’s 1:59.92 for Rice. North Texas snagged its first podium appearance of the championship with an impressive third-place finish for Sarah Vaisse (2:00.01).
In the 50-yd freestyle, the Panthers continued to stretch their lead thanks to strong swims from Letizia Bertelli and Jenny Deist. Bertelli, who won the event in 2015, clinched the win with a 22.34 final time. Marshall freshman Sirena Rowe continued her campaign as one of the top young swimmers in the league with a strong time of 22.47. The aforementioned Deist brought home the bronze medal, finishing at 22.60.
In the first diving event of the championship, Florida Atlantic freshman Victoria Moretti sustained her splash onto the C-USA diving scene, snagging a victory over last year’s C-USA Diver of the Year Rebecca Quesnel and five-time C-USA Diver of the Week, Marshall’s Meagan Wolons. Moretti clinched gold in the 3M diving event with a score of 317.10.
Day two action concluded with FIU locking down a win in the lone relay event of the evening. The 200-yd freestyle relay team of Ruele, Bertelli, Jenny Alfani, and Deist surged ahead late in the back-and-forth race with a time of 1:29.68. Marshall and Rice took second and third with times of 1:30.12 and 1:30.83, respectively.
Heading into day three, the standings are as follows: FIU (344 points), Marshall (251 points), Rice (225 points), North Texas (133 points), Old Dominion (99 points), and Florida Atlantic (86 points).
The 2017 C-USA Swimming & Diving Championships will resume Friday, February 24, with time trials starting at 10:30 a.m. ET. Day Three finals will begin at 6 p.m. ET, streamed live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. For more information about the event, check out the C-USA Swimming and Diving Championship Central page with live results, streaming information and more.
