Courtesy: FIU Athletics
WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Nov. 19, 2021) – FIU swim and dive had an amazing performance on Day Two of the Purdue Invitational, with the Panthers setting three different program records and posting a total of eight NCAA B Standard times.
The Blue & Gold sit in third overall with a total of 426 points heading into Day Three. FIU trails only Power 5 foes Northwestern (590; 1st) and Louisville (542; 2nd), while the Panthers lead Big Ten opponent Purdue (340, 4th).
FIU also holds comfortable leads over Missouri State (236, 5th), Illinois State (127, 6th), McKendree (110, 7th).
For the full Day Two meet results, click here.
“Tonight the ladies picked up where they left off,” said Head Coach Randy Horner. “It was an amazing effort by the team. We’re doing some really great racing. Really happy sitting in third and chasing Louisville and Northwestern going into [Day Three].
FIU saw program records broken in the 200-yard medley relay, the 100 butterfly, and the 100 breaststroke.
On the diving side, Mandy Song and Maha Gouda took first and second place in the 1-meter event with scores of 313.20 and 302.15, respectively.
“We had some leadership from some upperclassmen that really stepped up,” said Coach Horner. “The school records being set tonight is an amazing achievement at a mid-season invitational meet.”
Julia Miranda opened the day with an FIU record-tying time of (53.02) in the 100 fly prelims, before Stephanie Hussey broke the record with a third-place time of (52.85) in the A Final. Both marks qualified as NCAA B Standard times. Miranda also placed fifth in the A Final (53.09).
Christie Chue started off hot with an FIU record-breaking mark of 59.93 in the 100 breaststroke prelims and then broke the record again with a fourth-place time of 59.88 in the A Final. Both marks qualified as B Standard times.
In the 200 medley relay A Final, the group of Michaela Trnkova, Sara Gyertyanffy, Miranda, and Elinah Phillip set an FIU record and took second place with a blazing time of 1:37.42.
“The 200 medley relay record is from the year we sent four relays to NCAA [Championships],” said Horner. “We haven’t broken a relay record since then, so it’s a really big day to set a relay record. These ladies have a great chance at making some relays in the NCAA’s with the progress they showed this weekend.”
In the first heat of the day, Hussey also posted an NCAA B Standard time of 4:17.26 in the 400-yard IM prelims.
In the 100 backstroke prelims, Kelsie Campbell posted a B Standard time of 53.81. The Panthers also saw a B Standard time of 53.61 from Campbell in the 100 fly A Final, which was good for seventh place.
Trnkova posted a B Standard time of 53.59 to take second place in the 100 backstroke A Final, while Campbell took sixth (54.47) in the A Final and Miranda took seventh (54.63).
In the 100 breast A Final, Gyertyanffy posted an NCAA B Standard mark of 1:00.69 and secured sixth place.
FIU capped the night off with another excellent performance in the 800 freestyle relay, as group of Hussey, Chue, Lamija Medosevic, and Miranda posted a time of 7:15.32 to take third place in the A Final. The mark stands as the fastest 800 relay time in program history at a mid-season invitational meet.
Mia Zahab placed fourth in the 400 IM A Final with a time of 4:18.21.
Kasia Kolodziej placed third in the 100 butterfly B Final with a time of 55.11, while Delaine Goll placed third (1:01.93) in the 200 breaststroke B Final. Lamija Medosevic placed fifth (56.01) in the 100 backstroke B Final.
Helga Fodor, Chue, Hussey, and Medosevic took third-place (1:40.99) in the 200 medley relay B Final. Fodor, Delaney Biro, Allyson Accordino, and Zahab took fourth (7:36.31) in the 800 free relay B Final.
UP NEXT
FIU looks to close out the meet strong on Saturday, Nov. 20, for Day Three of the Purdue Invitational. Prelims are set to begin at 10 a.m. ET, with Finals scheduled for 6 p.m.
