(Andres Bedoya/The Beacon)
Rico Albarracin/ Asst. Sports Director
rico.albarracin@fiusm.com
When it comes to sports, there is nothing quite better than a sweep.
The Golden Panthers swimming and diving team wrapped up a strong outing by winning all 14 events that they participated in at the FIU Invitational on Jan. 7. FIU defeated the College of St. Rose and Florida Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at Biscayne Bay Campus.
FIU, as a team, scored 838 points, while St. Rose scored 600 and FIT scored 247. The victory gave the Golden Panthers their third straight meet victory, all in the span of a week.
“It was a low-key meet for us to finish up the training camp. It was successful in our minds. We swam fast and swam hard,” said Randy Horner, coach of the swimming and diving team.
FIU began Saturday’s meet by winning the 200 medley relay, with a team of Elly James, Klara Andersson, Melissa Moreno and Kelly Grace, who swam a 1:54.47 for the victory. Kariann Stevens turned out a strong performance for the Panthers, winning four events on her own and winning one as a team. Stevens won the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:00.29, the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.52, posted a 55.33 time in the 100 freestyle and won the 100 Individual Medley in 1:02.40.
Stevens teamed up with Andersson,Grace and Nadia Farrugia for a time of 1:42.91 and a win in the 200 free relay.
Danielle Meara finished first in the 100 backstroke and the 500 freestyle, with times of 1:02.35 and 5:14.56, respectively. Adding to the win total for the Golden Panthers on Saturday were Chelsie Kidd with a win in the 50 fly (28.01), Grace cruising in the 50 freestyle (25.45), Farrugia in the 50 backstroke (29.84) and Jean Madison in the 50 breaststroke (33.54).
Sabrina Beaupre, who was named the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Diver of the Year, won the two events she participated in. Beaupre won the 1-meter dive with a score of 312.08.
A Look Ahead
FIU will now put their focus on the last three meets of the season before the SBC tournament, including the final home meet of the season against Central Connecticut State on Jan. 14 at 12 p.m. There is a bit of a revenge factor coming into this meet.
“It’s a team that beat us last year so we want to finish at home with a win and take that confidence to the next level,” Horner said.
The last meet that CCSU competed in was at the USA Winter Nationals at Georgia Tech on Dec. 1-3. The focus for the team is preparing for the Sun Belt championship.
“Doing the little things right, working our turns, our starts and our finishes,” Horner said. “Just racing properly and not taking anything for granted. That’s the biggest key right now.”
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