FIU vs FGCU (Women)
- Wednesday, January 18, 2022
- Fort Myers, Fla.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Team Score: FIU 204, FGCU 95
Courtesy: FIU Athletics
FORT MYERS, Fla. (Jan. 18, 2022) – Swimming and Diving visited Florida Gulf Coast University Wednesday afternoon to compete in a dual meet, defeating the Eagles, 204-95.
It was an all-around great performance by the Panthers with eight different athletes earning first place finishes. Graduate student Maha Gouda, sophomore Christie Chue and freshman Harliai Curthoys-Davies lead the way with two wins each.
It was another clean sweep for FIU in the relay and dive events. Gouda took first in both the 1-meter (290.78) and 3-meter dives (296.55) with the Panthers also securing third in both events. FIU also took first and second in the 200-medley and 400-free relays.
The Panthers’ January additions also performed well, earning 37 total points. Ingrid Huszar and Var Erlingsdottir Eidesgaard picked up their first career victories for FIU, winning the 100-breast (1:03.72) and the 500-free (5:00.55), respectively. Oumy Diop went on to take second in the 100-fly (56.94).
At the first break FIU held a strong 94-55 advantage after winning six of eight events.
The 200-free saw two Panthers take the top spots with Curthoys-Davies (1:51.27) placing first and Eidesgaard (1:53.23) finishing second.
FIU also took the top two spots in the 100-breast as Huszar posted the top time and senior Delaine Goll (1:04.25) finishing second.
Chue and senior Mia Zahab were individual winners, taking the 50-free (24.04) and the 200-fly (2:04.58), respectively.
In the 1-meter dive, Gouda captured the top spot with fellow graduate student Serena Buchwald placing third with a 247.65.
The second break saw the Panther lead jump to 173-90 awith FIU earning six more wins.
The Panthers dominated the 100-free and 200-breast.
Curthoys-Davies (51.87), freshman Ana Daisson (53.43) and senior Eriana Temperino (53.54) finished first through third, respectively, in the 100-free.
Chue (2:15.54), Goll (2:20.40), Huszar (2:21.30) and junior Ellie Maradyn finished first through fourth, respectively, in the 200-breast.
Freshman Gia Pergolini, Eidesgaard and Nicole Frank also earned first place finishes in the 200-back (2:04.24), 500-free and 400-individual medley (4:29.39), respectively.
The divers closed out their day with a strong showing in the 3-meter with Gouda finishing first and senior Raquel Mason taking third with a 239.93.
The day ended with another emphatic relay win as the team of Chue, Curthoys-Davies, sophomore Jessica Shpilko and senior Lamija Medosevic won the 400-free relay with a time of 3:28.26.
UP NEXT
FIU closes out the regular season on Saturday January 28 when they host cross-town rivals FAU. The meet is set to start at 11 a.m. at the FIU Aquatic Center at the Biscayne Bay Campus.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
Courtesy: FGCU Athletics
FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU swimming and diving dropped its third consecutive dual meet Wednesday, falling 204-95 to American Athletic Conference opponent FIU at the Lee County/FGCU Aquatics Center.
FGCU falls to .500 on the year at 4-4 after completing a grueling three-match stretch against Miami, Houston, and FIU. The Panthers improved 5-2 and also extended their current win streak over the Eagles to six meets.
The Green & Blue won three of 16 events Wednesday. Freshman Cameron Kuriger (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy HS), senior Lucija Sulenta (Zagreb, Croatia/Gimnazija i ekonomska skola Benedikta Kotruljevica) and junior Emma Bjoernholdt (Bagsvaerd, Denmark/Gammel Hellerup Gymnasium St. Leo University) each captured an individual gold medal in their respective events to lead the charge.
“Very proud of how we approached today,” said FGCU head swimming and diving coach Dave Rollins. “Bouncing back from our meet on Friday, we competed very well and saw a significant improvement in not only our times but also our mindset and competitiveness. Reese earning her first zone score of the season, Cam, Lucy, and Emma earning wins was huge, but we saw great improvement all around. Excited to see it today and cannot wait to celebrate our seniors next week.”
Kuriger won gold in the 100-yard butterfly by .08 (56.86). Her gold-medal performance gives her a team-leading six on the 2022-23 season, nine counting relays.
Sulenta touched first in the 100-yard backstroke with a 57.48 effort, her first individual gold of the season. Bjornholdt also won her first individual gold of the year by pacing the pool in the 1,000-yard freestyle, finishing nearly four seconds ahead of the field at 10:39.94.
In diving, senior Reese Wakefield (Guelph, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Macdonelle CHS) held her own against a proven Olympian from Egypt. Maha Gouda was the first Egyptian female to qualify and compete in the 2016 Rio Games.
Gouda won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events Wednesday, while Wakefield’s performances in both were good enough for second place on the podium. Wakefield posted a 271.28 to Gouda ‘s 290.78 in the 1-meter and had a 275.48 effort to the Olympian’s showing of 296.55 in the following 3-meter dive. Wakefield’s 1-meter score qualified herself a spot in the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in March in Knoxville, Tenn.
A pair of Eagles put together a podium finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Bjoernholdt took second (5:11.11) as teammate and senior Sara Niepelova (Piestany, Slovakia/Gymnazium Pierra de Coubertina/East Carolina) finished third (5:16.48).
FGCU began the day with a silver in the 200-yard medley relay. In total, FGCU would capture seven silver medals and six bronze to accompany its three wins against the Panthers.
FGCU returns to pool later this month to host North Florida on Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. before hosting North Florida for Senior Day on Jan. 29 at noon.