LAKELAND, Fla.
(Men's & Women's Swimming) – Facing some stiff competition in men's and women's defending Sunshine State Conference Champion Florida Southern and strong NAIA member Keiser, Florida Tech held its own Friday afternoon at The Nina B. Hollis Wellness Center Pool.
FIT fell on both sides to the Moccasins, with the men's team succumbing 321-162 and the women falling 317-166. However, the Panthers did earn victories against the Seahawks as the men earned a hard fought 249-233 win and the women pulled away by a 354-77 margin.
All together the Panthers racked up seven event wins on the day, beginning with a unique situation in the meet's first event, the women's 200 medley relay. The team of
Dar Raz,
Carter Juskevich,
Rachel Barczyk and
Lauren Suarez completed the race at the exact same time as the Florida Southern "A" team, giving both teams a win in 1:49.10.
Raz garnered her second event title of the day in her signature race, the 100 backstroke. The Israeli native flew down her lane, timing in at 59.76, more than two full seconds faster than the next quickest swimmer. Suarez also added a second win, completing the 50 free in 24.49.
Defending NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Week
Victor Furtado got the men's team its first victory in the 50 free, making the final touch in 20.80. Not only did Furtado achieve an NCAA B cut time, the mark is the fifth fastest in the nation so far this season.
Nir Barnea wasn't far behind in second at 21.29.
Furtado again tasted victory a few events later, winning the 100 fly in 49.97. The sophomore currently holds the fastest time in Division II in the event, registering a 48.73 last week in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Panthers wrapped up the meet with a pair of wins from both sides in the 200 free relay. The women's team of Suarez, Raz,
Neta Saar and
Bernie Murphy outpaced the Mocs' top squad with a time of 1:39.90. For the men, Barnea, Furtado,
Nathan Hufnagel and
Edward Ilako set a 1:23.53 for the win, the second quickest time in the event in Division II.
In other action, freshman
Birgitt O'Connor grabbed second in the 1,000 free at 11:08.58, while
Ferruccio Rossi finished runner up in the event on the men's side at 10:00.54. Rossi's brother, Emanuele placed second in the 200 free, making the final touch in 1:43.20.
Trista Phelps finished second in the 200 fly, narrowly clipping FSC's Madison Rowan with a time of 2:20.26. In addition to her win in the 100 back, Raz snagged a second place finish in the 200 back at 2:12.18, while
Samantha Bischoff recorded a 5:25.84 in the 500 free for second. Finally,
Yagoh Kubagawa got in on the fun with a runner up performance in the 200 IM, timing in at 1:56.79.
FIT returns to the pool on Nov. 4, opening the home portion of its schedule against Florida Atlantic at the Panther Aquatic Center.
