MELBOURNE, Fla.
(Men's & Women's Swimming) – In the final meet before the 2017 Sunshine State Conference Championships, Florida Tech was unable to keep up with perennial power Tampa as the women's team fell 159-102 and the men were defeated 169-92.
The meet marked Senior Day for the Panthers, with 17 seniors competing in their final meet at the Panther Aquatic Center. Prior to the start of action,
Rachel Barczyk,
Nir Barnea,
Julie Coen,
Faryn Duff,
Adrien Hosking,
Willa Huddleston,
Nathan Hufnagel,
Camden Johnston,
Bernie Murphy,
Zachary Paryzek,
Tyler Phelps,
Dar Raz,
Jonah Rieman,
Ferruccio Rossi,
Chad Schreiber,
Lauren Suarez and
Logan Szarka were recognized for their time at FIT.
Kicking off the meet in the 200 medley relay, Raz,
Carter Juskevich,
Trista Phelps and Suarez took second with a time of 1:49.76. In the men's race, Barnea, Hufnagel,
Victor Furtado and Matt Gallene took the win in 1:32.84.
In the 200 free,
Laura Carvajal came in at 1:55.62 for first, while
Thomas Steenberg and his 1:42.06 were good enough for the event win. Raz continued to the run of Panther wins with a victory in the 100 back after touching in 59.88, just ahead of
Julie Coen (1:00.48).
Juskevich picked up a win in the 100 breast, timing in at 1:05.26, while Hufnagel was narrowly outdueled by the Spartans Stefano, Vrolijk, settling for second with a time of 58.63. In the 200 fly,
Adi Davidov set a 1:52.67 for second place.
Suarez finished runner up in the 50 free, completing the single lap in 24.53, while Barnea's 20.63 also put him in second position, setting a B cut.
For the second day in a row, Carvajal entered the Panther record books, winning the 100 free in record breaking fashion with a 51.87, a B cut time. On the men's side, Gallene garnered runner up position after making the final touch in 47.05.
Coen easily outpaced the field in the 200 back, finishing exactly four seconds ahead of the next closest swimmer with a time of 2:10.82. In the 500 free,
Samantha Bischoff came in at 5:20.87, good enough for second place.
Furtado proved superior in the 100 fly, registering a B cut time of 48.52 for the win, nearly two and a half seconds ahead of the second place finisher.
Yagoh Kubagawa earned a runner up finish in the 200 IM, timing in at 1:56.60.
In the final event, the 200 free relay, Suarez, Raz, Murphy and Carvajal snagged the win after completing the circuit in 1:38.30. For the men, Barnea, Furtado, Gallene and
Filip Dujmic were clipped by UT, taking second in 1:22.66, a B cut time.
The Panthers now begin preparation for the SSC Championships, slated for Feb. 16-19 in Orlando, Florida.
