BIRMINGHAM, Fla. (Men's Swimming) - Thursday was quite a day for the Florida Tech swimming program as the Panthers reeled in their first national championship in program history in the men's 200 freestyle relay competition.

The relay team of Nir Barnea, Victor Rocha Furtado, Matthew Gallene and Filip Dujmic entered Thursday's final race fresh off an impressive performance in the morning prelims, as the squad wrapped up the top overall seed with a blistering, and school record pace, of 1:19.47. The Panthers continued their momentum in the final heat, surpassing the school mark and securing the program's first national title with a time of 1:19.46.

Following the first leg by Barnea (20.20), FIT found itself in third place as Rocha Furtado dove into the pool. However, strong splits by Rocha Furtado (19.90), Gallene (19.61) and Dujmic (19.75) in the final two legs earned the Panthers the crown, besting second place Bloomsburg by .19 seconds.

"This is a great group of high character individuals," stated head coach Justin Andrade. "They trusted the process and worked hard all season long. We are extremely grateful to bring home Florida Tech's first win at the National Swimming Championships."

In the other events on Thursday, Adi Davidov and Rocha Furtado competed in the 100 fly competition, with the pair finishing in respective times of 49.12 (24th) and 49.20 (27th). Unfortunately, their swims were not fast enough to advance them to Thursday's finals. Davidov's time, however, was a new personal best for the sophomore. 

In the men's 200 free prelim, Emanuele Rossi ended with a time of 1:39.97, good for 25th overall in the heats. However, he too was unable to move on the final races. 

 The championships resume Friday with the morning session beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by evening finals occurring at 7 p.m. Fans can access links to live video and results at FloridaTechSports.com.