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The volleyball team saw its 23-game winning streak come to an end, while UF overwhelmed FIU at their first football meet. The basketball teams suffered losses, but the swimming team gave us reason to “Feel the Pride.”
In basketball news
FIU was handed its fifth loss in seven games on Nov. 23 when Murray State beat the men’s team, 84-71, at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
The game capped the Miami regional in the 2K Sports Classic, benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
“We got really sloppy with our execution at the end of the first half,” head coach Isiah Thomas said, “and then [we] came back and made a good run at it but we had given up so much that when we did make our run, it was basically to get back into the game, not necessarily to give us the lead. But for the most part, I was pleased that our guys fought hard and they hung in there.”
The Panthers will be on the road beginning on Nov. 28 until Dec. 31 when they come back home to host South Alabama.
Meanwhile, in spite of a 56.3 percent performance from the three-point range, the women’s basketball team lost, 67-56, to Wisconsin-Green Bay on Nov. 21.
Up next for the Panthers is the 15th Annual FIU Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 27 when they host Saint Joseph’s at 5 p.m. and St. John’s at 7 p.m.
Anyone who brings a new, unwrapped toy or canned food item will be admitted for free for the day.
In swimming & diving news
Junior Elly James. Photo: FIUSports.com.
The swimming & diving team closed out action at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Nov. 22 as it turned in another stellar performance against some of the toughest competition in the country.
FIU saw two juniors post qualifying times in the 200 backstroke preliminaries as both Danielle Sneir and Elly James went on to compete in the finals. Sneir swam the preliminary race in 2:09.42 before placing 26th in the finals with a mark of 2:08.27, while James posted a time of 2:11.64 in prelim action and finished 30th in the finals with a time of 2:12.33.
Junior Erin Pavlick and freshman Krissy Metka also competed in a finals race but in the 200-meter breaststroke, each besting their qualifying marks from prelims in the finals competition. Pavlick registered a preliminary time of 2:25.09 before touching in 2:23.71 to place 22nd in the finals. Metka finished the qualifying race in 2:26.54 and went on to touch in 2:26.40 to place 28th in the finals.
In relays, FIU’s top team – freshman Kelly Grace, sophomores Kariann Stevens and Caroline Foster and junior Mariangela Macchiavello – worked together for a 3:37.74 eighth-place finish.
Click here to read more about FIU’s performance at the competition.
“I am very happy with the performance of the team at this high-level competition where we swim against the best swimmers in the country,” said head coach Noemi Lung Zaharia. “The team’s positive, competitive approach to the races brought fast times in both individual events and relays.”
FIU returns to the pool on Dec. 18 when the Panthers travel to Boca Raton for the FAU Invitational.
The girls of volleyball
Facing a tough Middle Tennessee team, FIU lost the Sun Belt Conference Championship title match, 3-1 (21-25, 19-25, 25-18, 15-25), on Nov. 21 at Western Kentucky University.
The Panthers’ winning streak of 23 games ended with the loss.
It was not all sad news, though: At the conference awards banquet, senior Yarimar Rosa earned Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row. Jovana Bjelica was named Freshman of the Year.
Rosa also was awarded academic recognitions, as were her fellow Panthers Ashlyn Balensiefer, Ines Medved, Isadora Rangel and Sabrina Gonzalez.
FIU will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 28, when the Panthers host Florida A&M at 1 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Football’s great fall
Wide receiver Wayne Times took one kickoff return 47 yards against Florida. Photo: FIUSports.com.
The Panthers traveled to Gainesville on Nov. 21 to meet the Florida Gators for the first time ever and came back with sour souvenir: a 62-3 loss.
Up next, FIU hosts Florida Atlantic at FIU Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 5, in the 2009 Shula Bowl.
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