FIT’s Patterson, Barnea Selected Panther Student-Athletes of the Week

By  //  February 23, 2016

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Softball’s Krista Patterson (left) and men’s swimming’s Nir Barnea (right) have been named the Panther Student-Athletes of the Week for their performances during the week of Feb. 15 to Feb. 21.


BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Softball’s Krista Patterson and men’s swimming’s Nir Barnea have been named the Panther Student-Athletes of the Week for their performances during the week of Feb. 15 to Feb. 21.


Patterson was instrumental in helping No. 14 Florida Tech sweep Sunshine State Conference rival Tampa for the first time in 11 years over the weekend. The shortstop belted the go-ahead home run in the fifth inning of Game One before blasting a walk-off shot in extras of Game Two.

In addition to her pair of homers, Patterson finished the series with a .400 batting average to go along with six RBI’s and five runs scored.

Through 15 games this season, the transfer from Florida State College at Jacksonville currently tops the SSC in RBI’s (14) and runs (15), while also sharing the league lead in home runs (3) and walks (11).

Barnea made history Thursday after becoming Florida Tech’s very first men’s gold medalist and just the second gold medalist in the history of Panther swimming, matching the feat by Dar Raz at last season’s conference championships.

The junior Israeli narrowly edged out Thiago Sickert of Nova Southeastern to take the gold medal in the 50 yard freestyle with a school record time of 19.98, one hundredth of a second faster than his previous top time.

Barnea was also a member of the Panthers’ silver medal 200 free and 400 free relay teams. Clipping Saint Leo in the 400 free relay by five hundredths of a second, Florida Tech’s time was not only good enough for a B Cut and a school record, but currently sits as the sixth fastest in the nation.

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Florida Tech Panthers End Sunshine State Conference Play With 55-45 Victory

FIT softball will welcome No. 6 Valdosta State to Nancy Bottge Field on Tuesday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Live video, audio and stats will be available for both games at FloridaTechSports.com/live.

The conference championships, meanwhile, mark the close to the 2016 season for the men’s swimming team. However, qualifying athletes will take part in the NCAA Championships, slated for March 9 through 12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.