ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 19/24 Florida State swimming and diving teams opened competition at the Georgia Invite on Thursday at the Gabrielsen Natatorium. “I thought we had a good first day,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “We had season and career-best swims across the board. We were much better at night, so tomorrow we’ll look to adjust and get it done in the morning.” Peter Varjasi paced the 19th-ranked Noles, swimming in five races. Varjasi won silver in the 200 IM behind a four-second drop, touching at 1:43.17 (NCAA B), which was under the 2022 NCAA invited time. Varjasi qualified third for the final at 1:44.80 in prelims. His swim was the second fastest in FSU history behind Pavel Sankovich’s school record (1:41.92) which was set back in 2014. Varjasi started the night by leading off the 200 free relay, splitting 19.43 and helping FSU finish sixth with a team of Mason Herbet, Blake Moran, and Ian Cooper at 1:17.84. The Seminoles were also sixth in the 400 medley relay to close out the session behind Arijus Pavlidi, Tommaso Baravelli, Herbet, and Varjsi at 3:08.71. In prelims, Varjasi qualified eighth in the 50 free for the final at 19.65 in prelims but scratched to focus on relays and the 200 IM. Yordan Yanchev swam a season-best in the 500 free, touching at 4:15.02 for fourth place. His time was an NCAA B standard and was just shy of the 2022 NCAA Invite time (4:14.96). The Noles showed their depth in the 200 IM and in addition to Varjasi, three others swam in the other final heats. Herbet won the consolation final with a time of 1:44.03 (NCAA B), which was just under his personal best. Baravelli followed in 13th behind his best at 1:45.58 (NCAA B). Max Wilson swam in the bonus heat, touching at 1:47.18 after posting his best at 1:46.98 in prelims. FSU had three swimmers in the consolation heat of the 50 free, led by Cooper in 13th (19.97), Moran in 15th (20.12), and Keblys (20.54) in 16th. The No. 24 women’s team came out and started finals off by placing fourth in the 200 free relay (1:30.74) behind Zsofia Kurdi, Gloria Muzito, Maddie McDonald, and Tania Quaglieri. Edith Jernstedt swam a career-best in the 200 IM, leading the Noles with a seventh-place finish at 1:59.01 (NCAA B). The swim ranks sixth in school history. Anna Metzler tied for 12th swimming in the B final, touching at 2:00.63. Aryanna Fernandes placed 22nd competing in the bonus heat, touching at 2:01.81. Muzito won the consolation heat of the 50 free (22.73), contributing a personal-best, just ahead of Kurdi (22.75) in 10th. McDonald followed in 14th (23.14), which was her best. On short rest, McDonald led off the 400 medley relay with a split of 53.62 in the 100 back, helping FSU place fourth at 3:34.51 with Maddy Huggins, Jernstedt, and Kurdi. Samantha Vear continued to shine for the Noles on the boards, finishing second on 3-meter with a score of 326.30. Izzy Gregersen followed in the seventh at285.05 and Vivian Johnson placed 10th at 264.15. Tazman Abramowicz returned to the lineup and led FSU in the men’s 1-meter event, placing 11th with a score of 273.50 after posting a score of 296.80 in prelims. Jesco Helling placed 13th (266.10) and Darwin Nolasco was 16th (244.65). “The ladies were fantastic today,” FSU head diving coach John Proctor said. “Sammy has been at the top of her game this year and she had another great day today. The guys didn’t have their best day, but it was great to see Tazman get back in the swing of things.” The second CSCAA poll of the season was released, with both teams making the top 25. The men moved up from No.21 to No.19 and the women captured the No.24 spot. Friday’s prelims will start at 9:30 a.m., and finals will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday 200 medley relay 400 IM 100 fly 200 free 100 breast 100 back 800 free relay Women’s 1-meter/Men’s 3-meter Saturday 1650 free 200 back 100 free 200 breast 200 fly 400 free relay Platform The top 24 swimmers from each individual event from prelims will advance to finals. For more information, visit Facebook (FSUSwimmingDiving), Twitter (@FSU_Swimming), and Instagram (@fsuswimdive).