The University of Florida swimming and diving program finished day two of the inaugural three-day All Florida Invitational Friday still atop the men’s and women’s standings.
Senior captain Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) continued his success this weekend, winning two individual events, while being part of two relay first-place finishes. The reigning 2010 NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year captured the men’s 100-yard butterfly in 49.42, while winning the men’s 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 56.47. Additionally, Dwyer finished first in the men’s 200-yard medley relay (1:31.99) alongside fellow senior captain Michael Yuan (Winter Springs, Fla.), sophomore Rodion Davelaar (Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles) and senior Matthew Norton (Port Orange, Fla.). In the last event of day two, Dwyer joined fellow seniors Norton, Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) and Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore.) in winning the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:43.83.
In the women’s 800 free relay, the Gators finished first and second despite splitting up their A and B squads and competing without All-American junior Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.). The quartet of junior Kirsten Smith (Cary, N.C.), freshman Trish Regan (Carmel, Ind.), sophomore Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.) and junior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) took first in lane three with a time of 7:24.82. Finishing second in lane one with a time of 7:27.25 was junior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.), freshman Kaitlin Frehling (St. Petersburg, Fla.), sophomore Corinne Showalter (Sarasota, Fla.) and freshman Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.). Florida State finished third (7:28.76) and fourth (7:38.09) in the event.
Beisel collected individual wins in the women’s 100-yard backstroke (54.11) and 200-yard freestyle (1:48.32). The freshman’s time in both races marked qualifying B-standard times for the 2011 NCAA Championships. Stafford (55.58) and junior Lily Ramirez (Gainesville, Fla) (55.67) finished second and third, respectively. Two more Gators joined Beisel again in the top three, with Bohunicky placing second (1:49.91) and Crippen placing third.
On top of Crippen’s 800 free-relay victory, the All-American placed first in the women’s 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:19.60. Her finish was a qualifying B-standard time for the 2011 NCAA Championships. On the men’s side of the 400 IM, freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) won his first career individual event with a time of 3:57.52.
Other Gator victories on night two included Bateman in the 100 fly (55.07), Storie in the 200 free (1:39.27) and junior diver Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.) in the three-meter diving competition (372.80).
The inaugural All Florida Invitational wraps up Sunday at 9 a.m. with prelims, followed by finals at 4 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program on Twitter or Facebook for live updates, photos and video from the event. Admission is free for those looking to attend the events.
TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY TWO
WOMEN
| PLACE | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1. | University of Florida | 699 |
| 2. | Florida State University | 625.50 |
| 3. | University of Miami | 551.50 |
| 4. | Florida Gulf Coast University | 371 |
| 5. | Florida Atlantic University | 278 |
| 6. | Florida Southern College | 123 |
| 7. | Nova Southeastern University | 92 |
MEN
| PLACE | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1. | University of Florida | 788 |
| 2. | Florida State University | 614 |
| 3. | Florida Atlantic University | 509 |
| 4. | Nova Southeastern University | 316 |
| 5. | Florida Southern College | 287 |
| 6. | University of Miami | 36 |
DAY ONE RECAP
The Gators led from start to finish on day one, winning the first seven events in finals of the evening session. Florida State finished the day second in both the men’s and women’s, while Miami and Florida Atlantic took third in the women’s and men’s, respectively.
The 2010 NCAA Women’s Champions picked up right where they left off, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:32.94 with the combination of junior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.), junior Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.), freshman Kaitlin Frehling (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and sophomore Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.). Not to be outdone, Florida’s male foursome of junior James Turner (Ft. Pierce, Fla.), senior Matthew Norton (Port Orange, Fla.), senior Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) and Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore.), captured the men’s 200 free relay with a time of 1:21.89.
Freshman Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) collected her first career event win, placing first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:46.66). Beisel’s mark was faster than all but three Florida times last year, as well as a qualified B-standard time for the 2011 NCAA Championships. The men’s team placed one through three as well in the 500 free, with sophomore Jason Taylor finishing first (4:28.67), senior Joey Pedraza (Miami, Fla.) taking second (4:31.00) and senior Balazs Gercsak coming in third (4:32.19).
Beisel would win her second event of the evening in the 200-yard individual medley, swimming the finals in a time of 1:59.70. Beisel’s finish was faster than all but one Florida time last year, as well as a qualified B-standard time for the 2011 NCAA Championships. Following Beisel, Dwyer and Bateman would jump back in the pool and notch their second wins of the evening, with Dwyer swimming 1:50.43 in the finals of the men’s 200 IM, and Bateman swimming 22.89 in the finals of the 50 free. Bateman’s mark was 14-tenths of a second away from being a top-10 time in school history and was faster than all but three Florida times last year.
The men’s 50 free was the only event of the night the Gators did not win, with Mark Weber of Florida State ousting Storie by 31/100ths of a second. Dwyer finished third in the event, ending his night with top-three finishes in every event swam.
The Gators capped the first day off by picking up victories in the finals of the women’s and men’s 400-yard medley relay. The tandem of Beisel, junior Daniela Victoria (Plantation, Fla.), Crippen and Stafford won the women’s event with a time of 3:44.52, while the men’s group of freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.), junior Robert Kennedy (Ft. Myers, Fla.), sophomore Cameron Martin (Clearwater, Fla) and Storie took first in 3:23.99.
Earlier in the afternoon, diver Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.), the only senior on the women’s swimming and diving team, won the three-meter diving competition with a score of 326.10. Sam Dorman of Miami won the men’s one-meter diving competition with a score of 357.55. Florida State’s Landon Marzullo finished second, while Florida juniors Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.) (344.25) and Jonathan Speed (Jupiter, Fla.) rounded out the top four.
