The University of Florida swimming and diving program finished atop the men’s and women’s standings at the first-ever All Florida Invitational this weekend. The Gator men and women finished first together in an invitational for the first time since the 2008 Princeton Invite in December of 2008.
“It was great to get some experience this early in the season,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “At the same time, there were a lot of things I saw out there that we can improve on.”
Opening its season at home for the first time since 2003-04, Florida won 31 of the meet’s 40 events (.775) overall and nine of its 10 relay events. The Gator women finished the meet with 1,032 points, while the UF men ended the weekend with 1,139 points. Florida State finished second on both the men’s (880) and women’s (847.50) side. Miami (Fla.) took third on the women’s side (733.50), while the Florida Atlantic men placed third as well (687).
Leading the way on the men’s side was 2010 NCAA Male Swimmer of the Year Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.), who finished first in eight men’s events. The senior captain won the 200-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard freestyle, while being part of Florida’s winning 200-yard freestyle relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay and 200-yard medley relay teams.
Freshman Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) had an impressive debut weekend as a collegiate athlete, anchoring the women’s efforts with eight women’s event victories, seven of which were qualifying “B” standard times for the 2011 NCAA Championships. Beisel triumphed in the 500 free, 200 IM, 200 free, 100 and 200-yard backstroke and 200 fly, while joining teammates in capturing the 400 medley relay and 400 free relay.
Ending the weekend with five event titles was senior Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore.). Storie notched victories in the men’s 200 free, 400 medley relay, and the 200, 400 and 800 free relay. Also capturing 400 and 800 free relay titles was junior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.), who swam to four victories, including the women’s 400 IM and 400 medley relay. The 2009-10 All-American recorded four qualifying “B” standard times for the 2011 NCAA Championships.
Finishing with three victories was junior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.). Bateman placed first in the women’s 50 free and 100 fly, while joining a trio of Gators to capture the 200 free relay.
A trio of male Gators finished the All Florida Invitational with two victories each. Freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) took first in the men’s 400 IM and 400 medley relay. Junior Robby Kennedy (Ft. Myers, Fla.) finished atop the standings in the men’s 200 back and 400 medley relay, and senior Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) won the men’s 200 fly and 800 free relay.
Other Gators winning individual events included sophomore Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.) in the men’s 500 free, freshman Alicia Mathieu (Marlborough, Conn.) and senior Joey Pedraza (Miami, Fla.) in the 1,650 free, and senior diver Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) and junior Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.) in the three-meter diving competition.
The Gators return to action on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, when defending 2010 ACC Champion Virginia comes to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Meet time is scheduled for 1 p.m. with admission being free of charge. Sun Sports will televise the meet at a later date. Fans are also encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program on Twitter or Facebook for live updates, photos and video from the event.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS
WOMEN
| PLACE | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1. | University of Florida | 1,032 |
| 2. | Florida State University | 847.50 |
| 3. | University of Miami | 733.50 |
| 4. | Florida Gulf Coast University | 547 |
| 5. | Florida Atlantic University | 378 |
| 6. | Florida Southern College | 154 |
| 7. | Nova Southeastern University | 121 |
MEN
| PLACE | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1. | University of Florida | 1,139 |
| 2. | Florida State University | 880 |
| 3. | Florida Atlantic University | 687 |
| 4. | Nova Southeastern University | 444 |
| 5. | Florida Southern College | 383 |
| 6. | University of Miami | 36 |
