GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 4 University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each maintained their stay near the top of the standings on day two of the 2010 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational Saturday. The Gator men still sit in second place with 766 points, while the women continue to maintain the third spot with 595 points.
“I was really pleased with how our swimmers competed on the second day, especially towards the end during the 800-yard freestyle relays,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow to see how they respond mentally.”
Florida dominated the finals of the 400-yard individual medley, with freshman Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) gaining the Orange and Blue’s first automatic qualifying time for the 2011 NCAA Championships. The Nov. 10 Counsilman-Hunsaker National Collegiate Female Swimmer of the Week finished second in the event with a blistering time of 4:06.84, the second-fastest time in school history.
Beisel’s time, which is the second-fastest in the country this season, fell just two-tenths of a second shy of the first-place nation-best time of 4:06.66 swam by Texas A&M’s Sarah Henry. Also picking up a NCAA qualifying mark in the event was junior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.), whose fifth-place season-best finish of 4:15.23 marked a NCAA “B” cut time, her second in the event this year.
On the men’s side, senior captain Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) competed in the event for the first time all season, swimming a personal best by clocking a Florida season-best 3:45.21, the ninth-quickest time in UF history. The mark shattered the previous nation-leading time by nearly seven seconds, marking the second-consecutive day Dwyer has swam a NCAA-leading time this season. Dwyer also won the finals of the 200-yard freestyle with a season-best 1:36.16. The NCAA “B” cut time in the 200 free by Dwyer is the third-fastest in the country this season.
Sophomore Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa) took second in the men’s 400 IM with his second NCAA qualifying time in as many days, clocking a season-best 3:54.48 for the fifth-quickest time in the country this year. Freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) also continued his impressive weekend, placing third with a personal-best 3:55.01, the sixth-fastest NCAA time this season in the event.
Other Gators having notable nights included senior Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands), juniors Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) and Lily Ramirez (Gainesville, Fla.) and sophomore Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.). Fraser swam personal bests in both the finals of the men’s 100-yard backstroke (48.66) and 100-yard butterfly (UF season-best 48.88), finishing second and third, respectively. Stafford and Bohunicky both swam NCAA qualifying times in the finals of the women’s 200 free, with Stafford taking second (season-best 1:47.03) and Bohunicky placing sixth (1:48.54). In the finals of the women’s 100 back, Ramirez took fourth with a season best and NCAA “B” cut time of 54.73, while Stafford also clocked a NCAA “B” cut time by finishing in sixth in 55.10.
The Orange and Blue found success again in relay competition on day two, swimming three NCAA qualifying times in four races. The Gator women started off night two of the invitational with a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Ramirez, junior Daniela Victoria (Plantation, Fla.), Stafford and junior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) swam a UF season-best 1:41.36, Florida’s second NCAA “B” qualifying time in the event this season. The men’s combo of sophomore Cameron Martin (Clearwater, Fla.), sophomore Rodion Davelaar (Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles), Fraser and Dwyer placed third with a 1:30.72 mark.
In the last two events of the evening, the 800-yard freestyle relays, the Gator men and women each placed in the top two. The men, led by Fraser, sophomore Scott Sommer (Ocala, Fla.), Rousseau and Dwyer, won the event with a season-best time of 6:31.74, the Gators’ first NCAA “B” cut time in the event this season. One event earlier, the Gator women’s foursome of Bohunicky, Stafford, Crippen and Beisel registered a NCAA qualifying time of their own, taking second with a season-best time of 7:11.99.
In diving competition, junior Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.) led the way for the men with a 350.15 finish (352.30 prelims) on the three-meter boards, while senior Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) highlighted the women’s efforts with a fifth-place 274.40 finish on the one-meter boards.
The Gators return to the pool tomorrow for the final day of the invitational, with live results being found here. Results from day two can be found here. Fans are also encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program on Twitter or Facebook.
2010 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational Standings After Day Two
| MEN | WOMEN | ||||
| Rank | Team | Score | Rank | Team | Score |
| 1. | Florida State | 910.5 | 1. | Texas A&M | 1143.5 |
| 2. | Florida | 766 | 2. | Florida State | 696.5 |
| 3. | Clemson | 415 | 3. | Florida | 595 |
| 4. | Michigan State | 402 | 4. | Miami | 372 |
| 5. | Georgia Tech | 386 | 5. | North Carolina State | 228 |
| 6. | North Carolina State | 375.5 | 6. | Georgia Tech | 213 |
| 7. | Florida Atlantic | 245 | 7. | Clemson | 190 |
| 8. | Gardner-Webb | 167 | 8. | Florida Gulf Coast | 183 |
| 9. | Auburn | 104 | 9. | Michigan State | 170 |
| 10. | Texas A&M | 57 | 10. | Florida Atlantic | 155 |
| 11. | Miami (Fla.) | 36 | 11. | U.S. Air Force Academy | 122 |
| T-12. | U.S. Air Force Academy | 2 | 12. | Gardner-Webb | 85 |
| T-12. | Emory University | 2 | 13. | Auburn | 77 |
