GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Behind a pair of nation-leading times from junior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) and senior captain Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.), the No. 4 University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded day one of competition Friday at the 2010 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational in the top five of the overall team standings.
“We had some very good first-semester performances,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “I’m really pleased with how well the entire team raced, and I hope that we continue the tough racing.”
Bateman continued her undefeated streak in the women’s 50-yard freestyle, winning the finals of the event for the fifth-consecutive meet. The junior’s time of 22.41 marked the fastest time in the country in the event and qualified as a NCAA “B” cut time, while falling just three-tenths of a second short of breaking the school record (22.16) set by junior Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) last season. In the men’s 50 free finals, senior Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) took fourth with a UF season-best time of 20.48.
“Sarah continues to make the 50 free her race,” Troy said. “On the men’s side, Conor keeps showing the results of his hard work.”
Dwyer, who on Nov. 3 was named the Counsilman-Hunsaker National Collegiate Male Swimmer of the Week, shattered the nation’s top time in the 200-yard individual medley finals by more than three seconds. The 2010-11 U.S. National Team member clocked a personal-best 1:45.52 to own the nation’s best time, tying Eric Donnelly’s 2002 mark for the 10th-fastest in school history. In the women’s 200 IM finals, junior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) returned to action for the first time since Oct. 11 vs. Virginia, finishing fifth with a season-best 2:01.56, her first NCAA “B” cut time in the event this season.
The Florida women recorded four NCAA provisional times in the 500 free. Freshman Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.), the only freshman in SEC history to win SEC Female Swimmer of the Week twice in one season (Oct. 12 and Nov. 9), swam a personal best and UF season-best 4:43.30 to finish third in the finals of the event. Beisel’s mark was her third NCAA “B” cut time in the event this season and the fifth-fastest time in the country this year. Sophomore Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.) won the B final of the event with her fourth NCAA qualifying time (4:47.83) in the event this year, while freshman Alicia Mathieu (Marlborough, Conn.) took second in the B final (4:51.90), her first 2010-11 NCAA “B” cut time in the event. In the morning prelims, sophomore Corinne Showalter (Sarasota, Fla.) also recorded her first NCAA “B” cut time in the 500 free with a mark of 4:52.41.
On the men’s side, sophomore Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa) took second in the finals of the 500 free with a personal-best 4:24.71. Rousseau’s time also marked a UF season best and is the fifth-quickest time in the NCAA this season. On top of Rousseau’s first NCAA provisional mark of the season, freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) and sophomore Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.) also recorded their first NCAA “B” cut times in the finals. Signorin clocked a personal-best 4:26.17 to finish third, while Taylor finished fourth with a 4:26.20 mark. In the morning prelims, senior Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) also picked up a NCAA qualifying time with a 4:26.91 second-place finish. Gercsak finished 10th in the finals.
In relay competition, the Orange and Blue swam season-best times in all four events. Freshman Kaitlin Frehling (St. Petersburg, Fla.) joined Stafford, Bateman and fellow freshman Alana Pazevic (Mill Creek, Wash.) to record a third-place 1:32.49 NCAA provisional mark in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay. The time is the 10th-fastest in the nation this season. The men’s foursome, consisting of junior James Turner (Ft. Pierce, Fla.), Fraser, Dwyer and senior Logan Storie (Corvallis, Ore.), finished fourth in the men’s competition with a 1:21.63 mark.
The last two events of the evening came in the 400-yard medley relay, with both the Gator men and women finishing in the top three. The women’s quartet of Beisel, junior Daniela Victoria (Plantation, Fla.), Crippen and Bateman finished third with a NCAA “B” cut time of 3:42.92, the ninth-fastest mark in the NCAA this season. The men’s group of Fraser, sophomore Rodion Davelaar (Willemstad, Netherland Antilles), Rousseau and Dwyer took second in the last event of the evening. Their NCAA “B” cut time of 3:16.92 marked the fifth-fastest time in the country this season.
On the diving side, senior Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) led the way for the UF women with a fourth-place 321.05 score in the women’s three-meter competition, while junior Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.) had the highest score for the Gator men on the one-meter boards, placing third with (342.65). In the prelims, Lewark finished with a season-best score of 358.95
The Gators return to the pool tomorrow for day two of the invitational. Fans can click here for live results, and are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program on Twitter or Facebook.
2010 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational Standings After Day One
| MEN | WOMEN | ||||
| Rank | Team | Score | Rank | Team | Score |
| 1. | Florida State | 441.5 | 1. | Texas A&M | 487.5 |
| 2. | Florida | 319 | 2. | Florida State | 326.5 |
| 3. | Clemson | 189 | 3. | Florida | 269 |
| 4. | Michigan State | 164 | 4. | Miami | 158 |
| 5. | North Carolina State | 154.5 | 5. | Georgia Tech | 101 |
| 6. | Georgia Tech | 146 | 6. | Michigan State | 98 |
| 7. | Florida Atlantic | 109 | 7. | Clemson | 92 |
| 8. | Gardner-Webb | 68 | 8. | North Carolina State | 77 |
| 9. | Auburn | 40 | 9. | Florida Gulf Coast | 72 |
| 10. | Texas A&M | 31 | 10. | U.S. Air Force Academy | 62 |
| 11. | Miami (Fla.) | 17 | 11. | Florida Atlantic | 60 |
| 12. | U.S. Air Force Academy | 1 | 12. | Auburn | 37 |
| 13. | --- | --- | 13. | Gardner-Webb | 30 |
