GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept Indian River State College at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Sunday afternoon. One day after sweeping top-10 rival Tennessee on Senior Day, the No. 5 men’s team (6-3, 2-1 SEC) defeated the Pioneers, 165-120, while the No. 8 women’s squad (6-4, 1-2 SEC) earned a 157-106 victory to conclude the regular season.
“It was a tremendous weekend for the seniors,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “They (the seniors) had great performances. It was fantastic to watch today’s camaraderie against Indian River, at the senior dinner last night and at breakfast this morning. It was a tremendous way to finish up the dual-meet season for the seniors.”
The Gators walked away with victories in all 34 events. The UF men improved to a flawless 25-0 all-time against IRSC, while the UF women bettered their record to 26-2 against the Pioneers. The meet was a matchup of 2010 national champions, as the Gators women won their first NCAA Championship since 1982 this past season, while the Pioneer women won their 29th consecutive NJCAA Championship. The IRSC men entered this year having won 36-straight NJCAA titles.
To start off the day, freshman Danielle Risley (Jacksonville, Fla.) notched her first two career victories in women’s diving, scoring a career-high 332.55 on the women’s three-meter boards, while winning the one-meter with a score of 284.40. Junior Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.) swept the men’s side for the Orange and Blue, registering a career-high 394.20 on the three-meter boards, as well as a first-place score of 349.35 in one-meter competition.
Following a pair of Gator 400-yard medley relay victories to commence the swimming events, Julia Nagy (Viera, Fla.) swam a personal-best 16:58.51 in the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle. The junior would go on to swim another personal best in the 500 free with a NCAA “B” cut time of 4:51.00. In her only relay competition of the day, Nagy (season-best 24.02 split) teamed up with sophomore Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.) and freshmen Trish Regan (Carmel, Ind.) and Alana Pazevic (Mill Creek, Wash.) to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:33.82. In individual competition, Regan would go on to win the women’s 200-yard individual medley in 2:03.64.
Senior captain Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) followed up Nagy’s win in the 1,650 free with a NCAA provisional mark of 15:05.97 in the men’s 1,650 free, the 11th-fastest NCAA time this season. Sophomore Jonathan Jordan (Tampa, Fla.) took second with a NCAA “B” cut time of 15:27.76. Dwyer’s personal-best time was also third-quickest in the Southeastern Conference this year. The U.S. National Team member (19.89 split) ended his day in the men’s 200 free relay, where he teamed up with junior James Turner (Ft. Pierce, Fla.), fellow senior Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) and freshman Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) to swim UF’s fastest time of the 2010-11 campaign (1:20.26). The NCAA qualifying time marked the second-fastest men’s 200 free relay time in the SEC this season. Later in the day, Fraser would go on to win the men’s 100-yard backstroke in 48.78.
The Gators then swept the 200 free events with juniors Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) and Jeffrey Raymond (Davie, Fla.), who swam times of 1:51.17 and 1:38.43 (season best), respectively. In the women’s 100 back, junior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) clocked in first at a season-best time of 55.27. Following Fraser’s 100 back win, junior Lily Ramirez (Gainesville, Fla.) and sophomore Rodion Davelaar (Willemstad, Netherland Antilles) swept the 100-yard breaststroke with times of 1:04.83 (personal best) and 55.89, respectively. Ramirez also won the women’s 200 back in 2:01.10.
After sophomore Corinne Showalter (Sarasota, Fla.) won the women’s 200-yard butterfly in a season-best 2:04.52, freshman Karl Wolk (Calgary, Canada) registered his first career NCAA “B” cut time in the men’s 200 fly by touching the wall in a personal-best 1:47.23. Sophomore John Lehtonen (Rochester Hills, Mich.) just missed first with a second-place NCAA provisional mark of 1:47.47, which was also a personal best. Lehtonen would go on to capture the men’s 200 breast in a personal-best NCAA provisional time of 1:58.44, while finishing second in the men’s 200 IM with a NCAA “B” cut time of 1:49.06, which was also a personal best. Senior Alex Martin (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) won the men’s 200 IM with a NCAA provisional time of his own, swimming a personal-best 1:48.31.
Redshirt sophomore Marco Loughran (London, England) swam a personal-best 21.33 to capture the men’s 50 free, while freshman Kaitlin Frehling (St. Petersburg, Fla.) picked up her first individual career win by winning the women’s 50 free in a collegiate-best 23.49. Ten events later in the women’s 100 fly, the native Floridian took first in 56.36. Additional winners on the women’s side included freshman Ellese Zalewski (Melbourne, Australia) in the 100 free (51.68) and junior Angelina Ballatore (Gainesville, Fla.) in the 200 breast (2:25.71).
On the men’s side, additional Gator victors included senior Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) in the 100 free (personal-best 46.48), senior Joey Pedraza (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) in the 200 back (season-best 1:50.06), sophomore Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.) in the 500 free (4:30.79) and senior Michael Yuan (Winter Springs, Fla.) in the 100 fly (personal-best 48.15). On a weekend paying homage to himself and 11 other seniors, Yuan marked his first-ever NCAA qualifying time with his NCAA “B” cut time in the 100 fly.
The Orange and Blue finished the weekend sweeping the Pioneers in the women’s (7:47.14) and men’s (6:52.06) 800-yard freestyle relay.
