The University of Florida swimming and diving program finished atop both the men’s and women’s standings at the second annual All-Florida Invitational this weekend. The women finished with five relay and fifteen individual victories to accumulate 1,074 points and the first-place finish, while the men brought home four relay and nine individual victories throughout the weekend to finish atop the standings.
On the third day of competition, Florida won all but one competition in the men’s 1,650 relay.
“I’m pretty pleased with the whole meet,” remarked head coach Gregg Troy. “I think we still have some big holes to fill, but we have a lot of great leadership and great potential.”
Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) secured the first victory of the night for the Gators in the 1,650 free when she touched the wall in a NCAA “B” 16:09.89.
Four pairs of Gators combined to sweep the first-place spot in the remaining individual events. Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) and Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) each won the 200 back, with Signorin finishing in 1:48.87 and Crippen in 1:57.32, a NCAA “B” cut. Crippen, a U.S. National Team member, then finished first in the 200 fly alongside Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw Poland), at 1:58.54 and 1:47.31, respectively. Both times qualify as NCAA “B” cuts for the Gators. Senior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) teamed up with sophomore Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) to claim both 100 free titles for Florida.
The last duo of Florida swimmers that claimed both the men and women titles separate themselves from the pack, as they were both freshmen. Rebecca Rainer (Richmond, Va.) and Matt Elliott (Peoria, Ill.) both won the 200 breast; hitting NCAA “B” cuts in 2:17.21 and 1:59.06, respectively.
The All-Florida Invitational saw Elliott claim three individual titles in the 400 IM, 100 breast and 200 breast and swim on three winning relay teams. His performance, along with the slew of other freshmen who took to the pool allowed Troy to access not only where his underclassmen are, but where they can go from here-on-out in the season.
“For the most part the freshman did very well this weekend,” explained Troy. “They responded well to a race situation, which is great to see, and they also had the opportunity to see a full, three-day meet. That in itself is unusual this early in the season. They have yet to go up against a big SEC opponent, but this gives them the opportunity to get a little more settled.”
The Gator divers also helped to put points on the board throughout the three-day competition. On the one-meter springboard, Danielle Risley (Jacksonville, Fla.) finished fifth while Kaylee Doback (Brandon, Fla.) finished eighth, each scoring 256.35 and 244.40 points, respectively. For the men’s diving team, Chris Jones (Palm City, Fla.) scored 315.70 to finish fourth, Sean Saley (Pompano Beach, Fla.) finished sixth with 278.20 and David Springfels (Bradenton, Fla.) scored 275.65 for seventh.
The three-meter competition saw three Florida divers finish fifth through seventh in Saley (305.10), Jones (305.10) and Springfels (301.55). Doback secured second place in the three-meter event when she totaled 301.45 points, while Risley finished sixth at 256.10.
| WOMEN | ||
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Florida | 1074 |
| 2 | Florida State | 911 |
| 3 | Florida Gulf Coast | 594 |
| 4 | Miami | 467 |
| 5 | Florida Atlantic | 334 |
| 6 | Florida International | 184 |
| 7 | North Florida | 136 |
| 8 | Florida Southern | 90 |
| 9 | Nova SouthEastern | 83 |
| MEN | ||
| Place | Team | Points |
| 1 | Florida | 1092 |
| 2 | Florida State | 949 |
| 3 | Florida Atlantic | 608 |
| 4 | Florida Southern | 470 |
| 5 | Nova SouthEastern | 438 |
| 6 | Miami | 40 |
