The University of Florida swimming and diving team clinched a double-dual victory over Florida State Wednesday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium, in a meet that saw the Orange and Blue claim 25 victories, sweep three events and tally seven NCAA “B” cuts. The men remained undefeated on the season at 2-0-1 after they posted 175 points to FSU’s 121, while the women captured a 176-119 victory to stand 3-1 on the year.
“We were a little disappointed after the Georgia meet, but we came back pretty well tonight,” remarked head coach Gregg Troy. “I think the whole team needed the chance to get their hand on the wall first, and they were able to do that against Florida State.”
Senior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) anchored the women with three victories, sweeping the 50 and 100 free in 22.35 and 49.02, respectively. Bateman also captured the 100 fly in 53.96 to earn a team-high three victories, and post NCAA provisional marks in each event.
The Orlando native led the way for a Gator sweep in the 100 fly as Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) and Ellese Zalewski (Melbourne, Australia) finished second and third in the event with respective times of 56.60 and 56.69.
Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.) and Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) each took home two victories for Florida. Bohunicky, a Gainesville native, touched the wall in 4:51.49 to finish first in the 500 free and claim the 200 free in 1:48.79 to lead a slew of Gators to finish two-and-three in the event. Natasha Fung (Edmonton, Canada) and Zalewski followed closely behind Bohunicky finishing in 1:49.96 and 1:50.09, to take second and third, respectively.
Beisel swept both back events taking the top spot in both the 100 (55.30) and 200 (1:56.90) events.
Four separate members of the men’s squad captured two victories apiece. Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) took home first in both the 1,000 free with a time of 9:07.74 and 200 IM, touching the wall in 1:50.56, while sophomore Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland) swept both fly events, capturing the 100 in 49.06 and 200 in 1:47.41, a NCAA provisional “B” cut. Teammate Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) also claimed a sweep for the Gators in the 50 and 100 free, clocking in at 20.32 and 45.38, respectively.
Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.) took home victories in the middle-distance free events for UF, claiming the 500 free in 4:27.01, and leading the way for a Gator sweep in the 200 free. A pair of freshmen in Dan Wallace (North Berwick, Scotland) and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez (Madrid, Spain) followed closely behind Taylor, finishing in 1:39.77 and 1:40.56, respectively to close out the Florida sweep in the 200 free.
Other Gators claiming victories were Crippen in the 200 fly (1:59.35) and freshman Rebecca Rainer (Richmond, Va.) in the 200 breast (2:15.76), each hitting NCAA “B” marks. Also joining them was Angelina Ballatore (Gainesville, Fla.), winning the 1,000 free in 9:54.92.
Freshmen Matt Curby (Oviedo, Fla.), Matt Elliott (Peoria, Ill.) and Solaeche-Gomez also took home individual wins for Florida as Curby took the 10 back in 50.66 Elliott finished the 100 breast in 55.53 and Solaeche-Gomez claimed the 200 breast in 2:03.04.
Curby and Elliott teamed up with Cieslak and deBorde earlier in the evening to win the 200 medley relay in 1:31.84. Together, Curby and deBorde have remained undefeated when they team-up, and take to the pool for a nail-biting relay performance.
The women combined to take top spots in both relays on the evening. The quartet of Beisel, Hilda Luthersdottir (Harnarfjordur, Iceland), Bateman and Kaitlin Frehling (St. Petersburg, Fla.) opened the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay, touching the wall in 1:42.67. Beisel and Frehling later closed out the meet with the help of Crippen and Bohunicky finishing first in the 400 free relay with a 1:42.67 mark. Both relay teams hit NCAA provisional “B” marks.
On the boards, Danielle Risley (Jacksonville, Fla.) was the lone Gator to take home a top finish, taking first in the 1-meter event with 297.22 points. Teammate Kaylee Doback (Brandon, Fla.) finished second in the same event with a score of 279.53, while also finishing second on the three-meter boards with 308.62 points – a season-high performance.
