The
University of Florida Swimming and Diving teams scored an impressive victory over
Missouri in the SEC opening dual meet for both schools Columbia on Thursday.
The
Gator men topped Missouri by a score of 169-130 and won 12 of 16 events. The
women won the day by a score of 181-109, including 13 of 16 events. Senior Elizabeth
Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) led the Gators with a pair of individual
victories and a second place swim. On the men’s side, sophomore Corey Main (Auckland,
New Zealand) had his hand in four total victories.
The
men’s team (2-0, 1-0 SEC) now has consecutive victories over teams that placed
in the top-18 at last year’s NCAA Championships. The women’s team (1-0, 1-0 SEC)
will look to take today’s momentum into the weekend with a two-day dual against
the University of California beginning on Saturday.
Early
Season Speed: The
Gator men rank in the top-five in the nation in 14 individual events and the top-three
in the nation in all five relay events after three meets. The women’s team
ranks in the top-five in the nation in eight individual events and the top-five
in four relay events after two meets this year.
Series
History: Both
Gator teams moved to 1-0 against Missouri in the programs’ first ever matchup.
The two SEC foes will next compete against one another at the SEC Championships.
The
Streak Continues: The
UF men’s team extended its unbeaten streak in dual meets to 17 straight with
Thursday’s victory. The Gators last dropped a dual in a Jan. 2011 meet against
Auburn.
Sound
Bites:
·
“Overall,
I was pleased with how we raced top to bottom. We had some people racing for
fifth or sixth, but we were real good about winning those races. That speaks
volumes to the depth we are developing. That type of thing is good as we move forward
in the season. A lot of the impressive swims were not actually wins. Some of
the younger people and our veterans were in events that they are not used to
swimming. We are in some situations where we have some focused races. That is
very good because race skills translate into all events.”- Head Coach Gregg
Troy
·
“Sebastien
Rousseau continued to be very good about getting his hand on the wall. Mitch D’Arrigo’s
1000 freestyle was a little bit of a surprise. We weren’t quite sure of his
range, but for him to go out like that was pretty impressive. On the women’s
side, Elizabeth Beisel’s 1000 freestyle, and then to come right back out in the
backstroke, was very good to see. Sinead Russell continues to be very solid and
mechanical with her races. Overall it was a pretty good day.”- Head Coach Gregg
Troy
Relay
Magic:
·
The
Gator women kicked off the day with a convincing first place finish in the 200
medley relay (1:41.36). Sophomore Sinead Russell (Burlington, Ontario,
Canada) led off and was followed by senior Hilda Luthersdottir (Hafnarfjordur,
Iceland), senior Ellese Zalewski (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore Natalie
Hinds (Midland, Texas).
·
The
men equaled the women’s start, placing first behind the likes of Main, junior Eduardo
Solaeche-Gomez (Madrid, Spain), senior Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland)
and senior Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.). The foursome clocked in at
1:28.20.
·
The
Gator women capped off the meet as the 400 relay team of sophomore Lindsey
McKnight (Coral Springs, Fla.), Zalewski, Hinds and Russell delivered a
time of 3:25.98.
·
The
Gator men cashed in the second fastest 400 free relay (2:57.29) in the nation
this season behind the quartet of Cieslak, deBorde, red-shirt senior Sebastien
Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa) and Main.
Distance
Derby:
·
Beisel
paved the way for the Gators in the 1000 free, throwing down the nation’s fastest
time of 9:43.79. Sophomore Megan Rankin (Irvine, Calif.) touched in
10:02.69 for second.
·
Freshman
Mitch D’Arrigo (Rome, Italy) won his second collegiate event, coasting
to first in the 1000 free in a time of 9:08.55. Sophomore Arthur Frayler (Fort
Washington, Pa.) placed second behind his teammate in a time of 9:11.64.
Backs
to the Wall:
·
Beisel
touched first in the 100 back with an NCAA B cut mark of 54.29.
·
Main
scored his second victory of the year in the 100 back, touching in a NCAA B cut
time of 48.03
·
Sophomore
Ashlee Linn (Sarasota, Fla.) finished first in the 200 back with a mark of
2:01.17.
·
Rousseau
out-touched Missouri’s Carter Griffin for a win in the 200 back (1:46.87).
Spirited
Sprints:
·
Zalewski
swept the sprint events, winning the 50 free in 23.30 and the 100 free in
50.32. The Gators turned in a 1-4 finish in the 100 free, as Hinds came in
second in 50.54. Russell and sophomore Taylor Roy (Woodstock, Ga.)
rounded it out for the Orange and Blue.
·
deBorde
touched in 20.49 in the splash-and-dash, the fastest time in the field.
·
Main
won the 100 free in 45.13, giving him five individual victories on the season
in different events.
Breaststroke
Breakdown:
·
Missouri’s
Sam Tierney notched a victory in the 100 breast (55.13). Cieslak and junior Ricky
Munch (Clifton, Va.) followed behind in 55.56 and 56.02, respectively.
Cieslak’s time was a career low for him in the event.
·
The
Tigers picked up a win in the 100 breast behind freshman Katherine Ross
(1:01.90). Luthersdottir placed second in 1:03.05.
·
Luthersdottir
led a 1-2 charge in the 200 breast, beating Beisel by .07 with a time of
2:16.65.
·
Elliott
is now a perfect three for three in the 200 breast, breaking the two-minute
barrier for the first time this season (1:58.25) and also picking up an NCAA B
cut.
Fast
Flying:
·
Freshman
Taylor Katz (Sarasota, Fla.) earned her second career victory, winning
the 200 butterfly in a time of 2:02.68. Katz was trailed by a quartet of
Gators: junior Jordan Smith (Longwood, Fla.), junior Summer Stephens (Louisville,
Ky.) and Roy.
·
Solaeche-Gomez
(1:47.85) notched his first 200 fly win of the year, notching an NCAA B cut
along the way. Wallace placed second with a time of 1:48.98.
·
Cieslak
picked up his second win of the season in the 100 fly after dropping a time of
47.50 and narrowly topping his NCAA best 47.36.
Mid
Distance:
·
McKnight
tallied her first second win of the season and first of the year in the 500
free (4:52.48). McKnight spearheaded a 1-5 finish in front of senior Alicia
Mathieu (Marlborough, Conn.), junior Molly Dubrasky (Estero, Fla.),
Katz and freshman Autumn Finke (Clearwater, Fla.).
·
Wallace
now boasts the two fastest times in the country in the 500 free after touching
in a time of 4:24.25. Teammate junior Carlos Omana (Miami, Fla.)
registered a second place swim in 4:32.43.
·
Rousseau
capitalized in the 200 free, winning in a time of 1:46.87.
Medley
Madness:
·
Rebecca
Rainer (Richmond,
Va.) led the Gators in the 400 IM, finishing the fastest of her five teammates
with a time of 4:24.40. Smith notched a time of 4:24.51 and freshman Danielle
Valley (Bradenton, Fla.) notched a time of 4:24.97.
·
Elliott
scored his second win of the meet and first in the 400 IM this season with a
time of 3:55.50. Senior Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) came in
second in a time of 3:57.24.
Diving
Results:
·
Sophomore
Kahlia Warner (Queensland, Australia) scored her second one-meter
victory of the year, winning with a six-line total of 275.93. Warner held off
fellow classmate Missouri’s Lauren Reedy (274.35), but Reedy (295.50) returned
the favor by narrowly outscoring Warner (293.25) on the three-meter.
·
Red-shirt
sophomore Zach Hernandez (Johns Creek, Ga.) placed third (304.50) behind
the 2013 SEC Champion David Bonuchi on the three-meter.
Next
up: The
Gator women will continue on to Berkley, Calif., to compete in a two-day dual
meet with California. The Golden Bears placed second at last year’s NCAA
Championships and were NCAA Champions in 2011 and 2012. The Gator men will be
idle until both teams host Georgia at the O’Connell Center on Nov. 1.
