Florida Sweeps Michigan, 124-119 Women/135-106 Men

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, October 14. THE No. 5 University of Florida men's swimming and diving team won the meet's first seven events, and took nine total victories, en route to handing eighth-ranked Michigan its first loss in a dual-season opener since 1967-68 by a score of 135-106. The fifth-ranked UF women's team also earned a victory on Saturday, recording 13 NCAA provisional qualifying times and five event wins to take home a 124-119 win over the No. 22 Wolverines.

"We've got a good group of guys here, and we caught them off guard early in the meet," Florida head coach Gregg Troy said. "The women got off to a horrible start, but, about halfway through, decided that they wanted to come back and swim well. We talked last night about what we wanted to accomplish today, and we came out and did those things. We have a long way to go, but we did really well today."

Sophomores Lucas Salatta (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Jonathan Wilcox (Bellevue, Wash.) led the way for the Gator men (1-0, 0-0 SEC), each winning two individual events on the afternoon. Salatta claimed victory in the 200 free (1:37.57) and the 200 back (1:44.51), turning in NCAA provisional qualifying times in both events. Wilcox, a 2006 All-American in the 1M dive, swept the diving competitions with scores of 344.18 and 358.73 in the 1M and 3M dives, respectively. Both tallies give Wilcox NCAA Zone qualifying marks, and his 1M score stands as a career best.

"Lucas Salatta was outstanding in the first half of the meet," Troy said. "We didn't swim him in his best events, and he was still able to give us a different dynamic. The two diving wins were also a great help today, because they gave us the flexibility to be able to swim some guys in different spots. That certainly helped us accomplish our goal of evaluating our team."

Redshirt junior Leah Retrum (Columbus, Ind.) marked her return to collegiate competition after a 15-month hiatus due to shoulder surgery with a first-place finish and an NCAA provisional qualifying time (1:59.43) in the 200 back. Junior Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) was also a highlight for the women, earning two individual wins and posting three NCAA B cuts (two individual, one relay).

"Leah really made a big win for us today," Troy said. "For her to come back after 15 months and win her first event was great. She gave us a huge boost, and it was good to see how she responded to the rigors of competition again."

UF set the tone at the beginning of the meet, as the 400 MR team of junior Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.), Burckle, sophomore Lauren Winter (Dalkeith, Australia) and freshman Elizabeth Kemp (Potomac, Maryland) posted an NCAA provisional time of 3:44.55 on the way to a runner-up finish. The squad of Salatta, freshman Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), sophomore Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and freshman Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) placed first in the men's race with a time of 3:18.77.

The 1,000 free proved to be a key event for both Gator teams, as redshirt junior Katie Ball (Cincinnati, Ohio) won the women's first event of the afternoon with a time of 9:54.79. Junior Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.) followed that performance with a win of his own in the next event, clocking a pace of 9:08.83.

The Florida men continued their winning ways in the 200 free, as Salatta and Fraser (1:38.11) swept the top two spots in the event. The women also turned in a strong showing, with second and third-place finishes from junior Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Kemp, respectively. Pike touched the wall in a time of 1:50.40, and Kemp was not far behind with a mark of 1:50.49.

That momentum carried over into the next two events as junior Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.) posted a win in the 50 free (21.05) and Ally followed with a first-place showing in the 200 individual medley (1:49.62). Freshman Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) finished second in the women's race (23.56), while Winter touched third with a time of 23.70. Senior Matt Coan (Plantation, Fla.) turned in a third-place effort in the 50 free, with a career-best time of 21.43, to help the Gator men build their lead.

Senior Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.), sophomore Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) and sophomore Jenny Lago (Wellington, Fla.) sparked the Florida women in the second half of the meet, claiming the top three spots, respectively, in the 200 fly, each posting an NCAA provisional qualifying time in the process. Weiman clocked in at 2:01.71, Cota finished in 2:02.24 and Lago posted a time of 2:02.35.

The Florida men capped their seven-event win streak in the 200 fly, as Fraser scored his first collegiate win with a time of 1:48.46. The Gators also placed two other swimmers in the top-five of the event when juniors Tim Hughes (Winter Park, Fla.) and J.B. Walsh (Virginia Beach, Va.) took third (1:49.77) and fourth (1:50.27), respectively.

After a runner-up finish in the 100 free by Penniman (46.30), UF produced its most dominant performance of the day, sweeping the top three places of the 200 back. Salatta turned in his second win of the day with a time of 1:44.51, while freshman Omar Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia) placed second (1:48.31) and Rudolf rounded out the trio with a time of 1:49.04.

The UF women turned in their second 1-2-3 performance of the day in the 500 free, as Burckle (4:49.33), Ball (4:53.49) and junior Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.) each notched NCAA B cuts in the event. In the men's race, Work secured his second top-three finish of the day with a 4:28.51, good for third place.

Junior Amanda Hartley (Tallahassee, Fla.) earned runner-up honors in the women's 200 breast with a time of 2:19.93, while senior Ashley Carusone (High Springs, Fla.) was third with a time of 2:22.68. Burckle rounded out the day for the Gator men with a second-place showing in the 200 breast, clocking in at 2:03.28.

Weiman, Kemp, Napier and freshman Sarah Peterson (Franklin, Tenn.) sealed the Gator women's victory with a second-place showing in the 400 FR with a time 3:27.51. UF swam exhibition in the men's 400 FR to close the meet, and the quartet of Salatta, Ally, Fraser and Penniman turned in a time of 3:01.71 that just missed an NCAA provisional cut, and would have been good enough to win the event.

"We had a good week of training and that was evident in the way we swam today," Troy said. "Our distance people did well against a tough group of distance swimmers from Michigan, and our freshmen didn't swim like freshmen today. They showed that they can stand up and race, which will help our older guys out because we'll be able to keep them fresh. What we saw today bodes well for the rest of the season."

With the victory, the Gator women move to 35-0 all-time in their first dual meet of the season. Florida's win on the men's side marked the sixth-consecutive year the Gators have won their initial dual meet of the season, and ran their all-time record in dual openers to 64-10 (.865). The victory also narrowed Michigan's hold on the series advantage to 5-2. The loss was the first season-opening defeat for the Wolverines since dropping an 83-40 decision to Indiana in 1967.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x