Meet of the Week Preview: Georgia at Florida

PHOENIX, Arizona, October 24. IN the first SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Meet of the Week from this upcoming weekend, Georgia and Florida do battle in an early SEC tilt.

The other meet being profiled is Utah at UC San Diego on Saturday.

Here is a quick preview of the Georgia/Florida match-up.

Date and Time: Thursday, October 26, 2006; 2 p.m.
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Facility: Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium
Rankings:
Women: No. 5 Georgia at No. 2 Florida
Men: No. 9 Georgia at No. 3 Florida

Georgia's Last Time Out:
Both the men and the women of Georgia opened their home seasons successfully. The men downed Georgia Tech 187-53 and South Carolina 163-78, while the women topped Georgia Tech 146-87 and South Carolina 139-98. For the men, the 400 medley relay the team of Chris Spooner, Neil Versfeld, Nathan Bibliowicz and Joe Smutz placed first in 3:21.77. Sebastien Rouault placed first in both the 1000 free in 9:26.73 and the 200 free in 1:40.24. Bibliowicz took first in both the 200 IM in 1:51.99 and the 100 free in 45.87. In the 50 free, Cameron Hollinger won in 20.62. Gil Stovall placed first in the 500 free in 4:33.02. Versfeld finished first in the 200 breast with a B-cut time of 1:59.02. Webb Worthington took top honors in three-meter diving with 306.60 points. In the 200 free relay, Hollinger, Smutz, Justin Cain and Stovall placed first in 1:23.35.

For the women, the team of Aleksandra Putra, Gretchen Schmaltz, Kelly McNichols and Claire Maust won the women's 400 medley relay in 3:49.26. Anna Miller placed first in both the 1000 free in 10:00.63 and the 100 free in 51.61. Maust and Putra went 1-2 in the 200 free with B-cut times of 1:49.71 and 1:50.28, respectively. Haley Chura placed first in the 200 back in 2:02.03. Kara Lynn Joyce finished first in the 500 free with a B-cut time of 4:49.84. Emily Hunter won the three-meter springboard with 298.05 points.

Looking forward with Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle:
Florida's men and women consistently are some of the deepest, hardest-working teams we face. They give anyone they swim a great meet every time they race. They would certainly have to be considered a favorite in both meets. We will have to be better than we've been to beat either team. It's a great challenge, but our kids are looking forward to it. We want to see how good we are, and against Florida we'll find out.

On the men's side, this should be a great meet for us. I think Florida may even be the best dual meet team in the country, but it will be a great opportunity to race this early in the season to see where we are at.

On paper in the women's meet, Florida is projected to beat us by a large chunk, but it will be a darn good meet, just like it is every time our schools meet. To win the meet, our women need to swim up a level. They are looking forward to the first challenge of the season. This is a great rivalry for both teams.

Florida's Last Time Out:
The Florida men pushed their dual meet record to 2-0 with a 132-103 triumph over LSU on Oct 19. Grant Johnson led the way in the 200 free in 1:41.10, while Roland Rudolf won the 500 free in 4:31.58. Other Florida wins included victories by Ron Ballatore in the 100 free (47.17), and Scott Mullervy in the 200 breast (2:09.31) – both of whom were making their season debuts. Shaune Fraser took first in the 200 IM (1:49.60). J.B. Walsh collected his first win of the campaign, touching the wall in 1:51.38 to take first in the 200 fly. Meanwhile, the quartet of Omar Pinzon, Bradley Ally, Fraser and Daniel Penniman won the 400 medley relay (3:22.11).

On the women's side, Florida ran its opening day record to 35-0 with a 124-119 thriller over Michigan on Oct. 14. The Gators recorded a total of 13 NCAA provisional swims during the meet and five first-place finishes. Katie Ball clocked in at 9:54.79 to win the 1,000 free. Meanwhile, Candace Weiman won the 200 fly in 2:01.71. Leah Retrum returned from a 15-month hiatus due to shoulder surgery in fine fashion with a 1:59.43 to win the 200 back. Caroline Burckle then won the 500 free in 4:49.33 to close out the swimming wins for the Gators. In diving action, Whitney Stern captured the three-meter title with a 282.38 effort.

Looking forward with Florida head coach Gregg Troy:
It's going to be a lot of fun. We're excited about swimming at home, and it's always a good meet when we swim Georgia. I don't know what the rankings are, but I'm sure they're among the top teams in the country. It's always a close meet, and it's a great competition.

Top 2006-07 Times Comparison:
Men:
50 Free
UG: 20.62, Cameron Hollinger
UF: 21.05, Daniel Penniman
100 Free
UG: 45.87, Nathan Bibliowicz
UF: 45.60, Lucas Salatta
200 Free
UG: 1:40.24, Sebastien Rouault
UF: 1:37.57, Lucas Salatta
500 Free
UG: 4:27.40, Sebastien Rouault
UF: 4:28.51, Tobias Work
1000 Free
UG: 9:26.73, Sebastien Rouault
UF: 9:08.83, Tobias Work
1650 Free
UG: 15:10.77, Sebastien Rouault
UF: N/A
100 Back
UG: 50.84, Chris Spooner
UF: 48.03, Lucas Salatta
200 Back
UG: 1:51.28, Will Thorburn
UF: 1:44.51, Lucas Salatta
100 Breast
UG: 57.58, Neil Versfeld
UF: N/A
200 Breast
UG: 1:59.02, Neil Versfeld
UF: 2:03.05, Bradley Ally
100 Fly
UG: 49.75, Gil Stovall
UF: N/A
200 Fly
UG: 1:49.60, Gil Stovall
UF: 1:48.46, Shaune Fraser
200 IM
UG: 1:51.99, Nathan Bibliowicz
UF: 1:49.26, Bradley Ally
400 IM
UG: 4:03.66, Sebastien Rouault
UF: N/A
200 Free Relay
UG: 1:23.35
UF: N/A
400 Free Relay
UG: 3:04.63
UF: 3:01.78
800 Free Relay
UG: N/A
UF: N/A
200 Medley Relay
UG: 1:32.90
UF: N/A
400 Medley Relay
UG: 3:21.77
UF: 3:18.77
1M Diving
UG: 306.60, Webb Worthington
UF: 344.18, Jonathon Wilcox
3M Diving
UG: 308.80, Webb Worthington
UF: 358.73, Jonathon Wilcox

Women:
50 Free
UG: 23.18, Kara Lynn Joyce
UF: 23.56, Stephanie Napier
100 Free
UG: 50.45, Kara Lynn Joyce
UF: 50.80, Elizabeth Kemp
200 Free
UG: 1:49.47, Kara Lynn Joyce
UF: 1:50.40, Natalie Pike
500 Free
UG: 4:49.56, Claire Maust
UF: 4:49.33, Caroline Burckle
1000 Free
UG: 9:56.45, Claire Maust
UF: 9:54.79, Katie Bell
100 Back
UG: 56.05, Aleksandra Putra
UF: 55.93, Elizabeth Kemp
200 Back
UG: 1:59.09, Aleksandra Putra
UF: 1:59.43, Leah Retrum
100 Breast
UG: 1:02.88, Kelly McNichols
UF: N/A
200 Breast
UG: 2:16.50, Kelly McNichols
UF: 2:19.93, Amanda Hartley
100 Fly
UG: 56.57, Lisa Caprioglio
UF: N/A
200 Fly
UG: 2:04.55, Lisa Caprioglio
UF: 2:01.71, Candace Weiman
200 IM
UG: 2:06.08, Austen Carter
UF: 2:04.13, Caroline Burckle
400 IM
UG: 4:29.55, Kristen Frost
UF: N/A
200 Free Relay
UG: 1:36.21
UF: N/A
400 Free Relay
UG: 3:28.79
UF: 3:27.51
800 Free Relay
UG: N/A
UF: N/A
200 Medley Relay
UG: 1:44.47
UF: N/A
400 Medley Relay
UG: 3:49.26
UF: 3:44.55
1M Diving
UG: 245.50, Lexie Bryant
UF: 242.63, Whitney Stern
3M Diving
UG: 298.05, Ericka Hunter
UF: 282.38, Whitney Stern

Meet of the Week: Georgia at Florida

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