Seminole Teams Capture Nike Cup

Chapel Hill, N.C., November 19. The Florida State men's and women's swimming and diving teams claimed both titles at the Janis Hape Dowd Nike Cup. The Lady Seminoles won with 929 for while the men took the meet with 1104 points. The host team, UNC finished fifth in the mens division and second in the women's.

In the first event of the evening, Clemson swimmer Cassy LaRussa took first place in the women's 1650-yard freestyle with a 16:35.63. She edged North Carolina's Whitney Sprague, who finished second with a 16:35.68, and Nicole O'Donnell, who took third with a 16:37.58. All three registered times that met the NCAA B time qualifying standards.

North Carolina's Chip Peterson outpaced the competition with a 15:05.28 in the men's 1605-yard freestyle event. Peterson's time earns him automatic NCAA qualification in the event. Florida State trio Kyle Young, Steve Roof and Nick Graves took the next three spots with times that met the NCAA B time qualifying time.

Florida State finished in first place in both the men's and women's 200-yard backstroke events. Romy Altmann topped the women's group with a 1:57.24, an NCAA automatic qualifying time, while Jarryd Botha won his second event of the Nike Cup with a 1:45.10, an NCAA consideration time. Following Altmann in the women's heat was Michelle Parkhurst, Clemson, and Ashley Howard, North Carolina, to round out the top three. Parkhurst and Howard both met the NCAA consideration qualifying time with marks of 2:00.57 and 2:01.06, respectively.

Jenny Bradford, Kentucky, was the top finisher in the women's 100-yard freestyle finishing with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 49.12. It was her third win in three days at the Janis Hape Dowd Nike Cup. She was followed by Sara Smith, Virginia Tech and Rachel Regone, Clemson, who met the NCAA B standards with their times. Kentucky's Lauren Willis also met the NCAA B consideration time registering a 50.87. Tar Heel swimmer Eliza Butts finished with 51.08, good enough for seventh place overall.

Seminole swimmer Alex Kennon claimed another event for Florida State on day three of the Nike Cup. His 44.72 put him atop the men's 100-yard freestyle event. Kaan Tayla, Virginia Tech, followed Kennon and fell just shy of Kennon's mark by finishing with a 44.83.

All four swimmers competing in the Super Finals of the women's 200-yard backstroke met the NCAA B time standards. Florida State swimmer Georgia Holderness topped the field with a 2:15.84. She was followed by fellow Seminole Lauren Brick. North Carolina's Alison Clemens and Virginia Tech's Jessica Botzum took third and fourth place, respectively.

Will Vietti, Kentucky, took first place in the men's 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:01.34. He was followed by Florida State swimmer Paul Erben and Clemson's Attila Ruszka who finished second and third. Tar Heel Aaron Burns edged his way into the top 10 with a 2:06.91 to finish in ninth place.

Tar Heel Lindsey Marck had an outstanding performance in the women's 200-yard butterfly barely out-touching Tiffany Elias of Florida State to take first place. Florida State also placed third with Lauren Sparg registering a 2:02.26. Marck, Elias and Sparg met the NCAA B time qualification standards with their performances.

Gus Calado of Virginia Tech placed first in the men's 200-yard butterfly with a NCAA B consideration time of 1:49.96. Grant Nelson, Kentucky, took second while Ian Powell and Mark Nicholls, Florida State, placed third and fourth.

In the only relay event of the night, the University of Kentucky took first place with a final time of 3:20.93 in the women's 400-yard freestyle relay. Florida State and North Carolina took second and third with times of 3:24.05 and 3:25.46. The Wildcats and Seminoles times were good enough to meet the NCAA B qualification times.

In the men's 400-yard freestyle relay, the Virginia Tech squad set a new meet record with a 2:58.86. Their time also met the NCAA B time qualification standards. North Carolina finished fourth overall in the event with a 3:00.51.

In the women's and men's three meter diving events, the Miami Hurricanes took both top spots. Ruben Ross took the men's side with a final score of 383.25 and Heather Bounds finished atop the women's group with a 316.65. Tar Heel diver Ryan Funderburk took fourth place for the Carolina men registering a final score of 345.60.

WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Florida State– 929
2. North Carolina–711
3. Clemson– 604
4. Kentucky– 574
5. Virginia Tech– 508
6. Miami– 247
7. East Carolina– 202
8. Syracuse– 56
9. NC State — 7

WOMEN'S EVENT WINNERS
1650-Yard Freestyle – Casey LaRussa, Clemson, 16:53.63
200-Yard Backstroke – Romy Altmann, Florida State ,1:57.24
100-Yard Freestyle– Jenny Bradford, Kentucky, 49.12
200-Yard Breaststroke — Goergia Holderness, Florida State, 2:15.84
200-Yard Butterfly — Lindsey Marck, North Carolina, 2:01.22
400-Yard Freestyle Relay– Kentucky (Heather Bradford, Nikia Deveaux, Lauren Willis, Jenny Bradford) 3L20.93
Three Meter Diving – Heather Bounds, Miami, 316.65

MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Florida State– 1104
2. Kentucky– 690
3. Clemson– 605
4. Virginia Tech — 568
5. North Carolina — 567
6. East Carolina — 105
7. James Madison — 99
8. Miami — 35
9. Syracuse — 22
10. NC State — 17

MEN'S EVENT WINNERS
1650-Yard Freestyle — Chip Peterson, North Carolina, 15:05.28
200-Yard Backstroke — Jarryd Botha, Florida State, 1:45.10
100-Yard Freestyle — Alex Kennon, Florida State, 44.72
200-Yard Breaststroke — Will Vietti, Kentucky, 2:01.34
200-Yard Butterfly — Gus Calado, Virginia Tech, 1:46.96
400-Yard Freestyle Relay — Virginia Tech (Scott Beard, Zac Czaplicki, Jake Bova, Kaan Tayla) 2:58.86*
Three Meter Diving – Ruben Ross, Miami, 383.25

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