Florida Takes Down Indian River

GAINESVILLE, Florida, January 14. THE No. 9 University of Florida women's swimming and diving team (6-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) recorded seven first-place finishes, seven event sweeps and four NCAA provisional-qualifying times en route to a 141-83 victory over Indian River (Fla.) Community College in a Saturday afternoon contest at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium.

"As a coaching staff, we were pleased with what we saw in several events this afternoon. Our breaststrokers put together better swims today than against Virginia last night, and we also had some very decent relay splits," Florida head coach Gregg Troy said. "I think this weekend has helped set us up for the next three weeks, but we've still got a lot of racing ahead of us, and it will all help us prepare for the SEC meet."

Sophomore Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) led a trio of Gators to the first individual event sweep of the evening with a time of 10:01.09 in the 1,000 free. Freshman Elizabeth Goldson (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and senior Laurie Moreau (Largo, Fla.) claimed the following two spots after touching the wall in 10:11.96 and 10:18.85, respectively. The Gators followed with a second-straight sweep in the 200 freestyle, where sophomore Lauren Winter (Dalkeith, Australia) clocked in at 1:51.86 for first place, and freshmen Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Kristen Beales (Arlington, Va.) rounded out the top three with times of 1:53.29 and 1:53.34.

Junior Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) notched a first-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.68 for the Gators' first ‘B'-cut of the afternoon. Senior Ashley Carusone (High Springs, Fla.) and freshman Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) completed the 1-2-3 finish with times of 2:04.35 and 2:08.22.

The Gator women added two additional sweeps in the 200 butterfly and 200 back before swimming the final three events as exhibitions. Junior Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.), freshman Elizabeth Kemp (Potomac, Md.) and sophomore Kelsy Smith (Cary, N.C.) claimed the top three times in the 200 fly, while junior Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.) and seniors Kristen Harris (Holmdel, N.J.) and Kristin Gilliam (Gainesville, Fla.) followed with a sweep of the 200 back.

Junior Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) recorded an NCAA provisional time for the second-straight meet with a first-place finish in the 100 free (50.58), and junior Katie Ball (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) added two more with times of 4:49.80 and 4:51.84, respectively, in the 500 free.

Twelve Gator women combined for a sweep of the 200 medley relay to open the swimming portion of the meet, with Vanderbilt, Burckle, Winter and Pike claiming the top spot with a time of 1:43.10. Kemp, Pike, Winter and Napier wrapped up the 13-event competition by posting a time of 1:34.98 in the 200 free relay.

In diving action, the trio of Jennifer Funch (Cincinnati, Ohio), Jeana Bartell (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Sarah Ellerby (Oldsmar, Fla.) finished 1-2-3 on the 3-meter board, and Whitney Stern (Safety Harbor, Fla.) earned second place in the 1-meter competition with a score of 246.84.

Florida will return to SEC competition next weekend as it visits No. 3 Auburn on Friday, Jan. 19, and Alabama and South Carolina on Jan. 20 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

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