Lady Gators Overpower Volunteers in Gainesville, 145-93

GAINESVILLE, FL, January 30. THE Gator women’s team did it again. For their second home meet of the weekend, the No. 3 Florida swimming and diving team out swam Southeastern Conference rival, Tennessee, on Saturday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, and collected a final score of 145-93, as expressed in Gator reports.

In the meet, the women's team cranked out 10 NCAA provisional-qualifying times, adding that to the 11 garnered in Friday night's match up against Virginia.

The meet began on the one-meter diving board. Senior Nicole Bolt (Orlando) captured first with a six-dive tally of 286.34. Freshman Sarah Ellerby (Oldsmar) also competed, and came in fourth place with a score of 196.64. Later in the meet, Bolt took home her fourth title of the weekend, notching 302.47 for the three-meter title, while Ellerby claimed third with 223.87 points.

In the water, the women had a strong performance in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.), Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfelt, Germany), Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) and Maureen Farrell (Northridge, Calif.) finished the race with a combined time of 1:42.25, good for first place and an NCAA provisional qualifying time. Also in the event was the squad of Katie McCann (Walpole, Mass.), Mandy Huff (Gold Hill, N.C.), Colleen Healy (Cape Coral) and Natalie Pike (Boca Raton). Together, they captured the bronze medal with a 1:48.56-team effort.

In the distance swim for the Gators, sophomore Leah Retrum (Columbus, Ind.) finished runner-up in the 1000 free with a 9:55.10 clocking. Sophomore Kristin Gilliam (Gainesville) was just behind her teammate, finishing the race in third with 10:21.96. Second place again for the Gators, freshman Caroline Burckle (Lousiville, Ky.) clocked 1:49.29 in the 200 free, notching a provisional-qualifying time.

In the women's 50-yard free, the seniors lead the way as Christine Woodruff (Orlando) and Farrell took the top two honors with times of 23.88 and 23.93, respectively. Junior Bernhardt took home the 200-IM title and a NCAA 'B' time by touching the wall in 2:01.27. Weiman finished third in the event, and also garnered a provisional time with a 2:02.89 time, while senior Katie Kennedy (Ft. Myers) finished fourth with a 2:05.25 effort.

First place through fourth in the 200 fly saw nothing but Orange and Blue as Retrum led the way with a 2:01.31 provisional clocking. Behind her, sophomore Ashley Carusone (High Springs) finished second (2:02.65), while Meredith Green (Chapel Hill, N.C.) clocked a 2:04.43 time for third. Healy brought up the tail of the quad for Florida with a 2:07.23 exhibitioned time.

In her first win of the meet, Burckle clocked a 50.96 NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 100 free. Farrell also marked a NCAA 'B' time, and finished third with a 51.13 effort. Another title was captured as Jamie Reid (Orlando) swam the 200 back in 1:59.34 for first place and a provisional time. Vanderbilt came in next for Florida, clocking 2:03.21 for third place.

In the women's 500 free, Ball and Mary Uhle (Sankt Ingbert, Germany) clocked provisional times and finished with a 4:50.91 and 4:53.85 for second and third places, respectively. Joanna Maranhao finished just behind Uhle with a 4:59.71 time. In the 200 breast, Kennedy took top honors, touching the wall in 2:20.31.

Taking the top time in the 400-free relay was the team of Farrell, Weiman, Uhle and Burckle, all swimming a time of 1:35.10 for UF. Next in line, Woodruff, Pike, Returm and Healy clocked 1:35.53, while Gillam, Nicole Allfrey (Fishers, Ind.), Laurie Moreau (Largo) and Ball notched a 1:41.12 clocking.

The Gator Men were also in action against the Vols. That Gator win is also set out in the linked results.

The Gators will return to action next week at home for the match up against Indian River Community College. This will be the team's final performance before hosting the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. The meet is slated to begin at 1 p.m.

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