Division II Meet Preview: Florida Southern Faces Tampa

Photo Courtesy: Kyle Staggs

Division II swimming and diving keeps trucking along as we move further into fall, with several of the top 10 teams from last year competing this week, including two competitive Sunshine State Conference opponents. Take a look at the match-ups to watch this week below:

Meet Of The Week: Tampa vs. Florida Southern

In-state and conference rivals Tampa and Florida Southern will face off this Friday, October 14th in Tampa, with both teams opening their seasons against one another (Florida Southern was scheduled to swim Nova Southeastern last weekend, but that meet was cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew). This meet was incredibly close last year, with the Florida Southern men prevailing 143-119 while the women’s meet was a rare tie, 131-131.

Of the two teams, Florida Southern on paper should have the advantage. Both the men and women of Florida Southern were first in the Sunshine State Conference last year, while Tampa’s men and women were both third. On the men’s side, Tampa lost some key members of their incredible sprint group from last season that earned them relay titles in the 200 and 400 free relays at NCAA’s last year. Senior Martin Hammer is the only returner from that group, so look for him to carry the sprint events and be a key player as they look for underclassmen to fill in their free relays. Florida Southern is stronger in the medley relays, and should have a big advantage in many of the stroke events where they have returning All-Americans. Senior Marco Palacios was the national champion last year in the 100 backstroke, while Luis Jasso and sophomore Sean Kim were All-American breaststrokers last year.

On the women’s side of the meet, Tampa returns their top sprinter from last year, Marisa Barton, who was the runner-up at NCAA’s last year with a 22.80. She should be the major player in both the 50 and the 100 and help boost the Spartan’s relays. The Spartans also return two NCAA qualifiers in Makayla Ayers and Brittany Bayes who should help in the mid-distance and distance freestyle, especially with the graduation of Florida Southern’s two All-American freestylers. In order to take the meet, Florida Southern will have to capitalize in the breaststroke, backstroke, and the IM while also looking to sophomores Rebeka Dics and Krystal Karas to help get an advantage in the sprints and relays. The meet will start at 6:00pm in Tampa on Friday.

Grand Valley State vs. Wisconsin Milwaukee

Grand Valley State will take on Division I University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee this Friday, October 14th in what should be another close contest. Last year, UW – Milwaukee women won 154-146, while the Grand Valley State men prevailed 180-120. Grand Valley State returns several All-Americans from both sides that should provide major points and make this a competitive meet for both teams. Senior Leonie VanNoort was the NCAA champion in the 1,650 last year and should provide great leadership in the women’s distance events, while All-American breaststroker Marius Mikalauskas should help get the medley relay off to a good start for the Lakers. The meet will be hosted by UW – Milwaukee and will kick off at 5:00pm.

Drury vs. Arkansas (Women Only)

The Drury women will take on Division I Arkansas this Friday, a new dual meet for both teams this competition year. While Arkansas is a Division I team, the Drury women finished fourth at NCAA’s last year and should be competitive in several events. Junior Megan Ouhl returns for the Panthers in the distance events after two individual top-8 finishes at NCAA’s last year in the 500 and 1,650. The Panthers also return key relay players in both medley’s, powered by NCAA champion Wen Xu on the freestyle legs. Vera Johansson (butterfly) and Zuzanna Chwadeczko (breaststroke) will also be a major contributor in their respective events for the Panthers. The meet will kick off at 3:00pm at the University of Arkansas.

Name*

Email*

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