Florida State Victorious Over Georgia Tech, N.C. State

RALEIGH, North Carolina, January 19. THE Florida State swimming and diving teams finished the 2012-13 dual meet season with four more wins as the Seminoles defeated Georgia Tech and NC State in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday.

“I was really happy with team effort today,” head coach Neil Harper said. “We faced a lot of adversity between travel and bodies breaking down. We had to come together and lean on some people and I thought we stepped up and did a nice job. It was tough test for us and this shows us what we're made of. It was a total team effort on both sides and a great way for us to come together and finish off the dual meet season.”

The No.13 men defeated the 25th ranked Yellow Jackets with a score of 206-92. The Seminoles won the battle against the Wolfpack 164-136 moving to 8-2, 3-1 ACC for the year.

FSU started off by winning the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:28.46 with a team of junior Pavel Sankovich, junior Richard Hildebrand, senior Mark Weber and junior Paul Murray.

NC State responded and took over the early lead, with a win in the 100 free and a sweep in the 200 free.

Sankovich would halt the Wolfpack's momentum as he won the 100 back with a time of 48.72 while sophomore Josh Friedel took third at 50.47. Senior Brad Morrison slipped in for fourth place with a mark of 50.47.

Sophomore Connor Knight stepped up to steal the win in the 200 fly with a time of 1:49.61, just ahead of an NC State swimmer. Senior Danny Nguyen touched in third with a 1:50.08.

The Seminoles took advantage of the 50 free with Murray and Weber touching in first and second. Murray posted the winning time of 20.26, while Weber followed with a 20.45.

After the break, sophomore Kevin Rogers produced a crucial win in the 500 free with a time of 4:34.55 while freshman Derek Pridemore's 4:37.24 secured third place by one one-hundredth of a second.

The Seminoles clinched the meet with a one-two punch in the 200 IM as Sankovich won the event with a time of 1:49.72 followed by Nguyen in second at 1:52.85.

“I thought with Kevin Rogers stepping up and taking that 500 was huge,” Harper said. “The 500 set us up for the win and the 200 IM closed it out for us.”

Another difference maker for the Seminoles was their performance on the boards. Juniors Tom Neubacher and Mikey Lewark started the day off with a first and second showing on 1-meter. Neubacher won with a score of 361.65, while Lewark followed with a 321.90. Neubacher also grabbed a victory on 3-meter by a score of 367.80.

The No. 22 women moved to 13-1, 5-0 ACC on the year after defeating Georgia Tech 226-72. The Seminoles would squeeze past NC State, 155-143.

Florida State won nine of the 16 events, starting off with a strong 1000 free, finishing in first, second and fourth. Junior Julia Henkel won with a time of 10:06.07 just ahead of freshman Madison Jacobi, who touched at 10:08.72. Freshman Josie Cuda was fourth at 10:23.21.

Sophomore Elizabeth Pepper kept the momentum rolling as she hung on in the 200 free for the win with a time of 1:50.49.

Freshman Samantha Pochowski swam a strong back half of the 100 breast for a victory with a mark of 1:04.46 in a tight race.

Pepper would then take her second win of the meet in the 200 fly with a time of 2:01.26.

Contributing the next two wins for the Seminoles was junior Tiffany Oliver who touched first in the 50 free at 23.40. Oliver also won the 100 free at 50.67.

Junior Ashley Hicks grinded out a tough win in the 200 back with a time of 2:03.16, just ahead of two NC State swimmers.

Senior Kristine Polley followed Hicks with another close race victory in the 200 breast with a mark of 2:19.34.

Henkel and Jacobi swam a crucial one-two finish in the 500 free, as Henkel posted her second win of the meet with a time of 4:56.07, just ahead of Jacobi at 4:56.26.

With the meet on the line, the Seminoles came up huge with a one-two-three sweeping dagger in the 200 IM. Henkel swam her third win with a time of 2:05.06, but it was sophomore Laura Flewelling's second place (2:06.12) and Pochowski's third (2:06.38) that gave Florida State the edge over NC State.

“The divers did their part and took care of business,” Harper said. “We are a good IM team and it was great to see us secure both meets on that event. That was the deal breaker, but kudos to those that battled beforehand. It was a total team effort and we had a fun watching it happen.”

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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