Photo by David Farr<\/p>\n
ATLANTA \u2013 The Florida Gators came to the Georgia Tech Invitational and conquered with wins in nine of the 10 swimming events. The team also notched three swims that exceeded the NCAA automatic qualifying times to mark the first \u201cA\u201d cuts in the Division I this season.<\/p>\n
The first \u201cA\u201d cut came in the first event, the women\u2019s 200 free relay. Florida\u2019s Sinead Russell (22.51), Lindsey McKnight (22.21), Natalie Hinds (21.66) and Ashlee Linn (22.56) posted a 1:28.94 to get five tenths under the standard. Naturally, it\u2019s the fastest swim of the season, knocking the 1:29.87 swum about an hour earlier by Tennessee off the top of the rankings. Placing second in the race tonight was Florida State with a 1:30.76, while a rising Florida Gold Coast squad placed third with a 1:30.89.<\/p>\n
Dan Wallace was next to automatically earn a spot on the NCAA roster with a 4:14.53 in the 500 freestyle. Wallace was second in the 500 free at the 2014 NCAAs, and swam a 4:11.62 in that final, so there is more in the tank for the Florida senior. Mitch D\u2019Arrigo, who was also in the 500 free final at last spring\u2019s NCAAs, was second tonight with a 4:16.94 while Pawel Werner was third with a 4:20.66. Florida took the top seven places in tonight\u2019s 500 free, as Arthur Frayler (4:23.26), Austin Manganiello (4:24.59), Ryan Rosenbaum (4:24.79) and Carlos Omana (4:25.90) earned big points for the Gators. Georgia Tech\u2019s Yuval Safra also swam in the final, but fell off the pace with an eighth-place time of 4:28.25.<\/p>\n
Caeleb Dressel made a big statement in his first championship final as a college freshman, posting an amazing 19.31 in the 50 free final It\u2019s not his best time, as his 18.94 from last December\u2019s nationals still stands as his time to beat. Dressel beat the automatic qualifying time for NCAAs by one hundredth of a second, and he needed that swim to beat Georgia Tech\u2019s Andrew Kosic, who was second with a strong 19.44. That\u2019s almost Kosic\u2019s lifetime best, falling just a bit short of the 19.42 he swam at the NCAA meet last March. Corey Main of Florida placed third with a 19.87 to get under 20 seconds as well.<\/p>\n
Florida State\u2019s women kept the Gators from winning all the events, taking the 400 medley relay in a bit of an upset, while Arkansas also challenged Florida in the race. After the Gators got off to a strong start with a 52.55 from Russell on backstroke, Arkansas\u2019 Nikki Daniels put up a 59.25 on breaststroke to pull even. Florida State got into the race with a 52.18 from Chelsea Britt, then it was a three-way sprint on freestyle. The Seminoles got the win with a 3:34.90 thanks to a 48.21 from Kaitlyn Dreseel. Official results show that Dressel left the blocks one hundredth of a second too early but a disqualification was not called. Florida\u2019s 3:25.96 remains second, while Arkansas settled for third with a 3:35.98.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s Jessica Thielmann took the women\u2019s 500 free with a five-second victory in 4:37.92. Teammate Taylor Katz was second with a 4:42.79 while Anna Mayfield of Arkansas placed third with a 4:44.35.<\/p>\n
McKnight took the 200 IM win with a 1:57.40, ahead of two ladies named Chelsea. Arkansas\u2019 Chelsea Tatlow was second with a 1:58.89 while Chelsea Britt of Florida State was third with a 1:58.91, after leading through the backstroke leg.<\/p>\n
Hinds nearly broke 22 seconds in the 50 free, winning with a 22.07 that moves her up to second nationally behind the 22.02 posted earlier in the night by Faith Johnson in North Carolina. Emma Svensson was second with a 22.18 while Kaitlyn Dressel took third with a 22.55.<\/p>\n
Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez led a Florida 1-2 finish in the 200 IM, posting a 1:44.16 ahead of the 1:46.80 by teammate Mark Szaranek. Florida State\u2019s Jason Coombs was third with a 1:48.91.<\/p>\n
The Florida men took the 400 medley relay easily with a 3:09.55, the top time in the country and half a second off the automatic qualifying time for the NCAA championships. A 42.08 freestyle leg by Kosic helped Georgia Tech finish second with a 3:11.32, with Florida State third in 3:16.41.<\/p>\n