Stanford Leads Florida, Michigan

UF 155, Michigan 88
Stanford 133, UF 110
Stanford 164, Michigan 79

After not winning the first two races of day one, Stanford women's swimming won nine of the next 11 to lead the field of three NCAA top-25 teams, posting a score of 133-to-110 over Florida and 164-to-79 over Michigan on the first of two days of competition in the Sunshine State.

Sophomore Betsy Webb posted a win in the 50 (23.01) and 100 freestyles (49.89), while Julia Smit posted wins in her signature event, the 200 individual medley (1:57.04) and in the 200 backstroke (1:55.71), both “B” standard times to highlight the day.

Kate Dwelley, swimming in the third race of the day, got the Cardinal in gear, winning the 200 with a “B” standard time of 1:47.52, before closing out the meet by starting off the winning 400 freestyle relay team. Sam Woodward, Kelley Hug and Smit followed to pace the field with a “B” standard time of 3:19.52.

Liz Smith closed out the individual races with a win in the 12th event, the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:13.52, while Kelsey Ditto won the 500 free with a “B” time of 4:47.82.

In a very tough tri-meet for the divers, All-American Carmen Stellar won the three-meter competition, with a score of 312.90, beating fellow All-American Kara Salamone's score of 306.55. Stellar was also third in the one-meter event with a tally of 273.50, with Salamone besting the field with a score of 300.00. Meg Hostage was fourth in both the one-meter (261.95) and the three-meter (281.10).
 


The Florida women's swimming and diving squad welcomed top-tier programs Michigan and Stanford to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium Friday for the first portion of a two-day double-dual meet. Led by strong swims from freshman Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.), sophomore Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) and senior Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) the Gators trail Stanford, 133-110, and currently sit ahead of Michigan, 155-88, following first evening of competition. In the Stanford vs. Michigan dual, Stanford leads, 164-79.
 
A number of NCAA provisional qualifying marks highlighted a fast 13-event first day of competition, with 'B' cuts coming from three Gators, including Melani Costa-Schmid (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) (500 free), Corinne Showalter (Sarasota, Fla.) (500 free) and Spofforth (200 back).
 
Florida's 400-yard medley relays started the night off right with first and third-place finishes, respectively. The quartet of Spofforth and sophomores Lindsay Rogers (Fishers, Ind.), Jemma Lowe (Hartlepool, England) and Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) clocked a 3:41.75 to win the opening event, while Gator teammates Lily Ramirez (Gainesville, Fla.), Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.), Liz Kemp (Potomac, Md.) and Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) claimed the third-place spot with a time of 3:45.93. The team from Stanford claimed second, while Michigan's took fourth.
 
Led by Costa-Schmid and Showalter, the UF milers stood their ground, Costa-Schmid and Showalter clocking NCAA provisional marks of 16:11.67 and 16:24.42 to place second and fourth, respectively, for the Orange and Blue. Florida?s Kristen Beales (Arlington, Va.) (16:43.76) and Sharla Milne (Lithia, Fla.) (16:56.03) took sixth and seventh in the event.
 
In the 200-yard free, it was Kemp who clocked in as Florid'?s highest finisher (1:48.91) in second place, while freshmen Eva Lehtonen (Rochester Hills, Mich.) (1:50.71) and Bohunicky (1:50.97) rounded out UF's top five finishers in fourth and fifth, respectively. Bohunicky additionally clocked in at 4:54.19 in the 500-yard free, placing fourth in the distance event.
 
Kemp rallied in her second individual event of the night, clocking a second-place finish in the 100-yad freestyle (50.42), while Stafford took second (50.54).
 
In the fourth event of the evening, the 50-yard free, UF was led by two sophomores, Stafford (23.18) and Ramirez (23.75) in second and fifth, and seniors Napier and Coral Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) in fourth (23.48) and eighth (24.40).
 
Senior Kara Salamone (Cooper City, Fla.) crashed the boards for UF on night one, winning the one-meter competition (300.00) and coming second on the three-meter board (306.55)
 
Crippen rallied for a first-place victory in the 200 fly (2:00.74), while finishing fourth in the 200-yard IM (2:02.05) to lead the way for the Gators and Spofforth swam to a second-place finish in the 200-yard back (1:56.96), an NCAA provisional mark. Sophomore Anna-Liisa Pold (San Diego, Calif.) rallied for third in the 200 back behind Spofforth (2:02.65).
 
Day two of the double-dual continues Saturday from the O'Connell Center Natatorium at 8:30 a.m. (ET). For complete results and a recap following competition, visit www.GatorZone.com.