The No. 21 West Florida women’s swimming and diving team had another strong day at the Delta State Christmas Invitational on Sunday, as freshman diver Meghan Zets (Grovetown, Ga./Grovetown HS) posted an NCAA qualifying score and the swimmers combined to post five NCAA B-cut qualifying times. Junior Anna-Marie Macht (Markkleeberg, Germany/Darton State) had a great day individually, posting B-cut times in the 400 IM, 100 Breast and 800 Free Relay.
UWF is third in the team standings with 528 points. Delta State leads the seven-team field at 623.50, and Lindenwood is second at 603.50.
Zets placed second in the 1-meter dive behind UWF teammate Josie McKee (Canton, Ohio/Malone), and her score was high enough to earn her a spot in the NCAA Division II Championships qualifying meet in March in Geneva, Ohio. McKee had already qualified for the meet on Nov. 23 at the Emory Diving Invitational.
“We know we have a great diving coach in Barbara Parker,” said UWF head coach Andrew Hancock. “She has proven that by getting our only two divers qualified for the NCAA championships in the first semester for the program. It’s a remarkable achievement. The improvements that Meghan and Josie have made under her guidance are incredible, and we’re excited to see where she can take our diving program in the coming years.”
NCAA championships qualifying standards are set with A- and B-cut times in the various races. Posting an A-cut time earns a swimmer or relay team automatic qualification for the NCAA Division II Championships on Mar. 12-15 in Geneva, Ohio, and a B-cut time puts the swimmer into a group for consideration at a later date. The Argonauts qualified with B-cut times in five events on Saturday, and they did so again in five more on Sunday.
Macht earned B-cuts in two individual events, the 100 Breast in which she won in 1:04.41 and the 400 IM in which she placed second at 4:23.95. Both times set new school records. Sophomore Peggy de Villiers (Somerset West, South Africa/Drury) also earned a B-cut time with a second place finish in the 100 Fly with a school record time of 56.47. Macht has now posted B-cut times in three events and de Villiers in two.
The Argos’ 400 Medley and 800 Free relay teams posted B-cut times. The 400 Medley team of Savannah Antonetz (Lake Charles, La./Barbe HS), Emily Mitchell (Allen Park, Mich./Darton State), Cheryl Corvo (Fort Walton Beach, Fla./Florida Gulf Coast) and de Villiers placed second at 3:54.32, and the 800 Free team of Macht, Carla Robles (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef HS), Antonetz and de Villiers placed fourth at 7:45.72. Both times set new school records.
“We are incredibly proud of our team,” added Hancock. “We’ve had some outstanding swims and we’ve given our girls a chance to make it to the NCAA championships. In addition to that we have a young team and we’re learning some valuable lessons at this event that will serve us well in the remaining months of the season.”
The Argos also had individuals set new school records in the 1000 Free and the 100 Back. Karisa Kostecki (Lithia, Fla./Newsome HS) placed ninth in the 1000 Free at 10:45.85, and Antonetz swam a school record 58.60 in the 100 Back prelims.
