Florida’s men captured 13 individual titles and all five relay victories, while the Gator women notched six individual and two relay event wins en route to both teams fifth-straight Pinch A Penny All Florida Invitational title.
UF's men won four individual titles and one relay, and the women took home two individual race titles on the third and final day (Sunday, October 5) of the Invite in the Stephen O’Connell Center Natatorium in Gainesville. Florida’s men and women won the meet with 1,395 and 956 points, respectively.
Individually on day three, the Gator men were led by redshirt freshman Blake Manganiello, as he won the first race of his collegiate career in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:50.76. Junior Jessica Thielmann paced the women, as she won the same event in an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 16:27.06.
Florida registered 16 NCAA ‘B’ standard times throughout the weekend.
Scores:
Men’s team rankings:
1. University of Florida, 1,395
2. Florida State University, 923
3. Nova Southeastern University, 688
Women’s team rankings:
1. University of Florida, 956
2. California, 861
3. Florida Gulf Coast, 661
4. Florida State, 634
5. Miami (FL), 389
6. Nova Southeastern, 169
7. North Florida, 97
Head Coach Gregg Troy
On the men and women winning their fifth-straight All Florida Invite…
“It’s just the beginning of the season. It’s nice to know where we are and it’s always good when you win, but this weekend just gave us a good chance to race. There was a lot of good racing this weekend.”
On the freshmen following their first Invitational…
“They’ve got some learning to do. The women are a little more inexperienced then the men, but each freshman stood out a lot. They learned a lot about racing in college and we will have to clean up a few of their mistakes. But it’s a lot different race than high school and they learned that.”
SWIMMING FOR THOUGHTS
Junior Natalie Hinds on her NCAA ‘B’ standard times she swam this weekend…
“I think for the season, it’s really good. I didn’t expect to go that fast, but we have been doing well as a team in practice, so I’m just glad I was able to go that fast. It makes me very excited for what’s still to come.”
Junior Corey Main on what stands out to him about this year’s freshman class…
“They have been tremendous. Caeleb (Dressel) is one of our top sprinters and guys are able to back him up, such as Ben Kennedy, Andrew Brady among others. They always have our backs and they have created a lot of competition, which is good.”
INVITE HISTORY
Both the Florida men's and women's squads defended its crowns for the fifth-straight time. UF won the inaugural All Florida Invitational in the fall of 2010.
RELAY MAGIC
UF won the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay, as senior Matt Curby, junior Pawel Werner, freshman Caeleb Dressel and Main won the event in 2:57.61.
FREE TIME
Werner and Hinds each won their respective genders 100-yard freestyle races in NCAA ‘B’ standard times of 44.12 and 48.95 seconds, respectively.
BACK IT UP
Main finished off his outstanding weekend with a victory in the 200-yard backstroke in an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1:45.51.
BREASTSTROKE
Senior Matt Elliott captured first place in the 200-yard breaststroke in an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1:58.05.
POSTSEASON FOCUS
In addition to competing in an identical format to the NCAA meet in March, the Gators recorded 16 NCAA ‘B’ standard marks throughout the Invite.
· Mitch D’Arrigo (500 Free, 4:24.67)
· Caeleb Dressel (100 Fly, 47.74)
· Matt Elliott (200 IM, 1:47.95; 400 IM, 3:51.04; 100 Breast, 54.72; 200 Breast, 1:58.05)
· Corey Main (100 Back, 48.45; 200 Back, 1:45.51)
· Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez (200 IM, 1:47.58)
· Pawel Werner (100 Free, 44.12; 200 Free, 1:37.08)
· Natalie Hinds (50 Free, 22.44; 100 Free, 48.95; 100 Fly, 53.44; 100 Back, 54.67)
· Jessica Thielmann (1,650 Free, 16:27.06)
UP NEXT
Florida rounds out its current three-week home stand when Southeastern Conference-rival LSU comes to Gainesville on Friday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. The women's squad will look to improve to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, while that meet will be the first dual for the UF men's squad.
The Florida State swimming and diving teams picked up wins in two races on the final day of the Pinch-A-Penny All-Florida Invitational, which was held at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at the University of Florida.
Senior Connor Knight won the 200 fly with a time of 1:46.90 before the women’s team took gold in the 400 free relay to close out the meet.
“Connor had a great 200 fly,” FSU head coach Frank Bradley said. “He was in control of the race and I was very happy with how he finished the meet.”
The team of senior Kaitlyn Dressel, freshman Alexi Smith, junior Sami Pochowski and freshman Brenna Ruth held off the top team from California, turning in a time of 3:21.51.
“This relay is very encouraging,” Bradley said. “We are a young team and we put two rookies in tough situations and they pulled through. I’m glad those ladies finished the meet on that note.”
Aside from the victories, the women’s team placed four with a total of 661 behind Florida, California and Florida Gulf Coast, while the men’s team took second with a tally of 923 next to Florida.
Sophomore Caroline Page competed in the top heat of the 200 back, placing eighth with a time of 2:07.78.
Dressel grabbed silver behind Florida’s Natalie Hinds and ahead of Cal’s Missy Franklin, touching with a time of 49.20 – a mark that is her career best during the regular season.
Smith took sixth with a 51.09 just shy of her career best.
“Kaitlyn had a great 100,” Bradley said. “Then she came back and led off the relay very well. I was very pleased with her and I am anxious to see how she builds off this weekend.”
Sophomore Caroline Neil led the Seminoles in the 200 breast by placing fifth with a time of 2:21.46 ahead of freshman Natalie Pierce who was eighth at 2:25.36.
In the 200 fly, sophomore Chelsea Britt grabbed silver with a final time of 2:00.03 behind Celina Li of Cal.
Freshman Calvin Bryant swam the 1650 free and grabbed sixth place with a final time of 16:25.32.
Senior Kevin Rogers placed third in the 200 back, touching with a time of 1:49.68 ahead of freshman Connor Kalisz (1:50.83) and senior Josh Friedel, who was seventh (1:53.08).
Sophomore Jemal LeGrand turned in FSU’s top time in the 100 free, placing fourth with a 45.79 while his classmate Jason McCormack finished sixth with a mark of 45.88. Senior Cadell Lyons placed seventh with a 46.38.
In the 200 breast, sophomore Jason Coombs placed third with a time of 2:03.67, finishing ahead of freshman Storm Hewitt who was fifth (2:11.58) and junior Marc Rojas (2:13.70) who was seventh.
Joining Knight in the top heat in the 200 fly was junior Cole Hensley, who put together a strong final 50 in order to take third with a final time of 1:48.64. Redshirt freshman Jacob Urbano was also in the field, he placed sixth with a time of 1:54.78.
The 400 free relay closed out the meet with a time of 3:02.02, placing second with McCormick, Coombs, LeGrand and Knight.
“I thought it was a solid weekend,” Bradley said. “We have a lot to learn but we’ve established a great base for the season. We are starting to figure out what we have and we’ll make our adjustments and build towards the end of the year.”
