The West Florida women’s swimming and diving team finished the 2014-15 regular season on Saturday with a double dual sweep over Delta State and Thomas (Ga.) at the UWF Aquatic Center. The win over Delta State was UWF’s second of the year, and the final score was 168-132. UWF also topped Thomas by a score of 254-29. The Argonauts improved to 11-3, topping their total of 10 dual meet wins in their inaugural season in 2013-14.
UWF is now 2-2 against Delta State in dual meets in the program’s first two years. Both teams will enter the New South Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championships on Feb. 18-21 as contenders for the title.
“We love competing against Delta State,” said UWF head coach Andrew Hancock. “The racing is so close, and the girls really like getting up to compete against them. It’s been exciting the last couple of meets to come out ahead. We know it won’t last forever, so we’ll enjoy it while we can. We know they’ll be ready to provide a tough test for us at the conference meet.”
Juniors Peggy de Villiers (Somerset West, South Africa) and Josie McKee (Canton, Ohio) both totaled two individual event wins to lead UWF. McKee won both diving events with NCAA qualifying scores; her 1-meter score of 488.50 was a new school and facility record, and she posted a score of 266.75 in the 6-dive, 3-meter event. The wins by de Villiers came in the 50 Freestyle (24.58) and the 100 Butterfly (59.35).
The Argos also had wins from Anna-Marie Macht (Markkleeberg, Germany) in the 100 Breaststroke (1:06.37), Madeline Pitt (Trussville, Ala.) in the 200 Butterfly (2:10.52) and Paulina Szydlo (Wroclaw, Poland) in the 200 Breaststroke (2:21.95). UWF took home first in the 200 Medley Relay, as the team of Emily Mitchell (Allen Park, Mich.), Macht, de Villiers and Sophia Oliva (Plantation, Fla.) finished with a time of 1:48.37.
The breaststroke events were a strength for UWF, as the Argos had four of the top five finishers in the 100 Breast and five out of the top six in the 200 Breast. The Argos also performed well in the diving events; Meghan Zets (Grovetown, Ga.) and Megan Drake (Navarre, Fla.) both had personal best scores in the 1-meter event with 464.00 and 342.70, respectively. Zets’ score was an NCAA qualifying mark, along with McKee’s 488.50.
Saturday marked the final home meet for Argonauts seniors Anna-Marie Macht and Emily Mitchell. The duo came to UWF together as transfers from Darton State, and they both qualified for the NCAA Championships last season and earned All-America honorable mention honors.
“Anna and Emily will hold a special place in the history of our program,” said Hancock. “They were two of the first to commit to being Argonauts for our swim team. They bought into the vision before there was much to see. I’m incredibly appreciative that they’ve come and given us two great years. They’ve been real leaders on our team and a real driving force behind all of the success we’ve had early on. We can’t wait to get through one last championship season with them.”
The NSISC Championships will be hosted by Delta State in Cleveland, Miss. on Feb. 18-21.
