Florida Tech
Florida Tech wrapped up the 2016 Sunshine State Conference Championships in style on Sunday, grabbing two more medals on the last day of competition at the Orlando YMCA Aquatic Center.
Garnering Second Team All-SSC honors was junior Ferruccio Rossi, who finished with the 15th highest point total of any individual swimmer at the championships.
In total, FIT made six trips to the podium at the meet, or twice as many as had previously been made in the program’s history. Additionally, the Panthers set 25 total NCAA B Cut times during the four days of competition.
“It was an exciting meet to say the least, said head coach Justin Andrade. “We had some really great swims and the team had more fun than we’ve ever seen them have, which was awesome to see.”
The Panther men finished in fourth place in the team standings with 541 points, 73.5 ahead of fifth place Saint Leo. The FIT women took sixth in the standings with 259 points, outpacing Rollins.
Florida Tech’s biggest moment on Sunday came in the championships’ final event. Racing in a dead heat to the finish, Nir Barnea, Fillip Dujmic, Victor Rocha Furtado and Thomas Steenberg just clipped Saint Leo for silver in the 400 free relay, touching only five hundredths of a second faster than the Lions. Not only is the time good for a B Cut and a school record but as it currently sits it is the sixth fastest in the nation.
Rossi also collected a medal on Day Four, finishing third for bronze in the mile with a Florida Tech record time of 15:37.07, dropping more than 21 seconds from his seed time and provisionally qualifying for the national meet.
In the women’s 400 free relay, Dar Raz, Lauren Suarez, Liana Soileau and Shelby Pearce placed fifth after finishing in 3:36.86, while Julie Coen snagged seventh in the 200 back with a 2:05.53 and Paulina Bjorkbacka finished 10th in the same event, timing in at 2:05.48.
Tyler Phelps took seventh in the 200 backstroke after making the final touch in 1:52.20, while Nathan Hufnagel registered a ninth place finish in the 200 breast after winning the “B” final with a time of 2:03.65. Hufnagel’s finals time was the sixth fastest among all participants.
“”It’s fun to see what this team can do when they come together and support each other,” stated Andrade. “We’re very proud of how they approached the meet as a team and it showed in their performances.
For many, the conclusion of the conference championships marks a close to the 2016 season. However, qualifying athletes will take part in the NCAA Championships, slated for March 9 through 12 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Nova Southeastern
Nova Southeastern University swimming claimed championship titles in the men's 100-yard freestyle, women's 200-yard backstroke and men's 200-yard breaststroke to highlight the final night of the Sunshine State Conference Championship. Thiago Sickert was named the men's Swimmer of the Meet as both teams took second place overall.
Sickert (Jr., Vila Velha, Brazil), who currently holds the SSC overall conference, SSC Championship meet, and NSU records in the 100-free, won the event with a NCAA Standard-A time of 43.79. Over the course of the meet, Sickert won titles in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly in addition to the 100-free. He won the men's Swimmer of the Meet after accruing 77 total points, three gold medals and a silver medal.
Emma Wahlstrom (Jr., Stockholm, Sweden) had the Sharks next win in the women's 200-back. Wahlstrom finished the race with a NCAA Division II B qualifying time of 2:01.31. Courtney DeVeny (So., Estero, Fla) finished sixth one hundredths of a second behind Wahlstrom claiming second place in 2:01.37, which is also a NCAA Standard-B time.
The next victory came from Anton Lobanov (So., Novosibirisk, Russia) in the men's 200-back. Lobanov, who holds the NCAA Division II record, SSC overall record, SSC Championship meet record and NSU record in the 200-back, put up a NCAA Division II A qualifying time of 1:55.06. Lobanov garnered two wins overall, the first coming on day three in the 100-yard breaststroke.
To start the final night, Georgina Allin (Jr., Somerset, England) and Madison Yelle (So., Mansfield, Texas) took fourth and fifth in the women's 1650-yard freestyle with NCAA Standard-B times of 17:17.62 and 17:29.73, respectively.
In the men's 1650-free, Blake Woodrow (So., Fort Myers, Fla.) took second place in 15:33.69, which is a NCAA Division II B qualifying time. He was followed by Andrew Pittman (Jr., Plano, Texas) and Jean-David Rousseau (Sr., Midland, Ga.) in seventh and ninth with times of 16:04.86 (NCAA B) and 16:11.04.
Jordan Shows (So., Alta Loma, Calif.) and Sydney Panzarino (So., Bradenton, Fla.) took part in the women's 100-free earning third and seventh with NCAA Division II B qualifying times of 51.28 and 52.17, respectively. Teammate Victor Tarin (Jr., Godelleta, Spain) competed in the men's final coming in eighth in 45.29 (NCAA B).
The 200-yard backstroke featured Marco Aldabe (Jr., Alicante, Spain) and David Van Der Colff (Fr., Gaborone, Botswana). Both putting up NCAA Standard-B times, Aldabe earned second place in 1:46.89 while Van Der Colff took fourth in 1:49.05.
Taking third and eighth in the women's 200-yard breaststroke was Malin Westman (So., Harryda, Sweden) and Lindsay Craig (So., Mount Horeb, Wis.) Westman's time of 2:16.88 made the NCAA B-cut, and Craig came in at 2:26.81.
The 400-yard freestyle was the final event of the night, featuring the women's team of Wahlstrom, Panzarino, Caroline Oster (Fr., Lake Mary, Fla.) and Shows, claimed second place with a NCAA Standard-B time of 3:26.30. The men took fifth in the event with a time of 2:58.73, which is a NCAA Division II B qualifying time. Swimmers for the men were Tarin, Sickert, Aldabe and Lobanov.
The men and women both finished in second place behind Florida Southern with scores of 743.5 and 767, respectively. Over the course of the meet, the Sharks also claimed victory in the following events: men's 400-yard medley relay, men's 800-yard freestyle relay and women's 200-yard medley relay. Below are the Sharks who were named first and second team All-SSC.
Tampa
The University of Tampa men's and women's swimming teams both placed third at the 2016 Sunshine State Conference Championships.
Florida Southern College captured both SSC Championships, with the Mocs tallying 792.50 points on the men's side and 893.50 for the women. UT's men recorded 722.50 points as its women finished with 598.50.
Freshman Makayla Ayers began the championship segment of day four with a second-place finish in the 1,650 Free. Ayers finished the race in a time of 17:09.44.
Tampa's women also turned in a third-place effort in the 400 Free Relay. The team of Sophie Long, Marisa Barton, Courtney Markle and Amanda Fernandes recorded a time of 3:28.34.
UT's men won the final race of the night, taking home a first-place finish in the 400 Free Relay. With a time of 2:56.84, the group of Martin Hammer, Jordan Augier, Khalid Aldaboos and Jeremy Parker earned SSC gold.
In the men's 100 Free, Hammer placed third with a time of 44.32.
