The Ohio State women and Virginia Tech men took leads after day one of the FGCU Classic
WOMEN
1. #18 Ohio State – 230
2. #20 LSU – 226
3. Virginia Tech – 224
4. FGCU – 221
5. Utah – 205
6. Rutgers – 181
MEN
1. #24 Virginia Tech – 259
2. LSU – 250
3. Utah – 241
FGCU Press Release
FORT MYERS, Fla. – After opening and closing the day with runner-up finishes in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay, the FGCU swimming & diving team is currently in fourth place and trails leader Ohio State by only nine points following the first day of competition at the FGCU Classic.
The top-four teams in the field – #18 Ohio State (230), #20 LSU (226), Virginia Tech (224) and FGCU (221) – are separated by only nine points heading into the second and final day of competition at the second annual event. All three teams ahead of the Eagles finished in the top-27 at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Utah (205) and Rutgers (181) round out the standings on the women's side.
The Eagles clocked season-best times in seven of eight events Friday evening, highlighted by the pair of runner-up relay finishes as well as a runner-up finish by Katie Latham (Deal, Kent, UK/Sir Roger Manwood's School) in the 50 free.
"The girls swam really well," said FGCU head coach Dave Rollins. "To be in fourth behind three schools that finished where they did at last year's NCAA's, I'm OK with that. It's a very unique meet format where one event could be a five-point swing. Every event, every race is going to matter. The girls are in a good spot and are excited about getting back out here tomorrow."
To start out the meet, FGCU's 200 medley relay quartet of Fanny Teijonsalo (Espoo, Finland/Makelanrinteen Lukio), Evita Leter (Paramaribo, Suriname/Doral Academy), Yee Ching Wong (Hong Kong, China/Diocesan's Girls School) and Latham touched in a season-best time of 1:42.64 and finished just 0.10 seconds behind Ohio State to finish second. The Eagles swam impressive opening and closing splits as Teijonsalo's 50-yard back of 26.24 seconds was second fastest and Latham's 50-yard free of 22.47 seconds bested the field by 0.21 seconds.
Freshman Elizabeth Zeiger (Cumberland, R.I./Crimson Aquatics) then turned in the ninth-best time in program history in the 400 IM and finished third in the event as she clocked a time of 4:21.04 – almost five seconds faster than her performance at the All Florida Invitational.
In the individual freestyle events, sophomore Hannah Burdge (Stuart, Fla./Franklin Community HS) touched in 1:51.21, which was less than 0.20 seconds off her personal record, and finished fifth in the 200 free. Latham then competed in the 50 free and clocked a season-best time of 23.22 seconds, good for the aforementioned runner-up finish.
Sophomore Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) won the 100 fly 'B' final after turning in a time of 55.65 seconds, while senior captain Barbara Caraballo (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Indian River/ Newsome HS) finished second in the 200 back 'B' final with a time of 2:01.43, which was the third-fastest time overall. Both were also good for season-best performances.
To cap off the evening, it took a 48.97-second final split from Ohio State's Zhesi Li to out-touch the Eagles 400 free relay team of Burdge, Teijonsalo, Latham and Gracie Redding (Orlando, Fla./FSU/The First Academy). Burdge and Teijonsalo gave FGCU the lead at the halfway point and Latham extended it with a split of 50.21 seconds – second fastest of the event – but the Buckeye's Li put forth an impressive effort to win the event by less than 0.40 seconds. The Eagles time of 3:23.28 was more than 30 seconds faster than they swam to start the season in Fort Lauderdale.
LSU Press Release
FORT MYERS, Fla. -First place finishes from Logan Rysemus and Colleen O’Neil helped the LSU swim team secure second place for both the men’s and women’s squads respectively on day one at the Florida Gulf Coast Classic Friday at the FGCU Aquatics Complex. The women’s team wrapped up the day with 226 points while the men’s squad totaled 250 points.
LSU returns to action tomorrow on the final day of the FGCU Classic. The team will also participate in a dual meet against Loyola in New Orleans tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. at the University Sports Complex.
“I think we did a good job stepping up and competing today,” said LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer. “There were a few places I felt we should have been better, but that’s why we have these meets. Tomorrow we have another opportunity to better our racing.”
On the men’s side, Logan Rysemus, Silas Dejean, Joao Mescolote and Tyler Harper touched the wall first in the 200 medley relay, finishing with a time of 1:29.93. Senior Brandon Goldman secured two second place finishes in the 400 IM and 200 back, finishing with times of 3:59.85 and 1:49.94 respectively.
Jake Markham, a junior from Denver, came in third in the 200 free with a time of 1:39.83. Mescolote secured second in the 50 free with a time of 20.89.
Rysemus garnered a first place finish in the 100 fly, completing the event at 47.63. Dejean took third with a time of 55.82 in the 100 breast. The relay team of Tyler Harper, Karl Luht, Markham, Mescolote also came in third place in the 400 free relay, rounding out day one of the FGCU Classic at 3:03.72.
For the women’s squad, Leah Troskot came in third in the 50 free with a time of 23.34. Sophie Weber also notched a third place finish in the 200 back, earning a finals time of 2:03.47. In the 100 fly, senior Kara Kopcso earned second place, completing the event at 54.73. Colleen O’Neil touched the wall first in the 100 breast, tallying a finish of 1:02.37.
In the 400 free relay, Haylee Knight, Devon Dabney, Kopcso and Troskot finished fourth with a time of 3:25.66 in the final event of the day for the women’s team.
Rutgers Press Release
Rutgers swimming and diving completed the first day of the Florida Gulf Coast University Classic Friday night in Fort Myers, Florida. Senior Rachel Stoddard finished second in the 100 breaststroke, while freshman Alexandra Fabugais-Inaba produced a third-place result in the A-Final of the 200 freestyle to highlight Friday action.
Big Ten Conference member Ohio State leads the talented field with 230 points, followed by LSU (226) and Virginia Tech (224).
Stoddard hit the wall second in the 100 breaststroke, producing a time of 1:03.96. In the 400 IM, Stoddard placed sixth in the A-Final with a time of 4:32.96.
Fabugais-Inaba competed in two individual events in her first action as a Scarlet Knight. The Oakville, Ontario, Canada, native recorded a time of 1:50.80 in the 200 freestyle, good for third in the A-Final and the fourth-fastest time overall. Fabugais-Inaba also competed in the 400 IM on Friday.
Sophomore Francesca Stoppa finished fourth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.53, and rookie Vanessa Ruiz made an appearance in the A-Final of the 50 freestyle in other individual highlights.
Rutgers returns to action tomorrow, when the Scarlet Knights compete in day two of the FGCU Classic beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. Tomorrow morning’s session features the 400 medley relay, 100 IM, 500 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 butterfly, 200 IM, and the 200 free relay.
Virginia Tech Press Release
FORT MEYERS, Fla. -- The Virginia Tech swimming and diving saw its men’s swimmers in first and its women’s swimmers in fourth after the first day of action at the FGCU Classic on Friday.
“We were very pleased with our team’s performances. It was a lot of fun watching the men and women race with grit,” said head coach Ned Skinner. “In light of the hurricane, it brought a lot of energy out among the schools. It was a strong environment and we are excited about racing tomorrow.”
Senior Robert Owen placed first in the 200 backstroke A-final with a time of 1:45.98 and senior Klaudia Nazieblo posted a 54.45 to place first in the A-final of the 100 butterfly.
Sophomore Ian Ho nearly set a new personal best in the 50 freestyle with a first place time of 20.29 while classmate Norbert Szabo 1:37.64 in the 200 freestyle. Senior Jess Hespeler also turned in a top time in the 200 freestyle with a 1:47.68.
In relay action, Ho, Szabo, senior Brandon Fiala and sophomore Brent Benedict took first in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:00.89, topping the second place team from Utah by 2.72.
The H2Okies return to action tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. for day two of the FGCU Classic.
Utah Press Release
After one day of competition, Utah’s men’s team sits third while the women’s squad sits fifth.
Jack Burton capped a solid showing by the Utes with a win in the 100nbreast, claiming the top spot with a time of 53.93. Stina Colleou had an impressive swim for the women, finishing third with a time of 1:03.96.
In the 400 IM, Ethan Dillard was third with a time of 4:01.53 and on the women’s side, Jordan Anderson took fourth (4:23.64).
Freshman Rahiti De Vos took second in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.32 and fellow newcomer Sarah Lott was also the runner-up in the same event for the women’s team with a time of 1:50.57.
McKay King was third in the 50 free touching in at 20.96 and on the other side, Gillian St.John was fourth (23.84) for the Utes.
In the 100 fly, Ben Scott took third (50.06) while Darby Wayner finished fifth in the event with a time of 55.91. Cole Avery finished third in the 200 back with a time of 1:51.22 and Megan Kawauchi taking sixth, touching in at 2:04.55.
In relay action, Paul Unger, Burton, Ben Scott and King took second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:30.20. The women’s 200 medley relay team consisting of Shayla Archer, Mariah Gassaway, Kristine Pataray and St.John took third (1:42.79).
In the 400 free relay, Liam O’Haimhirgin, King, Colten Montgomery and Tommy Baker were second touching in at 3:02.17. The women’s team of Dorien Butter, Lott, St.John and Wayner took fifth (3:25.93).
The FGCU Invitational is scheduled to begin its second day of action at 10:30 a.m. ET
