Women's Swimming Finishes Eight At NCAA's
Sunday, March 18, 2001 | Women's Swimming & Diving
UF finished in eighth with 214 points. Florida imporved over its 19th place finish with 58 points frome a year ago. This year UF was able to eclipse that point total after only the first day of competion. The 11 place improvement is the largest in Florida history. The eighth place finish is the Gators best finish since they finished eighth in the 1999 championships.
Georgia won their third straight championships on the last race with 389 points over second place Standford by 1.5 points. It was the closest finish in NCAA swimming and diving history.
Florida started the final evening with six swimmers qualified for the timed finals in the 1650-yard freesytle, the most of any school. The six competitors paid dividends as UF received four scoring swims and closed the gap on seventh place California. Freshman Janelle Atkinson (Jamicia/The Bolles School) led the Gators with a third place finishing in a time of 16:07.34 to win her fourth All-America honor.
Freshmen Sara McLarty (DeLand, Fla./ DeLand H.S.) and Jamie Ellis (Spring, Texas/ Klein Oak H.S.) each lowered their collegiate bests in the 1650-yard freestyle to conclude their first NCAA Championships in style. McLarty swam the seventh fastest time in school history at 16:19.25 and lowered her time by more than 11 seconds in the process. She finished eighth overall. Ellis finished 15th and lowered her collegiate best time to 16:28.70. McLarty won her second All-America honor and Ellis added to her three All-America honors with an honorable mention All-American honor.
Senior Sharon Rzadkowolsky (Miami, Fla./ Gulliver Prep) closed out her Florida swimming career with a ninth place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle. She swam the race in a time of 16:20.47 for an honorable mention All-America honor.
"It was an honor to end my Florida career like this. It felt great because Florida is so great," said a reflected Rzadkowolsky. "I am sad because this a great team and we had a great year and I am going to miss that."
Junior Leah Martindale (St. James, Barbados/ St. Michael School) was the next on the block for the Gators in the 100-yard freestyle. She swam a 49.37 race in the prelims to qualify for the finals. In the finals she swam the race in 49.24 to finish sixth and pick up her second All-America honor of these championships.
The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Martidale, freshman Chantal Gibney (Dublin, Ireland), Atkinson and Ellis concluded a sucessful championships for Florida with a sixth place finish.
Florida had a succesful 2001 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. It earned eight All-America honors in individual events and 20 total All-America honors. UF also garned four honorable mention All-America honors in individual events. Last season, Florida earned only one All-America honor total.
"I could not be an prouder of our team. It was a true team effort. Our goal was to score 200 points and we accomplished that," said a beaming Head Coach Gregg Troy. "Our freshmen stepped up and acted like they have been swimming here before. Our upperclassmen showed some real leadership this weekend."
Florida will will have next weekend off to cheer for the men's team at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The women will return to the pool March 29-April 2 when they swim at the U.S. Swimming Nationals/ World Championship Trials in Austin, Texas. Troy is the head coach of the United States Swimming at the World Championships in the summer of 2001.
FLORIDA RESULTS
DAY THREE RESULTS
1650-yard Freestyle
3. Janelle Atkinson 16:07.34; 8. Sara McLarty 16:19.25; 9. Sharon Rzadkowolsky 16:20.47; 15. Jamie Ellis 16:28.70; 24. Laura Cross 16:40.85; 25. Andrea Bennett 16:43.04
100-yard Freestyle
6. Leah Martindale 49.24
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
6. Martindale, Gibney, Atkinson, Ellis 3:19.34
DAY TWO RESULTS
400-Yard Individual Medley
Championship Final
3. Jamie Ellis 4:11.36
Consolation Final
1. Sara McLarty 4:12.95
200-Yard Freestyle
Championship Final
6. Janelle Atkinson 1:46.72
800-Yard Freestyle
6. Atkinson, Gibney, Melgaard, Cross 7:13.16
DAY ONE RESULTS
200-Yard Freestyle Relay
Championship Final
6. Martindale, Tennison, Gibney, Ellis 1:31.23
500-Yard Freestyle
Championship Final
2. Atkinson 4:39.44; 6. McLarty 4:44.03
200-Yard Individual Medley
Consolation Final
3. Jamie Ellis 2:00.91
50-Yard Freestyle
Consolation Final
1. Leah Martindale 22.76
FINAL OVERALL STANDINGS
1. Georgia 389
2. Standford 387.5
3. Texas 350.5
4. Auburn 324
5. Arizona 304
6. USC 255
7. California 248
8. Florida 214
9. North Carolina 175
10. SMU 155.5
11. Penn State 100
12. Virgina 92
13. Indiana 90
14. Miami (Florida) 88.5
15. UCLA 83
16. Alabama 69
17. LSU 67
18. Michigan 64
19. Wisconsin 62
20. Tennessee 58
21. Arizona State 48
22. Houston 40
23. Nebraska 38
24. Hawaii 32
25. Princeton 27
26. Texas A & M 26
27. Villonova 25
28. Pacific 23
29 Rice 22
30. Ohio State 20
31. Maryland 19
32. Cincinnati 17
32. Michigan State 17
32. Florida State 17
35. Northwestern 16
35. Illinois 16
37. Notre Dame 15
38. Arkansas 9
39 Kentucky 6
40. Iowa 5
40. Purdue 5
42 UNLV 4
43. Clemson 3
44. Rutgers 2
45 Minnesota 1
45. Oregon State 1
FINAL SEC SCHOOL STANDINGS
1. Georgia 389
4. Auburn 324
8. Florida 214
16. Alabama 69
17 LSU 67
20. Tennessee 58
38. Arkansas 9
39. Kentucky 6
