Florida Gators
SEC Championships
Swim & Dive Finishes Second At SEC Championships
Sunday, February 23, 2003 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida men's and women's swim and dive teams finished in second place in the team standings Saturday night at the 2003 SEC Championships held at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala. The women's team concluded with 685 points, while the men finished with 680. Auburn won both team titles.
"I was very pleased with the women's performance," head coach Gregg Troy said. "Sara McLarty, Vipa Bernhardt, Jamie Reid and our relays were outstanding. We have qualified pretty much everyone for the NCAA's. That was a heck of a conference meet with the three best teams probably in the nation."
"Ryan Lochte and Carlos Jayme were outstanding," Troy said. "We could be a little bit stronger in a few spots. Auburn is deeper than we are at the moment."
The women's team broke six school records, won two titles and set one SEC record that was later broken.
The men's team saw two individuals crowned champion and one, freshman Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), win the SEC Swimmer and Freshman of the Year Awards.
The men's team began the final night of competition with a bang, as Lochte opened with his second individual title in as many nights with a championship in the 1,650-yard freestyle (14:55.03). Lochte's sub 15-minute time was only the third such time in SEC Championship history. The win marked the third conference title for Lochte (200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard individual medley and 1,650 free) at this season's championships, making it the second straight year that a true freshman has won three titles in the same conference meet. Last season, Adam Sioui (Ontario, Canada) won three titles on his way to winning the NCAA Championship in the 200-yard freestyle a month later. Lochte's efforts also earned him the SEC Male High Points Award with 57 points. Lochte also made it three years in a row that a UF swimmer won the SEC Freshman of the Year honor (Carlos Jayme 2001 and Sioui 2002).
The high points award marked the second time this season that Lochte won such an award. He also won the Male High Points Award at the U.S. Open this past December with five top-10 finishes at the meet.
After beginning the day 107.5 points below Auburn, the women's team came within 67.5 points after getting off to a quick start as four swimmers placed within the top-10 of the 1,650-yard freestyle. Junior Sara McLarty (Deland, Fla.) led Florida as she won her second consecutive SEC title in the event with a James E. Martin Aquatics Center record of 16:07.45. McLarty finished tied for second in the Female High Points Award standings with 57 points. Sophomore Meredith Green (Chapel Hill, N.C.) placed third for the second straight year with a time of 16:20.18. Freshman Jamie Tannhauser (Seattle, Wash.) and senior Anna Chapman (St. Simons Island, Ga.) finished seventh and ninth with times of 16:39.80 and 16:47.06, respectively.
"I'm proud that the Gator's got one-three in the race," McLarty said. "This was a good start for us tonight, but I must say that Ryan Lochte really got it rolling for us. He is my training partner and his dad is my coach from back home. I'm really proud of him as well."
Freshman Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfeld, Germany) broke her own school record in the 200-yard breaststroke for the second time today with a runner-up time of 2:09.17. Fellow freshmen Danielle Duncan (Overland Park, Kan.) and Mandy Huff (Gold Hill, N.C.) finished fifth and eighth in the event with times of 2:14.80 and 2:18.06, respectively.
"It was a great swim," Bernhardt said. "It's fantastic for German's to finish one-two-three in a race like this. I set a new school record tonight and got to swim with two of my teammates."
After breaking the SEC, pool and school record this morning in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:54.86, freshman Jamie Reid (Orlando, Fla.) finished third with a time of 1:55.01. Reid's prelim time ranks third in SEC history after Auburn's Margaret Hoelzer (1:52.83) and Kirsty Coventry (1:53.87) took one and two in the finals.
Defending SEC champion Rebecca Harper (Richmond, Va.) finished third in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:57.57. Georgia's Mary DeScenza broke Harper's SEC record of 1:55.97 from last year with a time of 1:54.80. Junior Casey Seland (Longwood, Fla.) placed eighth in 2:00.83.
Junior Chantal Gibney (Dublin, Ireland) took sixth place in the 100-yard freestyle in a provisional time of 50.31.
Junior Carlos Jayme (Goias, Brazil) won the first individual SEC title of his career in the 100-yard freestyle with a SEC meet record time of 42.89. Jayme's title marked the 325th SEC swimming title in UF men's history (the most of any SEC school). Sophomore Gabriel Mangabeira (Piratininga, Brazil) finished 12th in a time of 44.39, while junior Scott Schultz (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished 14th (44.96) in the consolation finals. Jayme also finished fourth in the standings for the Male High Points Award with 52 points.
"It feels great to finally get my first SEC title," Jayme said. "It was a tough race. The guys that I raced against are very good. I owe this one to my teammates. They helped me pull through."
In addition to Lochte in the 1,650 free, sophomore Jan Wolfgarten (Frankfurt, Germany), sophomore Scott Kaufmann (Sparks, Nev.) and freshman Brian Hartley (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished fifth, sixth and eighth respectively in the event.
Junior Chris Kellam (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) finished second in his bid to defend his SEC title in the 200-yard backstroke. Kellam finished in a time of 1:42.57. Sophomore Kris Wiebeck (Tampa, Fla.) finished fourth in the event (1:44.61), while sophomore Claudio Ulrich (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) finished seventh (1:46.91).
Senior Philip Norris (Longwood, Fla.) concluded his career in the SEC Championships with an eighth place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:59.81. Fellow senior Ian Chadsey (Reston, Va.) won the consolation finals of the event with a ninth place time of 1:59.28. Sophomore Corey Welch (Larksville, Pa.) finished 12th.
Sioui and senior Greg King (Miami, Fla.) finished ninth and 10th place respectively in the consolation finals of the 200-yard butterfly. Sioui finished in a time of 1:47.58, while King finished with a time of 1:48.07.
Zach Wilcox (Yarrow Point, Wash.) concluded his brilliant performance at the SEC Championships with a third place finish of 496.85 in the platform diving. The Gators' 400-yard freestyle relay team of Schultz, Jayme, Mangabeira and Sioui closed out the night with a second place finish in a time of 2:55.29.
Overall, UF won seven men's titles. That brings the total number of SEC men's individual titles to 23 in Troy's four years as head coach. The four years before Troy's arrival as head men's coach, UF had won only 12 individual conference titles.
Both swimming and diving teams will be back in action Wednesday night, Feb. 25, as the Gators host the Last Chance Meet at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center at 7 p.m.
TEAM SCORES
MEN
1. Auburn 918.5
2. Florida 680
3. Georgia 492.5
4. Tennessee 455
5. Alabama 376
6. Kentucky 270.5
7. LSU 218
8. South Carolina 188.5
WOMEN
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
MEN'S 1,650-YARD FREESTYLE
1. Ryan Lotche, UF 14:55.03
5. Jan Wolfgarten, UF 15:16.64
6. Scott Kaufmann, UF 15:17.69
8. Brian Hartley, UF 15:22.34
12. Mac Warren, UF 15:34.78
exh. Steve Friedlander, UF 15:48.42
WOMEN'S 1,650-YARD FREESTYLE
- Sara McLarty, UF 16:07.45 Pool Record
3. Meredith Green, UF 16:20.18
7. Jamie Tannhauser, UF 16:39.80
9. Anna Chapman, UF 16:47.06
exh. Jessica Schrock, UF 16:50.61
exh. Blair Beard, UF 17:03.49
WOMEN'S PLATFORM DIVING
1. Kylee Wells, UT 452.95
13. Nicole Bolt, UF 312.25
14. Jessica Ranieri, UF 281.65
MEN'S 200-YARD BACKSTROKE
1. Bryce Hunt, AU 1:41.73
2. Chris Kellam, UF 1:42.57
4. Kris Wiebeck, UF 1:44.61
7. Claudio Ulrich, UF 1:46.91
WOMEN'S 200-YARD BACKSTROKE
1. Margaret Hoelzer, AU 1:52.83
3. Jamie Reid, UF 1:55.01
4. Maureen Farrell, UF 1:55.24
MEN'S 100-YARD FREESTYLE
Championship Finals
1. Carlos Jayme, UF 42.89*
Consolation Finals
12. Gabriel Mangabeira, UF 44.39
14. Scott Schultz, UF 44.96
WOMEN'S 100-YARD FREESTYLE
Championship Finals
1. Maritza Correia, UG 47.49
6. Chantal Gibney, UF 50.31
Consolation Finals
13. Diane Tennison, UF 50.67
15. Mary Uhle, UF 50.95
MEN'S 200-YARD BREASTSTROKE
Championship Finals
1. Kyle Salyards, UG 1:55.67
8. Philip Norris, UF 1:59.81
Consolation Finals
9. Ian Chadsey, UF 1:59.28
12. Corey Welch, UF 2:00.97
WOMEN'S 200-YARD BREASTSTROKE
1. Anne Poleska, Alab. 2:09.03
2. Vipa Bernhardt, UF 2:09.17
5. Danielle Duncan, UF 2:14.80
8. Mandy Huff, UF 2:18.06
MEN'S 200-YARD BUTTERFLY
Championship Finals
1. Stefan Gherghel, UA 1:43.09
Consolation Finals
9. Adam Sioui, UF 1:47.58
10. Greg King, UF 1:48.07
WOMEN'S 200-YARD BUTTERFLY
Championship Finals
1. Mary DeScenza, UG 1:54.80
3. Rebecca Harper, UF 1:57.57
8. Casey Seland, UF 2:00.83
Consolation Finals
9. Renate duPlessis, UF 1:59.79
12. Cara Teague, UF 2:00.79
14. Diane Tennison, UF 2:01.69
MEN'S PLATFORM DIVING
3. Zach Wilcox, UF 496.85
MEN'S 400-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
1. Auburn 2:51.96
2. Florida 2:55.29
(Schultz, Jayme, Mangabeira, Sioui)
WOMEN'S 400-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
1. Auburn 3:16.75
3. Florida 3:20.69
(Farrell, Uhle, Gibney, Tennison)
