Weiman and Bernhardt Continue to Lead Florida Women at NCAA S/D Championships
Saturday, March 18, 2006 | Women's Swimming & Diving
In the final day of preliminary competition at the 2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the No. 5 University of Florida women's team had two qualify for championship finals in the evening, and one for a B-final.
In the 200 butterfly junior Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) set her career-best time with a 1:56.96, the fastest by a Gator this season, and the fifth-fastest on the All-Time chart. Weiman's prelim effort earned her a fifth-place seeding in the evening championship final. Junior Ashley Carusone (Gainesville, Fla.) and junior Jamie Reid (Orlando, Fla.) finished in 30th and 38th in the 200 butterfly prelim, with times of 2:01.19 and 2:03.07, respectively.
Senior Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfeld, Germany) notched a 2:13.03, the third-fastest time by a Gator this season, in the 200 breaststroke prelim to earn a seventh-place seeding for the evening championship final. Bernhardt finished third in her own prelim heat with the effort.
The 400 freestyle relay team of freshman Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), Weiman, sophomore Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) qualified for the B-final with their prelim swim of 3:21.28, which seeded them in 13th-place.
In the 200 backstroke prelim Reid recorded a 1:58.59, a top-ten time by a Gator this season, to finish in 21st place. Sophomore Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.) and freshman Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) competed in the same event, finishing with times of 2:01.10 and 2:01.72 to place 36th and 39th, respectively.
Vollmer notched a 50.08 in the 100 freestyle prelim, one of the top-10 times posted by a Gator this season as she claimed 30th-place. In the same event Pike also put up a top-10 mark with her 50.80 swim to take 53rd, while Burckle finished in 57th with her 51.00 effort.
Action resumes at the 2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday evening at 7 p.m. with finals heats of the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay. A full recap and results will be available following the finals events at www.gatorzone.com, or up-to-the-minutes stats and times can be seen via live-scoring at http://georgiadogs.collegesports.com/sports/c-swim/c-swim-history/2006-w-swim-ncaas/geo-06-w-swim-ncaa-schedule.htm.
Day Three Preliminary First Place Finishers
| Name | School | Event | Time |
| Helen Silver | California | 200y Backstroke | 1:54.25 |
| Kara Lynn Joyce | Georgia | 100y Freestyle | 48.31 |
| Sarah Poewe | Georgia | 200y Breaststroke | 2:11.57 |
| Mary Descenza | Georgia | 200y Butterfly | 1:55.35 |
| McCawley, Kukors, Denby, Kolukanova | Auburn | 400y Free Relay | 3:16.54 |
Day Three Florida Prelim Times
| Name | Event | Time | Place |
| Jamie Reid | 200y Backstroke | 1:59.59 | 21st |
| Samantha Vanderbilt | 200y Backstroke | 2:01.10 | 36th |
| Stephanie Cota | 200y Backstroke | 2:01.72 | 39th |
| Dana Vollmer | 100y Freestyle | 50.08 | 30th |
| Natalie Pike | 100y Freestyle | 50.80 | 53rd |
| Caroline Burckle | 100y Freestyle | 51.00 | 57th |
| Vipa Bernhardt | 200y Breaststroke | 2:13.03 | 7th |
| Candace Weiman | 200y Butterfly | 1:56.96 | 5th |
| Ashley Carusone | 200y Butterfly | 2:01.19 | 30th |
| Jamie Reid | 200y Butterfly | 2:03.07 | 38th |
| Vollmer, Weiman, Burckle, Pike | 400 Freestyle Relay | 3:21.28 | 13th |
Florida NCAA Championship Accomplishments
| Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Total | |
| Win | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
| Top Three | 0 | 1 | - | 1 |
| Top Five | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| Top Ten | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| A-Final Qualifiers | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| B-Final Qualifiers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Florida Best | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Career Best | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Season Best | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| All-Time Top 10 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| Season Top-10 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 30 |
