Bernhardt Closes Out Historic Career, Florida Women Finish 10th at NCAA S/D Championships
Sunday, March 19, 2006 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The 2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships proved a successful venture for the contingent of 11 Gator women who competed at the event March 16-18 in Athens, Ga. More records fell in the third and final day of the National Meet, as the Orange and Blue captured 10th-place and closed out a successful year in which it finished 11-2 (5-2) during the regular season, and took third-place at the Southeastern Conference Championships.
Senior Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfeld, Germany) capped off her historic Florida career with a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke. Bernhardt, who owns nine of the 10 best times posted in the event by a Gator this season, topped her own season best with her championship final swim of 2:10.13. The 200 breaststroke time also clocks in as the second-fastest time ever swam in UF history, second only to Bernhardt's school-record mark of 2:09.13. Head coach Gregg Troy touts Bernhardt as one of the finest swimmers to ever be a part of the Florida program, and was pleased to see her finish out her final meet with successful such swims.
“For the past four years, everytime Vipa has gone to the blocks we knew we were going to get nothing less than 100 percent out of her,” said Troy. “There's no quit in the girl, she's a great racer, and the best breaststroker to ever swim at the University of Florida. She will be missed in the years to come, and it was great to see her go out the way she did this weekend.”
In the 200 butterfly, junior Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) set her career-best for the second time during day three, after also accomplishing the feat in the morning preliminary heats. Weiman's mark of 1:56.54, set in the finals, stands as the best swim of her career in the 200 fly, as well as the best time posted by a Gator this season and the fourth-best ever recorded by a UF swimmer. Weiman's effort earned her a fourth-place finish in the championship final of the event.
“I can't say enough about Candace Weiman,” said Troy. “She's been nursing some injuries this weekend, and still almost won the 200 fly. She broke her own school record twice in one day, and was a rock for us all weekend.”
The 400 freestyle relay quartet of freshman Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), Bernhardt, sophomore Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) recorded a time of 3:21.99 in the B-final, a top-10 season mark, to claim eighth-place in their heat, and 16th overall.
In the 1650 freestyle sophomore Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.) topped her career-best with a 16:41.38, the second-fastest time posted by a Gator this season. Freshmen Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) and Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) competed in the same event, earning top-10 season times of 16:43.92 and 16:45.20, respectively. Cota and Guenthner finished in 32nd and 35th place overall.
In the team standings Auburn edged Georgia for the 2006 NCAA title with a point total of 518.5, while the Bulldogs notched 515.5. Arizona finished third with 415, California took fourth with 291 and Stanford rounded out the top five with a total of 209 points. Florida, which started out the meet in 14th-place during day one and moved to seventh in day two, landed in 10th-place after the final event.
With their performances in the Championship meet, seven Gator women combined to earn a total of 27 All-American and Honorable Mention All-American accolades. Burckle, Weiman, Bernhardt, Vollmer, Pike, Larson and Vanderbilt were honored with the outstanding achievement status at the conclusion of the meet.
“I'm really proud of these girls,” said Troy. “With all of the adversity we've had to fight through this season, and during this meet, they were outstanding. For them to come out Thursday and work their way up and finish in the top 10 is great. Overall I think we could have been a little bit better this weekend, and I think coming in we were expecting a little more, but I am proud of the effort they out in.”
“I think this is a good stepping stone for us for next year,” Troy continued. “We got some of our younger swimmers some valuable experience this weekend, and we're returning everyone from this NCAA team except for one person and we've got some outstanding talent coming in the fall. In terms of the big picture, this was a great meet for us, and we look forward to coming back next year and being even stronger and more experienced.”
Overall during the 2006 NCAA Championships, the Orange and Blue recorded two top-three finishes, three top-five placements and had two more finishes in the top-10. Five Gator career-best times were posted, while 13 swims recorded throughout the weekend were good enough to make the all-time top-10 list for their event. The Florida women also notched a total of 12 season-best swims at the Championships, and recorded 36 times which appear in their event's top-10 best list for the 2005-06 season.
With the conclusion of the 2006 NCAA Championships the Florida swimming and diving team wraps up its 2005-06 campaign. A full season and post-season wrap-up, as well as final stats and records will be available at www.gatorzone.com.
Day Three Preliminary Recap
In the 200 butterfly junior Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) set her than career-best time with a 1:56.96, the fastest by a Gator this season until she bested the mark in the evening final, and also than 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, than 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-10 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.
Final Team Standings (Top 10 of 68)
| Place | School | Points |
| 1 | Auburn | 518.5 |
| 2 | Georgia | 515.5 |
| 3 | Arizona | 415 |
| 4 | California | 291 |
| 5 | Stanford | 209 |
| 6 | Southern California | 193 |
| 7 | Southern Methodist | 161.5 |
| 8 | Texas | 151 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 146 |
| 10 | Florida | 135 |
Day Three Finals First Place Finishers
| Name | School | Event | Time |
| Hayley Piersol | Auburn | 1650y Freestyle | 15:49.48 |
| Helen Silver | California | 200y Backstroke | 1:53.01 |
| Kara Lynn Joyce | Georgia | 100y Freestyle | 47.41 |
| Rebecca Soni | Southern California | 200y Breaststroke | 2:09.37 |
| Mary Descenza | Georgia | 200y Butterfly | 1:53.78 |
| Cashion, Gresdal, Myers, Nymeyer | Arizona | 400y Freestyle Relay | 3:12.77 |
Day Three Florida Finals Times
| Name | Event | Time | Place |
| Kim Larson | 1650y Freestyle | 16:41.38 | 31st |
| Stephanie Cota | 1650y Freestyle | 16:43.92 | 32nd |
| Laurabeth Guenthner | 1650y Freestyle | 16:45.20 | 35th |
| Vipa Bernhardt | 200y Breaststroke | 2:10.13 | 2nd |
| Candace Weiman | 200y Butterfly | 1:56.54 | 4th |
| Vollmer, Bernhardt, Burckle, Pike | 400y Freestyle Relay | 3:21.99 | 16th |
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 | 0 |
| Top Three | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Top Five | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Top Ten | 1 | 1 | 0 | 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 | 3 | 5 |
| Season Best | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| All-Time Top 10 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| Season Top-10 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 36 |
American Honorees
| Name | Event |
| Caroline Burckle | 500y Freestyle |
| Candace Weiman | 100y Butterfly |
| Candace Weiman | 200y Butterfly |
| Vipa Bernhardt | 100y Breaststroke |
| Vipa Bernhardt | 200y Breaststroke |
| Vollmer, Burckle, Pike, Larson | 800y Freestyle Relay |
Honorable Mention All-American Honorees
| Name | Event |
| Vipa Bernhardt | 200y Individual Medley |
| Candace Weiman | 200y Individual Medley |
| Vollmer, Bernhardt, Burckle, Pike | 400y Freestyle Relay |
| Vollmer, Pike, Vanderbilt, Larson | 200y Freestyle Relay |
| Vanderbilt, Bernhardt, Weiman, Vollmer | 200y Medley Relay |
| Vanderbilt, Bernhardt, Weiman, Pike | 400y Medley Relay |
