Spofforth Sets 200 Back Pool Record at College Conference Carnival
Saturday, January 17, 2009 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Junior Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) led the Gators with a Sonny Werblin Recreation Center record in the 200 back (1:54.93) and No. 6 Florida completed the initial evening at the Swimming World Magazine College Conference Carnival in first place with 149 points.
No. 14 North Carolina finished day one of the two-day showdown in second with 92 points, while Richmond (83) and Rutgers (77) will head into the second day of swimming at Rutgers in third and fourth.
The classic meet features No. 6 Florida, No. 14 North Carolina, Richmond and Rutgers competing for the title as streamed live by SwimmingWorld.TV here. The Swimming World/Rutgers partnership has revived the Yale Carnival concept created by Swimming World founder Robert Kiphuth.
Friday Event Recaps:
400 medley relay
The Florida squad of Spofforth (53.40), and freshmen Lindsay Rogers (Fishers, Ind.) (1:04.52), Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) (55.26) and Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) (49.92) ripped off a quick time of 3:43.10, just missing the pool record of 3:42.52 set back in 2006.
Richmond's quartet of Alex Helland, Lauren Beaudreau, Katie Sieben and Charlotte Brackett (51.11) emerged for second in 3:46.17, while North Carolina's clinched third in 3:47.24.
500 free
Battling it out, neck-and-neck, throughout the entire middle-distance fight, UF freshman Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) edged North Carolina's Katura Harvey, 4:47.02 to 4:47.66, for the victory as the crowd erupted during the exciting finish. The time marked a season best in the event for Crippen. Gator junior Stephanie Proud (Durham, England) made it a 1-3 finish for the Orange and Blue with a time of 4:50.06.
200 back
Spofforth provided the meet its first pool record when she clocked a sterling season-best time of 1:54.93, just a second and a half shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying cut. That performance crushed the 1:56.63 set by Kelly Harrigan of Rutgers in 2005. Gator Kirsten Smith (Cary, N.C.) touched third in 2:00.97.
One-meter diving
In the one-meter diving break, Rutgers' Erin Saunders held off a pair of Florida Gators for the title with 280.15 points. UF seniors Jeana Bartell (Boca Raton, Fla.) (274.04) and Whitney Stern (Safety Harbor, Fla.) (269.50) rounded out the podium.
100 free
Gator Stafford doubled up after UF's 400 medley relay title and sprinted to the crown in the 100 free with a time of 50.37, while a pair of Tar Heels took second and third. North Carolina's Megan Steeves (50.87) and Rebecca Kane (50.90) were the only other sub-51 finishers in the heat.
200 fly
UF's Crippen sealed her second event victory when she struck again under 2:00 in the 200 fly with a swift time of 1:59.94 for the win. Florida junior Liz Kemp (Potomac, Md.) raced to the third-place spot with a time of 2:03.11.
200 IM
The Orange and Blue won another tightly-contested race, this time when Bateman out-touched Richmond's Lauren Beaudreau, 2:02.03 to 2:02.19, for the sprint medley victory. Smith made it 1-3 for the Gators with a third-place 2:03.98. Bateman's finish was a season-best mark, while Smith's finish was just shy of her best time.
200 free relay
The Gator quartet of Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) (24.00), Stafford (23.14), Spofforth (22.96) and Bateman (23.04) gave the facility standard (1:32.14) a run for its money in the final event of the evening, but fell just short with a time of 1:33.14.
Richmond's Charlotte Brackett, Jill Smaniotto, Alex Helland and Katie Sieben placed second in 1:35.58, while Rutgers' foursome finished third in 1:35.74.
For a recap of the final day of action at the Swimming World Magazine College Conference Carnival, please visit www.GatorZone.com following Saturday competition.
-UF-
