NCAA Day 3 Prelims: Three UF Records Fall, Fraser Seeded First in 200 Fly With NCAA Record
Saturday, March 28, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
On the last day of prelims at the 2009 NCAA Championship Meet, six Gators, including top-seeded junior, Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) (200 fly), qualified for consolation and championship finals Saturday evening.
Fraser, the 200 free national champion, will look earn his second title in 2009 after setting a new NCAA record with his 1:41.17, first-place finish in the 200-yard fly. The time marked a career-best and UF record, as well. In addition to Fraser's record, fellow junior Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) shattered his own UF record in prelims of the 200-yard breast. Burckle, who will head to finals in the seventh-place slot, swam a 1:53.89 career-best in preliminaries.
Florida's other 2009 national champion, Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) (200 IM), will join Fraser in finals of the 200 fly after qualifying as the No. 11 seed with a career-best mark of 1:43.03, good for the consolation heat.
Two Gators in Omar Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia) and Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.) will represent the Orange and Blue in the championship final and consolation final, respectively, of the 200-yard back. Pinzon swam a 1:39.96 career-best to capture the fourth-fastest time in prelims, while Tullius qualified for the consolation heat in 11th (1:40.83).
Florida closed out the final day of prelims with the 400-yard freestyle relay, tapping in at 2:50.76. Composed of Fraser, Fraser, Ally and freshman Jeff Raymond (Davie, Fla.) UF swam the sixth-fastest time, good for a championship finals berth.
Timed finals of the 1650-yard freestyle will begin at 5 p.m. (CT) and the last heat will be swum with finals, which begin at 7 p.m. (CT). Gator fans can follow the meet live here or visit www.GatorZone.com following finals for complete results and a recap of the Gators' 2009 NCAA Championship campaign.
Florida Preliminary Results
200 Backstroke
4. Omar Pinzon: 1:39.96 – Career-best
11. Rex Tullius: 1:40.83
100 Freestyle
14. Brett Fraser: 42.76
28. Roberto Gomez: 43.30
200 Breaststroke
7. Clark Burckle: 1:53.89 – Career-best, UF Record
200 Butterfly
1. Shaune Fraser: 1:41.17 – Career-best, UF Record, NCAA Record
11. Bradley Ally: 1:43.03 – Career-best
30. Balazs Gercsak: 1:45.16
400 Freestyle Relay
6. Fraser (S), Fraser (B), Ally, Raymond: 2:50.76
Leadoff Split (Fraser, B): 42.41 – Career-best, UF Record
-UF-
