Gators Prepare for Wednesday Night Sunshine Showdown against Seminoles
Wednesday, November 2, 2011 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Three days after the Gators took to the pool to take on SEC opponent Georgia, they dive back into the water to face in-state rival Florida State for a mid-week showdown on Wednesday, November 2, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium. Wednesday's matchup will mark the final home meet of the fall semester, and the second time that the Gators and Seminoles have competed against one another on the year, as they each partook in the All-Florida Invitational this October. Florida ousted FSU as it clinched a dual victory for both the men's and women's squads, while FSU claimed second at the annual competition. Diving is set to begin at 3:00 PM, with swimming slated at 5:00 PM.
Admission is free to the event. Florida students that are registered as Rowdy Reptiles can earn four valuable Rowdy Reptile Points by bringing their Gator1 I.D. to the marketing table located in the Gate 2 lobby of the O'Connell Center. Gator Great and Olympian Ryan Lochte will be signing autographs for fans from 4:15-5 p.m., and fans can register to win Florida vs. Florida State football tickets for the annual football game on November 26th.
Floridaswimnetwork.com will provide a live stream of the meet against Georgia. The broadcast will air live on GatorVision for subscribers, airing at 4:45 p.m.
“Florida State is always good, welcomed competition for us,” said head coach Gregg Troy. “We always look forward to this meet every year.”
Wednesday's showdown with the Seminoles is the 74th in program history for the men's squad and 41st for the women. It is one of the longest standing matchups for the Gators, as the men lead the series with a 51-22-1 advantage, while the women have only dropped two decisions to the Seminoles in program history, leading the series, 40-2. The last time FSU traveled down to Gainesville for a dual meet was Nov. 24, 2009. Both Gator squads claimed a win, as the men topped FSU 169-131, while the women defeated the Seminoles 212-88.
FSU heads to Gainesville after coming off a successful performance in Christiansburg, Va. The women's squad (8-0) left the weekend with three victories over Virginia Tech, Duke and UNC-Wilmington. At the meet, FSU claimed two pool records with the help of Elizabeth Pepper (200 fly, 1:59.52) and the 400 free relay team of Pepper, Tiffany Oliver, Kaitlyn Dressel and Ginny Grams who finished the event in 3:26.14. The men dropped their first decision of the season (5-1) when they fell to ACC opponent Virginia Tech, but claimed victories over Duke and UNC Wilmington. Senior Mateo De Angulo leads the Seminoles, with an individual win streak of 18 titles on the year. He has turned in the fastest times in the ACC this season in the 500 (4:25.00), 1000 (9:20.94) and 1650 (15:25.33) free.
In a rare sequence of events the last time out, Florida tied to Georgia 150-150 on the men's side, while the women fell to their first opponent of the season in the Bulldogs, 141.5-158.5. While the Gators didn't pull a straight-out victory, the meet saw them capture 17 victories, 13 Olympic Trial qualifying times and nine U.S. Winter National qualifying marks. The men now stand at 1-0-1 on the season, while the women hold a 2-1 record. Senior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) paced the Gator women with three individual victories in the 200 fly (2:14.79), 200 back (2:16.85) and 400 IM (4:50.28) with each of her performances turning in Olympic Trial qualifying marks.
Gator fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook. A complete recap of the meet will be available on www.Gatorzone.com following the conclusion of the meet on Sunday evening.
For meet notes please click here.
MEET INFORMATION
| TIME | EVENT |
| 3:00 PM | 1 Meter Diving (Men & Women) |
| 5:00 PM | 200 Medley Relay |
| 6:00 PM | 3 Meter Diving (Women) |
| 6:45 PM | 100 Free |
| 7:15 PM | 3 Meter Diving (Men) |
| 7:45 PM | 200 IM |
