Gators Garnered With All-SEC Honors
Saturday, February 25, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Highlighted by a pair of sophomores – Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland) – the University of Florida swimming and diving team earned four conference honors 16 All-SEC selections while nine freshmen were rewarded for their efforts at the SEC Championships, announced the conference offices. The recognitions come after the Gator men finished second, and women third at the 2012 conference meet in Knoxville, Tenn., Feb. 15-18.
The pair of Beisel and Cieslak was dually named the 2012 SEC Female and Male Swimmer of the Year, respectively, as voted by the league's coaches. The announcement marked the second consecutive year that they have each taken home conference honors following the championship meet, as last year they were each named the SEC Female and Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year. It also marked the third straight year that Florida head coach Gregg Troy has produced the SEC Male Swimmer of the Year.
The honor was awarded after the two Gatos were the lone swimmers at the conference championships to take home three individual gold medals.
The two were also recipients of the Commissioner's Trophy, the high-point award as they each collected 60 points. Cieslak becomes the eighth Gator to bring home the award after he touched first in the 200 IM, 200 free and the 200 fly – recording the nation's fastest time on the year (1:42.43) in the 200 fly. Beisel's trio of victories came in the 200 back – recording the third fastest time in NCAA history (1:49.82), the 200 IM (1:54.89) and 400 IM after she touched in the NCAA's second fastest time ever, defended her reigning title and broke her own SEC record.
It marked only the second time in Florida swimming and diving history that a pair of Gators have taken home both high point awards, as Gemma Spofforth and Conor Dwyer were each awarded the trophy for their efforts at the 2010 conference meet.
Beisel was the lone Gator on the women's squad to earn First Team All-SEC honors. Cieslak represented the men's team alongside fellow teammates, sophomore Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) and freshman Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez (Madrid, Spain), who claimed conference crowns in the 50 free and 400 IM, respectively.
Athletes that earned a first-place finish in any event at the SEC Championships were named to the All-SEC first team, while any athlete that was a runner-up in any event was a second-team selection. Freshman athletes that made a championship final in any event or were the highest-finishing freshman in an event were named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Three members of the women's squad were selected to Second Team All-SEC in senior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.), junior Jamie Bohunicky (Gainesville, Fla.) and freshmen Natasha Fung (Edmonton, Canada.). Seven Gators from the men's squad were also named to the Second Team All-SEC roster in seniors Matt Norton (Port Orange, Fla.) and James Turner (Ft. Pierce, Fla.); junior Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.); sophomore Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) and freshmen Nicholas Caldwell (Sarasota, Fla.), Matt Curby (Oviedo, Fla.) and Dan Wallace (North Berwick, Scotland).
A group of youngsters were also recognized as Fung, Trish Regan (Carmel, Ind.), Alicia Mathieu (Marlborough, Conn.) and Molly Dubrasky (Estero, Fla.) were named to the women's All-Freshman Team. Representing the men on their respective All-Freshmen team were Caldwell, Curby, Matt Elliott (Peoria, Ill.), Christian Homer (Trinidad & Tobago), Carlos Omana (Miami, Fla.), Solaeche-Gomez and Wallace.
Broadcasts of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships will air on ESPNU. The men's event is slated for Monday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. ET and the women's event will air on Tuesday, February 28 at 5 p.m. ET.
| SEC YEARLY AWARDS WON BY GATORS | |
| AWARD | NAME |
| SEC Female Swimmer of the Year | Elizabeth Beisel |
| SEC Male Swimmer of the Year | Marcin Cieslak |
| Commissioner's Trophy - Female | Elizabeth Beisel |
| Commissioner's Trophy – Male | Marcin Cieslak |
UF WOMEN ALL-SEC SELECTIONS
| NAME (TOTAL # OF HONORS) | FIRST TEAM (EVENT) | SECOND TEAM (EVENT) | ALL-FRESHMAN (EVENT) |
| Elizabeth Beisel (4) | 200 Back, 200 IM, 400 IM | 800 Free Relay | -- |
| Jamie Bohunicky (1) | -- | 800 Free Relay | -- |
| Teresa Crippen (2) | -- | 200 Fly, 800 Free Relay | -- |
| Molly Dubrasky (1) | -- | -- | 200 Fly |
| Natasha Fung (2) | -- | 800 Free Relay | 200 Free |
| Alicia Mathieu (1) | -- | -- | 1,650 Free |
| Trish Regan (1) | -- | -- | 100 Back, 200 Back |
UF MEN ALL-SEC SELECTIONS
| NAME (TOTAL # OF HONORS) | FIRST TEAM (EVENT) | SECOND TEAM (EVENT) | ALL-FRESHMAN (EVENT) |
| Nicholas Caldwell (4) | -- | 800 Free Relay | 200 Free, 500 Free, 1,650 Free |
| Marcin Cieslak (5) | 200 Back, 200 Fly, 200 IM | 800 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay | -- |
| Matt Curby (4) | -- | 200 Free Relay | 100 Free, 100 Back, 200 IM |
| Brad deBorde (3) | 50 Free | 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay | -- |
| Matt Elliott (2) | -- | -- | 100 Breast, 200 Breast |
| Christian Homer (1) | -- | -- | 100 Fly |
| Matt Norton (2) | -- | 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay | -- |
| Carlos Omana (1) | -- | -- | 500 Free |
| Connor Signorin (1) | -- | 800 Free Relay | -- |
| Eduardo-Solaeche Gomez (6) | 400 IM | 200 Breast, 800 Free Relay | 200 Breast, 200 IM, 400 IM |
| Jason Taylor (1) | -- | 500 Free | -- |
| James Turner (2) | -- | 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay | -- |
| Dan Wallace (5) | -- | 200 Fly, 400 IM | 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM |
