Gator Women See Impressive Results, Trail Cal After Day One
Saturday, October 19, 2013 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida women's swimming and diving team (1-0, 1-0 SEC) trails California (2-0, 2-0 PAC 12) by a score of 135-108 after the first day of competition at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Berkeley, Calif. Sunday's event will begin at 9 a.m. (PT) and consist of 11 swimming events.
The matchup features two of the premier collegiate programs in the nation, with both teams accounting for four of the last five team NCAA Championships. Cal took home the team title in 2009, 2011 and 2012, and the Gators captured the national championship in 2010. The Bears were last year's runner up with 393 points. Florida finished sixth at the 2013 national meet, totaling 305 points and returns nine of 11 All-Americans, including eight first-team All-Americans.
Sound Bites:
· “Our goal going into the regular season was to swim against some of the nation's top programs. Tomorrow we are going to have to be better. I think that they exposed some of our weaknesses a little bit depth wise. At the same time, I am extremely well in how we competed. We have a tough travel day coming in. We raced really well, but lost some close races that we cannot afford to lose against someone as talented as Cal. Natalie Hinds (Midland, Texas) had some outstanding swims. Some of our freshman, while they didn't win events, got some great exposure against some world class athletes and they raced them very well. The divers were very good tonight, which helps us a lot in the scores. Overall, it was a good day. We need to come out and be extremely good tomorrow.”- Head Coach Gregg Troy
Spirited Sprints:
· Hinds came through with a pair of victories in the sprint events. The sophomore touched in 22.82 in the 50 free, the first time she has been under 23 seconds this season. Hinds came back out to win the 100 free in 49.67 in front of Cal's Rachael Acker.
Diving Results:
· The Gators received a huge boost from the divers, as the Orange and Blue picked up 29 out of a possible 38 points.
· Sophomore Emily Mosher (Cincinnati, Ohio) led a 1-2-3 finish on the one-meter with a career best of 281.63. Sophomore Delaney Dye (Tallahassee, Fla.) totaled a 266.18 and sophomore Kahlia Warner (Queensland, Australia) delivered a 261.15.
· Warner returned to win the three-meter with a score of 310.20. Mosher placed third with a total of 280.28.
Distance Derby:
· Florida showed the depth of the distance group, taking the top five spots in the 1000 freestyle.
· Senior Alicia Mathieu (Marlborough, Conn.) led the way in 9:53.37, and was followed by freshman Danielle Valley (Bradenton, Fla.-9:58.62), sophomore Jessica Thielmann (Newcastle, England- 10:01.34), freshman Autumn Finke (Clearwater, Fla.- 10:05.25) and sophomore Megan Rankin (Irvine, Calf.-10:07.33).
Mid Distance:
· Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin touched first in the 200 free (1:45.19), but sophomore Lindsey McKnight (Coral Springs, Fla.) held off Camille Cheng by .01 to take second with a swim of 1:48.07.
· Franklin returned to the pool to win the 500 free (4:45.40), but the Gators minimized the damage by finishing second through seventh. Mathieu again tallied an impressive swim, clocking in at 4:52.15. Freshmen Taylor Katz (Sarasota, Fla.) and Valley propelled the Gators in the standings, stopping the clock at 4:53.05 and 4:53.22, respectively.
Medley Madness:
· The 200 individual medley was one of the top races of the day, with Florida senior and two-time Olympic Medalist Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) going against 2013 NCAA Champion Elizabeth Pelton and talented freshman Celina Li.
· Pelton (1:57.48) and Li (1:58.18) finished in front of Beisel (1:58.29). These three swimmers will be in the hunt for a national title in the event next spring. Beisel's time was her season best, as all three swimmers were under two minutes for the first time by anyone in the nation this year.
Fast Flying:
· Cal's Li touched first in the 200 fly (1:57.98). The Gators rallied to take nine points when Beisel placed second in 1:58.5 and Katz and fellow freshman Alyssa Yambor-Maul (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished third and fourth with times of 2:01.65 and 2:02.48, respectively.
Backs to the Wall:
· Cal's Pelton led a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 backstroke. Sophomore Sinead Russell (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) grabbed fourth in a time of 1:59.85. Russell's swim was the first time this year the 2012 Olympic finalist went under two minutes in the event.
Breaststroke Breakdown:
· Cal's Marina Garcia Urzainqui won the 200 breaststroke in 2:12.97, but the Gators again showed depth by taking second and fourth. Senior and 2012 Olympian Hilda Luthersdottir (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) registered a season low time of 2:15.63. Beisel touched in 2:16.92.
Relay Magic:
· Florida finished third in the relay events, as the three-fastest 400 medley relays of the year were posted at this meet.
· Russell led off the 400 medley relay with a 55.27 backstroke split. Luthersdottir chipped in a 1:02.54 breaststroke split, senior Ellese Zalewski (Melbourne, Australia) threw down a 55.36 butterfly split and Hinds anchored with the fastest freestyle leg of the field with a time of 48.66. The foursome stopped the clock in 3:41.83.
· The 200 free group of Zalewski, sophomore Ashlee Linn (Sarasota, Fla.), McKnight and senior Kaitlin Frehling (St. Petersburg, Fla.) were out-touched by Cal's relay group by .03. The Gators finished in 1:34.32 as Zalewski led off with a 23.77. McKnight notched the fastest third leg of the field with a split of 23.02.
Odd Format: The swimmers are competing in 11 events each day, with the one-meter and three-meter diving events taking place on Saturday. The two-day scores will be added up to determine the overall winner. Some events will be repeated.
Order of Events:
Sunday, October 20 – 9 a.m.
200-yard Medley Relay
1000-yard Freestyle
200-yard Freestyle
50-yard Freestyle
400-yard Individual Medley
15-minute break
100-yard Butterfly
100-yard Freestyle
100-yard Backstroke
500-yard Freestyle
10-minute break
100-yard Breaststroke
400-yard Freestyle Relay
Fan Information: Live results will be available through the Meet Mobile App.
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