Gators Stand in First After Day One of the Georgia Tech Invitational
Friday, November 21, 2014 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Florida's No. 7-ranked men's swimming & diving team captured two individual titles and had two relay victories, while UF's No. 16 women's squad won two individual events and had one relay win as well on day one of the Georgia Tech Invitational.
The Gators are competing in this event for the first time since the 2011-12 season, when Florida's women won the meet and the Gator men finished runner-up. The three-day meet is being held in Atlanta, Ga. and is hosted by Georgia Tech in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
UF's men currently stand in first place with 514 points, while the women rank first with a score of 408.
Individually, the Gator men were led by freshman Caeleb Dressel, as he won the men's 50-yard freestyle in an NCAA 'A' standard time of 19.31 seconds and he was a member of two first place relay teams. Natalie Hinds paced the women's team, as she won the 50-yard freestyle in an NCAA 'B' time of 22.07 seconds. In addition, Hinds was a member of UF's first place 200-yard freestyle relay time
Throughout the day, the Orange and Blue registered three NCAA 'A' standard times.
TROY'S TALKING
“It was a very good day. We raced especially well in the morning and at night.” – Head Coach Gregg Troy
RELAY MAGIC
UF won the women's 200-yard freestyle relay, as Sinead Russell, Lindsey McKnight, Ashlee Linn and Hinds clocked a time of 1:28.94. The men notched a relay win in the 400-yard medley relay, as Jack Blyzinskyj, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, Corey Main and Dressel clocked an NCAA 'B' standard time of 3:09.55. In addition, the Florida men won the 200-yard freestyle relay (Dressel, Christian Homer, Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, Corey Main) in 1:18.90.
GOING THE DISTANCE
Jessica Thielmann and Taylor Katz placed first and second in the women's 500-yard freestyle in NCAA 'B' standard times of 4:37.82 and 4:42.79, respectively. Senior Dan Wallace followed their lead as he won the men's race in an NCAA 'A' standard time of 4:14.53.
IM IN
McKnight and Solaeche-Gomez notched individual victories in the women's and men's 200-yard individual medley. The tandem each clocked NCAA 'B' standard times of 1:57.40 and 1:44.16, respectively.
POSTSEASON FOCUS
In addition to competing in an NCAA Championships-style format this week, the Gators had three NCAA 'A' standard marks on day one.
· Women's 200 FR (Russell, McKnight, Linn, Hinds – 1:28.94)
· Caeleb Dressel (50 Free – 19.31)
· Dan Wallace (500 Free – 4:14.53)
UP NEXT
The Gators are back in action tomorrow for day two of the Georgia Tech Invitational in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. and finals start at 6 p.m.
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