Florida Wins One Relay Title, Sets School and Conference Record on Day 1 of SEC's
Wednesday, February 18, 2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Day One Results | SEC Championships Central Page
AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Florida No. 1 men's and No.4-ranked women's swimming & diving teams sit eighth and fourth following day one of the Southeastern Conference Championships. This week's meet is being held at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala.
Florida's men captured the Gators lone SEC Championship of the day, as senior Dan Wallace, junior Pawel Werner, redshirt sophomore Nicholas Alexiou and sophomore Mitch D'Arrigo won the men's 800-yard freestyle relay in an SEC and UF-record time of 6:12.85.
Both of those broken records were set by UF a season ago at the conference meet.
In the other swimming event of the evening, the 200-yard medley relay, seniors Christian Homer and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, junior Corey Main and freshman Caeleb Dressel finished fifth in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:24.95. That mark ranks fourth in school history.
The Gator women's squad was led by junior diver Kahlia Warner as she placed fifth in the women's three-meter dive finals with a career-high score of 362.25. Warner, a 2013 All-SEC Freshman honoree, will look to earn her first SEC individual title on tomorrow's one-meter board.
In the pool, the women's squad placed third and fifth in the 800-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay events, respectively. Juniors Ashlee Linn, Lindsey McKnight and Jessica Thielmann and freshman Amelia Maughan combined to clock a time of 7:00.25 in the freestyle race. Meanwhile, junior Natalie Hinds, sophomore Sophia Batchelor, redshirt freshman Theresa Michalak and McKnight recorded a mark of 1:37.12 in the medley. Each time was NCAA automatic qualifying mark and they each rank as the fifth-fastest touches in program history.
UF is back in action tomorrow for day two of the SEC Championships with prelims beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET and finals at 7:00 p.m.
Coaches Corner:
Head Coach Gregg Troy:
On his thoughts on Florida's performance overall…
“It was a good day for us. I wish we had been better in the medley relays, but we made the NCAA ('A') standard in both, as they were good swims. We were just a tad shy on our touches in a couple of places. The women's (800-yard freestyle) relay was tremendous for where we started the year, as we've had to piece things together with that all year. Overall, with Kahlia Warner, Emily Mosher and Zach (Hernandez) in the diving, we had a really, really good day. We've got our work cut out for us but it was a good start.”
On the men's 800-yard freestyle relay team…
“They set a new school record and it's the fastest time in the country right now and it's an SEC record so we can't complain. It was a great effort by all of those guys.”
Diving Coach Dale Schultz:
On Kahlia Warner…
“I was excited. In the finals, Kahlia (Warner) had missed her front three and a half long, but she went for it. She competed really, really well. It was a tough contest. The top-five divers did really well and she wasn't that far off the school record. One-meter seems to be a little stronger event for her, but she's competing well.”
On Emily Mosher and his excitement level for tomorrow…
“I was for Emily (Mosher). She was 16th (in the prelims) and that's her best finish (of the season). We're headed in the right direction and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”
Talking Gators:
Senior Dan Wallace:
On setting the UF and SEC record in the 800 FR…
“It's a great feeling to lower the school record and our own SEC record. It's one thing to win the event, but to get the record is always special. Florida has been so dominant over the years in the 800 free relay, so it just shows how much talent we have on this team. It sets a great tone for the rest of the meet.”
2015 SEC Championships Day 1 Team Standings
| MEN | WOMEN | ||||
| Rank | Team | Score | Rank | Team | Score |
| 1. | Auburn | 177 | 1. | LSU | 164 |
| 2. | Tennessee | 164 | 2. | Georgia | 148 |
| 3. | Georgia | 146 | 3. | Kentucky | 144 |
| 4. | South Carolina | 140 | 4. | Florida | 140 |
| 5. | Missouri | 132 | 5. | Missouri | 137 |
| 6. | Texas A&M | 127 | 6. | Texas A&M | 132 |
| 7. | Alabama | 121 | 7. | South Carolina | 120 |
| 8. | Florida | 119 | 8. | Alabama | 105 |
| 9. | LSU | 114 | 8. | Auburn | 105 |
| 10. | Kentucky | 98 | 10. | Tennessee | 104 |
| 11. | Arkansas | 103 | |||
| 12. | Vanderbilt | 60 | |||
NCAA Qualifiers:
Florida notched four NCAA automatic qualifying marks through the first day of competition at the SEC Championships, including:
- Men's 200 MR (Homer, Solaeche-Gomez, Main – 1:24.95) – 4th in UF history
- Men's 800 FR (Wallace, Werner, Alexiou, D'Arrigo – 6:12.85) – SEC & UF record
- Women's 200 MR (Hinds, McKnight, Batchelor, Michalak - 1:37.12) – 5th in UF history
- Women's 800 FR (Linn, Thielmann, Maughan - 7:00.25) – 5th in UF history
What Just Happened:
Click here for a recap of day one's prelims action.
Follow the Gators:
For more information on the conference meet or tonight's finals, check out the SEC Championships central web page here. Also, Gator fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook.
