Pair of Freshmen Win Titles on Day Three of SEC Championships
Friday, February 20, 2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Day Three Results | SEC Championships Central Page
Caeleb Dressel Interview | Amelia Maughan Interview
AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Florida No. 1 men's and No.4-ranked women's swimming & diving teams sit first and third following day three of the Southeastern Conference Championships. UF freshmen Caeleb Dressel and Amelia Maughan captured Florida's fourth and fifth SEC titles during tonight's finals. This week's meet is being held at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala.
Dressel paced the Gator men, as he avenged his runner-up finish in the 50-yard freestyle last night by winning his first-career SEC crown tonight. The Green Cove Springs, Fla. native won the men's 100-yard butterfly race in an outstanding time of 45.28 seconds. That mark not only ranks him second all-time in school history but his time is second-quickest in the U.S. 17-18 year old age group.
In addition to Dressel in the 100 fly, senior Christian Homer and sophomore Jack Blyzinskyj placed third and fifth in times of 46.26 and 46.53 seconds, respectively. Those marks rank fifth and eighth in UF history.
Florida put together perhaps its best race of the week in the men's 400-yard individual medley, as the Gators captured second, third, fifth and eighth in the event. The race was highlighted by freshman Mark Szaranek's runner-up finish by clocking the fifth-fastest mark in UF history at 3:40.22. Senior Carlos Omana was right behind him with a time of 3:40.35, which ranks him sixth in Florida history.
In the final men's event of the evening, Mitch D'Arrigo and Pawel Werner finished second and third in the men's 200-yard freestyle with marks of 1:33.41 and 1:34.49.
On the women's side, Maughan surprised everyone at the meet by winning the women's 200-yard freestyle. Maughan, just arrived in Gainesville in January as a second semester enrollee, posted the seventh fastest time in school history, 1:44.68 in the event.
In the women's 50-yard and 400-yard IM, juniors Natalie Hinds and Jessica Thielmann finished third and sixth with marks of 51.70 seconds and 4:07.90, respectively.
UF is back in action tomorrow for day four 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 the teams overall…
“I'm just really pleased with how everyone has stepped up to the challenge in each race. It has been a tremendous meet (thus far), almost like the NCAA meet, as some of the times have been the same as the NCAA meet last year. Our conference keeps getting better and better as there are a whole lot of teams that are in the race with a lot of good swimmers; and we've responded really well. We've gone eye ball-to-eye ball with a lot of people and we've won a lot of close races. We have done a tremendously good job in the mornings too.”
On the two freshmen who won SEC Championships tonight…
“Well, Caeleb Dressel is just a really, really tough kid. He's great to work with, he has a lot of talent and he listens real well as he is not afraid to train. Amelia Maughan is a just a big-meet swimmer. She had no fear tonight, as she stepped up and was a little bit of a surprise to be in the finals. And then she was a huge surprise and shocked a lot of people.”
Talking Gators:
Freshman Caeleb Dressel:
On winning the 100 fly to earn his first SEC Championship…
“It was a good race. The 100 fly is kind of a new event for me, as I haven't really done it a lot. I'm really happy with my time. I've been working on my under waters and it paid off in that event. It's what we do in practice that pays off in a race.”
Freshman Amelia Maughan:
On winning the 200 free to earn her first SEC Championship…
“It was great. I feel great but it was definitely a surprise with me coming from lane two. But all I wanted to do is have fun and race, considering that this is my first time at SEC's.”
2015 SEC Championships Day 3 Team Standings
| MEN | WOMEN | ||||
| Rank | Team | Score | Rank | Team | Score |
| 1. | Florida | 707.5 | 1. | Georgia | 804 |
| 2. | Georgia | 634 | 2. | Texas A&M | 648 |
| 3. | Auburn | 540.5 | 3. | Florida | 547 |
| 4. | Tennessee | 537.5 | 4. | LSU | 404 |
| 5. | Alabama | 424.5 | 5. | Tennessee | 389 |
| 6. | Missouri | 371 | 6. | Auburn | 332 |
| 7. | South Carolina | 324 | 7. | Kentucky | 300 |
| 8. | LSU | 310 | 8. | Missouri | 292 |
| 9. | Texas A&M | 291 | 8. | South Carolina | 255 |
| 10. | Kentucky | 220 | 10. | Arkansas | 245 |
| 11. | Alabama | 240 | |||
| 12. | Vanderbilt | 90 | |||
SEC Champions:
- Men's 800 FR (Wallace, Werner, Alexiou, D'Arrigo – 6:12.85) – SEC & UF record
- Mitch D'Arrigo (500 Free – 4:10.77) – 2nd in UF history
- Theresa Michalak (200 IM – 1:56.09) – 3rd in UF history
- Caeleb Dressel (100 Fly – 45.28) – 2nd in UF history
- Amelia Maughan (200 Free – 1:44.68) – 7th in UF history
Day 3 - B & C Final Top-3 Finishers:
- Nicholas Alexiou won B Final of the men's 200-yard freestyle with a mark of 1:35.09.
- Arthur Frayler and Ryan Rosenbaum placed second and third in the C Final of the men's 400-yard IM in times of 3:47.68 and 3:49.94, respectively.
- Ashlee Linn placed third in the B Final of the women's 400-yard IM with a mark of 4:10.09.
- Theresa Michalak and Jordan Smith finished runner-up and third in the C Final of the women's 400-yard IM in times of 4:13.24 and 4:13.42, respectively.
- Lindsey McKnight and Georgia Marris finished second and third in the B and C Finals of the women's 200-yard freestyle in times of 1:46.01 and 1:46.63, respectively.
NCAA Qualifiers:
Florida notched 12 NCAA automatic qualifying marks through the first three days of competition at the SEC Championships, including:
- Men's 200 MR (Homer, Solaeche-Gomez, Main – 1:24.95) – 4th in UF history
- Men's 200 FR (Main, Dressel, Werner, Curby – 1:17.60) – 4th in UF history
- Men's 800 FR (Wallace, Werner, Alexiou, D'Arrigo – 6:12.85) – SEC & UF record
- Mitch D'Arrigo - 500 Free (4:10.77) – 2nd in UF history
- Caeleb Dressel - 50 Free (18.89) - 2nd in UF history (prelims)
- Caeleb Dressel - 100 Fly (45.28) - 2nd in UF history & U.S. 17-18 age group record holder
- Carlos Omana – 400 IM (3:40.35) - 6th in UF history
- Mark Szaranek – 400 IM (3:40.22) – 5h in UF history
- Dan Wallace - 500 Free (4:13.61) – prelims
- Dan Wallace – 400 IM (3:41.14)
- Women's 200 MR (Hinds, McKnight, Batchelor, Michalak - 1:37.12) – 5th in UF history
- Women's 200 FR (Hinds, McKnight, Linn, Michalak - 1:29.43)
- Women's 800 FR (Linn, Thielmann, Maughan - 7:00.25) – 5th in UF history
- Natalie Hinds - 50 Free (21.90) – prelims
- Natalie Hinds – 100 Fly (21.70)
What Just Happened:
Click here for a recap of day three's prelims action.
Click here for a recap of day two's finals action.
Click here for a recap of day two's prelims action.
Click here for a recap of day one's finals action.
Click here for a recap of day one's prelims action.
Follow the Gators:
For more information on the conference meet, 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.
** All videos courtesy of the Florida Swim Network
