AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 8 ranked Gators dropped their first SEC matchup against No. 7 Auburn at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center on Saturday.
Vanessa Pearl,
Kelly Fertel and
Brooke Madden collected Florida's individual event wins as UF fell to Auburn, 187-113.
Pearl collected Florida's first individual event victory in the 200 Breast. Fertel added a fourth-place finish in the 200 Breast. Pearl and Fertel finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 Breast.
Madden won the 1-meter with a score of 317.78.
Emma Whitner posted a season-best total of 275.40. On the 3-meter, Madden placed second. Whitner compiled a personal-best mark of 309.38, which is an NCAA Zone score, and placed third.
Lauren Snider finished fourth with a 263.70.
Fertel won the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.08.
Hannah Burns placed third for the Gators, while Pearl added points in fifth.
Emma Ball, Pearl,
Sherridon Dressel, and
Bella Garofalo placed second in the 200 Medley Relay, but the Tigers took first and third.
Leah Braswell,
Mabel Zavaros, and
Taylor Ault added points for the Gators as they placed second, third, and fourth, respectively in the 1,000 Free.
Mabel Zavaros posted a personal-best time of 9:56.42. In the 500 Free, Burns placed second. Ault and Braswell rounded out the top four in third and fourth, respectively.
Georgia Marris and
Savanna Faulconer collected points for Florida in the 200 Free. Marris placed second and Faulconer finished in fifth.
In the 100 Back, Ball,
Rosie Zavaros, and
Sydney Sell tallied points for the team score. Ball placed second,
Rosie Zavaros came in fourth, and Sell finished in fifth.
Mabel Zavaros finished in third in the 200 Back, while Sell came in fifth.
Mabel Zavaros added a second-place finish in the 200 Fly, while Marris and Burns came in fourth and fifth, respectively. Marris added second-place swim in the 100 Fly and Ball added a fifth-place swim to provide points towards the team score.
In the 50 Free, Garofalo collected a fourth-place finish and
Kirschtine Balbuena came in fifth. Garofalo added a fifth-place finish in the 100 Free.
Florida ended the meet with a third-place finish in the 400 Free Relay. Garofalo, Ball,
Mabel Zavaros, and Fertel combined for a time of 3:23.81.
From the coaches – Head Coach Jeff Poppell
- "Give credit to Auburn's women and coaches for a great meet! There is a reason their women are ranked No. 7 in the nation and they are sure to be a force at next month's SEC Championships."
- "I am extremely proud of our women and the way that they competed today. Although we look pretty fatigued at the present, we've got over three weeks to provide rest and sharpen up details so that we are performing at our best at the SEC Championships in Athens. This continues to be our focus!"
From the coaches – Diving Coach Bryan Gillooly
- "The girls were excellent today. Right where we want to be with three weeks left before SEC's."
- "Emma Whitner had a personal best on 3-meter and season best on 1-meter."
- "Brooke is just coming back from a long rehab and looks like with a few more reps under her belt, she can be back to her form from a year ago."
- "Again we look to be one of the deeper diving teams and can hopefully contribute a lot at SEC's."
Up Next
- The Gators return to the pool on Feb. 2 at home against the Volunteers.
- Florida will face No. 13 Tennessee at 10 a.m. and it will be Senior Day.
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