Finke Rallies Late, Gators Notch Relay Medal on Third Day of Phillips 66 National Championships

Finke Rallies Late, Gators Notch Relay Medal on Third Day of Phillips 66 National Championships

Saturday, August 3, 2019 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

By: Ryan Sosic

STANFORD, Calif.— Robert Finke and the women's 4x200 free relay team made stops at the podium on Friday night, continuing the Gators' momentum on day three of the Phillips 66 National Championships.

Finke secured his second national championship crown in the men's 400 IM with a come from behind effort that saw him trail the leader by .81 seconds heading into the final stretch. Finke was able to rally and hit the wall in first-place in a career-best mark of 4:13.15. Finke won the 1,500 free on Wednesday night.

Nikki Miller, Bella Garofalo, Savanna Faulconer and Kelly Fertel secured the Gators' first relay medal by finishing third on the podium in the 4x200 free. Miller led off the squad with the fastest spilt of 2:01.61 and Fertel was right behind her with a spilt of 2:01.77 to anchor the team. Faulconer and Garofalo posted almost identical splits, 2:02.80 and 2:02.81, to help keep Gators as a finals medalist.

The women's 400 IM had a trio of Gators who advanced to the finals and post the fastest swim of their careers. Fertel qualified for the A-Final where she finished in seventh with a time of 4:41.53. This is Fertel's second personal-best thus far at Stanford. Faulconer competed in the B-final and earned a fourth-place nod with a career-best time of 4:44.72. Vanessa Pearl was the final Gator in the event and claimed her second finals victory of the championships with her performance in the C-Final, winning the event by almost five seconds and registering a career-best time of 4:42.32.

Four additional Gators joined Finke in the men's 400 IM, all who qualified for the A or B-final on Friday night and posted Olympic trial cuts.

Florida represented half of the A-final field as Kieran Smith finished in fifth and Grant Sanders finished in seventh, both in career-best fashion. Former Gator Mark Szaranek was right behind them with an eighth-place nod.

Alum Ross Palazzo competed into the B-final where he finished with a swim of 4:20.70 and finished in fifth-place.

The last event on the docket for the orange and blue was the 100 fly.

On the women's side, both Natalie Hinds and Talia Bates advanced to their respected finals. Hinds made the A-final and tallied an eighth-place finish with a swim of 58.78 while Bates swam in the D-final and finished in 4th with a career-best swim of 1:00.29.

Ryan Lochte swam his way into the C-final of the men's 100 fly and earned a fourth-place nod with a time of 53.36. Dillon Hillis was the other Gator to make it to the finals, where he earned sixth-place in the D-final.

In the prelims, Hillis won Heat 2 with a career-best time of 54.05. Will Davis swam in his first event of the championships and posted a career-best time of 53.50 and Lochte swam a prelim time of 53.25. Isaac Davis and Tyler Silver rounded out UF's swimmers with times of 54.47 and 55.44, respectively.

Full day three results
Saturday's TV Schedule

Women's 400 IM
Finals
Fertel: 4:41.53 (career-best and seventh-place in A-final)
Faulconer: 4:44.72 (career-best and fourth-place in B-final)
Pearl: 4:42.32 (career-best and wins C-final)
Prelims
Fertel: 4:42.04 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Faulconer: 4:47.55 (Olympic trial cut)
Pearl: 4:47.64 (Olympic trial cut)

Men's 400 IM
Finals
Sanders: 4:18.28 (career-best and seventh-place A-final)
Szaranek: 4:19.15 (eighth-place A-Final)
Smith: 4:15.17 (career-best and fourth-place A-final
Finke: 4:13.15 (career-best and won A-final)
Palazzo- 4:20.70 (fifth-place in B-Final)
Prelims
Sanders: 4:18.93 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Palazzo: 4:20.64 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Szaranek: 4:19.15 (Olympic trial cut)
Smith: 4:18.16 (Olympic trial cut)
Finke:4:18.03 (Olympic trial cut)

Women's 100 fly
Finals
Hinds: 58.78 (eigth-place A-final)
Bates: 1:00.29 (career-best and fourth-place D-Final)
Prelims
Hinds: 58.67 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Bates: 1:00.63

Men's 100 fly
Finals
Lochte: 53.36 (fourth-place C-final)
Hillis: 54.15 (sixth-place D-final)
Prelims
Hillis: 54.05 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Will Davis: 53.50 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Silver: 55.44
Lochte: 53.25 (Olympic trial cut)
Isaac Davis: 54.47 (eighth-place heat 7)

Women's 4x200 Free Relay
Finals
Miller, Garofalo, Faulconer and Fertel: 8:08.99 (third-place finish)

Follow the Gators:
FloridaGators.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook