Vanessa Pearl concluded her national championship slate with a silver medal, two event victories and three new personal-best times
Gators Leave Phillips 66 National Championships with Dominant Performance on Final Day
Monday, August 5, 2019 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
STANFORD, Calif.—The University of Florida swimming & diving teams put together a dominant performance on the fifth and final day of the Phillips 66 National Championships at the Stanford Avery Aquatic Center.
The Gators won three events and notched a team-best three total medals on Sunday, pushing their total medal count at the championships to 10.
Robert Finke won his third event after a career-best swim of 7:47.58 in the men's 800 free. He took home the victory by beating the rest of the field by almost three seconds.
Finke walked away with a team-high four medals, winning golds in the 400 IM, 800 free and 1,500 free and also taking home a bronze in the 400 free.
Former UF All-American Ryan Lochte won his first professional swimming event since 2014 with his performance in the 200 IM. Lochte was the top seed after his prelim swim of 1:58.77 and was able to build off his time in the finals, cutting his mark to 1:57.76 to win his first gold of nationals.
Vanessa Pearl also won her first medal with a personal-best performance in the women's 200 IM. In the prelims, she set a new best time of 2:14.44 and earned an Olympic trial cut. A few hours later, she would again set a new mark, shaving over two seconds off her time to finish as the runner-up and make her first podium stop of the week.
Kelly Fertel joined her in the women's 200 IM and qualified for the B-final with a prelim time of 2:15.76, a new personal-best. She too would erase two seconds off her personal-best and would go on to win the B-final in 2:13.27, which was the sixth-fastest overall swim of the event.
Incoming freshman Kathleen Golding would be the third and final Gator to compete in the women's 200 IM, posting a swim of 2:19.46 in heat 12.
Dillon Hillis, Kieran Smith, Grant Sanders and Mark Szaranek all competed with Lochte in the men's 200 IM, with two advancing to the A-final and one making the D-final.
Smith and Sanders would post identical times of 2:00.14 in the A-final, posting the fifth-fastest time overall. This set a new personal-best for Sanders.
Dillon Hillis advanced to his fourth final of the week and produced a time of 2:06.52 in the D-final after a career-best mark in the prelims (2:05.51).
Szaranek rounded out the Gator participants with a swim of 2:01.49 in the prelims.
Former Gator All-American Natalie Hinds advanced to the women's 50 free A-final and finished in fifth-place with a swim of 25.15.
Three other Florida swimmers would join her in the morning prelims. Bella Garofalo swam a mark of 26.19 in heat 3. In her first individual event of nationals, Gabby Hillis produced a time of 26.33 and Talia Bates capped off her week by hitting the wall in 26.22.
Will Davis was represented the Gators in the men's 50 free, advancing to the C-final with a time of 22.70 in the prelims. He would go on to hit the wall in 23.08, the 22nd-fastest overall mark.
Taylor Ault competed in her second distance event final and posted an Olympic trial cut with a swim of 16:41.66, good for 16th place. This time gave Ault her third Olympic trial cut of the week.
Drew Clark and alum Mitch D'Arrigo complimented Finke in the 800 free finals as Clark earned a 31st-place nod with a time of 8:11.31 and D'Arrigo finished just outside the top-10, hitting the wall in 7:59.61 and notching 11th-place.
Women's head coach Jeff Poppell:
"I'm so incredibly proud of this group of women. We were probably close to 90% career-best times this week and had an absolute blast in the process. We had several athletes take themselves to entire new levels which will bode well for us as a team heading into the fall and our next collegiate season. It's great to be a Florida Gator."
Men's head coach Anthony Nesty:
"This year's trip to nationals was very beneficial to our group of men. We improved on a lot of times and meet a lot of Olympic time standards. It was a great way to end our summer. Now we will have some time off before preparing for this next upcoming season. Overall, it was a great trip and a great experience for the Gators."
Full Phillips 66 National Championship results
Gator Medals
Wednesday:
Finke- Gold (1,500 free)
Thursday:
Smith- Silver (200 free)
Clark Beach- Bronze (200 back)
Friday:
Finke- Gold (400 IM)
Miller, Garofalo, Faulconer, Fertel- Bronze (4x200 free relay)
Saturday:
Finke- Bronze (400 free)
Clark Beach- Bronze (100 back)
Sunday:
Pearl- Silver (200 IM)
Finke- Gold (800 free)
Lochte- Gold (200 IM)
Olympic trial cuts
Ault- 400 free, 800 free, 1,500 free
Clark Beach- 100 back, 200 back
Ethan Beach- 100 back, 200 back
Clark- 800 free, 1,500 free
Will Davis- 100 fly
Dressel- 100 back, 200 back
D'Arrigo- 200 free, 400 free, 800 free
Faulconer- 400 IM
Fertel- 200 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
Finke- 400 IM, 400 free, 800 free, 1,500 free
Freeman- 200 free, 400 free,
Garofalo- 100 free
Golding: 400 free
Dillon Hillis- 100 fly, 200 fly, 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM
Hinds- 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly
Mahaffey- 100 back, 200 free
Lochte- 100 fly, 100 back, 200 free, 200 IM
Palazzo- 100 breast, 400 IM
Pearl- 100 breast, 200 breast, 400 IM
Sanders- 200 free, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM
Silver- 100 fly, 200 back
Smith- 100 free, 200 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
Szaranek- 200 fly, 200 free, 400 IM
Sunday Results
Women's 200 IM
Finals
Pearl: 2:12.49 (career-best and second-place finish)
Fertel: 2:13.27 (career-best and won B-final)
Prelims
Fertel: 2:15.76 (Olympic trial cut)
Pearl: 2:14.44 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Golding: 2:19.46
Men's 200 IM
Finals
Dillon Hillis: 2:06.53 (D-final)
Smith: 2:00.14 (A-final)
Lochte: 1:57.76 (won A-final)
Sanders: 2:00.14 (career-best in A-final)
Prelims
Dillon Hillis: 2:05.51 (career-best)
Smith: 2:00.678
Lochte: 1:58.77
Sanders: 2:00.31
Szaranek: 2:01.49
Women's 50 free
Finals
Hinds: 25.02 (A-final)
Prelims
Garofalo: 26.19
Gabby Hillis: 26.33
Bates: 26.22
Hinds: 25.15
Men's 50 free
Finals
Davis: 23.08 (C-final)
Prelims
Will Davis: 22.70
Women's 1,500 free
Finals
Ault: 16:41.66 (Olympic trial cut)
Men's 800 Free
Finals
Finke: 7:47.58 (won the event)
D'Arrigo: 7:59.61 (career-best)
Clark: 8:11.31
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The Gators won three events and notched a team-best three total medals on Sunday, pushing their total medal count at the championships to 10.
Robert Finke won his third event after a career-best swim of 7:47.58 in the men's 800 free. He took home the victory by beating the rest of the field by almost three seconds.
Finke walked away with a team-high four medals, winning golds in the 400 IM, 800 free and 1,500 free and also taking home a bronze in the 400 free.
Former UF All-American Ryan Lochte won his first professional swimming event since 2014 with his performance in the 200 IM. Lochte was the top seed after his prelim swim of 1:58.77 and was able to build off his time in the finals, cutting his mark to 1:57.76 to win his first gold of nationals.
Vanessa Pearl also won her first medal with a personal-best performance in the women's 200 IM. In the prelims, she set a new best time of 2:14.44 and earned an Olympic trial cut. A few hours later, she would again set a new mark, shaving over two seconds off her time to finish as the runner-up and make her first podium stop of the week.
Kelly Fertel joined her in the women's 200 IM and qualified for the B-final with a prelim time of 2:15.76, a new personal-best. She too would erase two seconds off her personal-best and would go on to win the B-final in 2:13.27, which was the sixth-fastest overall swim of the event.
Incoming freshman Kathleen Golding would be the third and final Gator to compete in the women's 200 IM, posting a swim of 2:19.46 in heat 12.
Dillon Hillis, Kieran Smith, Grant Sanders and Mark Szaranek all competed with Lochte in the men's 200 IM, with two advancing to the A-final and one making the D-final.
Smith and Sanders would post identical times of 2:00.14 in the A-final, posting the fifth-fastest time overall. This set a new personal-best for Sanders.
Dillon Hillis advanced to his fourth final of the week and produced a time of 2:06.52 in the D-final after a career-best mark in the prelims (2:05.51).
Szaranek rounded out the Gator participants with a swim of 2:01.49 in the prelims.
Former Gator All-American Natalie Hinds advanced to the women's 50 free A-final and finished in fifth-place with a swim of 25.15.
Three other Florida swimmers would join her in the morning prelims. Bella Garofalo swam a mark of 26.19 in heat 3. In her first individual event of nationals, Gabby Hillis produced a time of 26.33 and Talia Bates capped off her week by hitting the wall in 26.22.
Will Davis was represented the Gators in the men's 50 free, advancing to the C-final with a time of 22.70 in the prelims. He would go on to hit the wall in 23.08, the 22nd-fastest overall mark.
Taylor Ault competed in her second distance event final and posted an Olympic trial cut with a swim of 16:41.66, good for 16th place. This time gave Ault her third Olympic trial cut of the week.
Drew Clark and alum Mitch D'Arrigo complimented Finke in the 800 free finals as Clark earned a 31st-place nod with a time of 8:11.31 and D'Arrigo finished just outside the top-10, hitting the wall in 7:59.61 and notching 11th-place.
Women's head coach Jeff Poppell:
"I'm so incredibly proud of this group of women. We were probably close to 90% career-best times this week and had an absolute blast in the process. We had several athletes take themselves to entire new levels which will bode well for us as a team heading into the fall and our next collegiate season. It's great to be a Florida Gator."
Men's head coach Anthony Nesty:
"This year's trip to nationals was very beneficial to our group of men. We improved on a lot of times and meet a lot of Olympic time standards. It was a great way to end our summer. Now we will have some time off before preparing for this next upcoming season. Overall, it was a great trip and a great experience for the Gators."
Full Phillips 66 National Championship results
Gator Medals
Wednesday:
Finke- Gold (1,500 free)
Thursday:
Smith- Silver (200 free)
Clark Beach- Bronze (200 back)
Friday:
Finke- Gold (400 IM)
Miller, Garofalo, Faulconer, Fertel- Bronze (4x200 free relay)
Saturday:
Finke- Bronze (400 free)
Clark Beach- Bronze (100 back)
Sunday:
Pearl- Silver (200 IM)
Finke- Gold (800 free)
Lochte- Gold (200 IM)
Olympic trial cuts
Ault- 400 free, 800 free, 1,500 free
Clark Beach- 100 back, 200 back
Ethan Beach- 100 back, 200 back
Clark- 800 free, 1,500 free
Will Davis- 100 fly
Dressel- 100 back, 200 back
D'Arrigo- 200 free, 400 free, 800 free
Faulconer- 400 IM
Fertel- 200 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
Finke- 400 IM, 400 free, 800 free, 1,500 free
Freeman- 200 free, 400 free,
Garofalo- 100 free
Golding: 400 free
Dillon Hillis- 100 fly, 200 fly, 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM
Hinds- 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly
Mahaffey- 100 back, 200 free
Lochte- 100 fly, 100 back, 200 free, 200 IM
Palazzo- 100 breast, 400 IM
Pearl- 100 breast, 200 breast, 400 IM
Sanders- 200 free, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM
Silver- 100 fly, 200 back
Smith- 100 free, 200 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
Szaranek- 200 fly, 200 free, 400 IM
Sunday Results
Women's 200 IM
Finals
Pearl: 2:12.49 (career-best and second-place finish)
Fertel: 2:13.27 (career-best and won B-final)
Prelims
Fertel: 2:15.76 (Olympic trial cut)
Pearl: 2:14.44 (career-best and Olympic trial cut)
Golding: 2:19.46
Men's 200 IM
Finals
Dillon Hillis: 2:06.53 (D-final)
Smith: 2:00.14 (A-final)
Lochte: 1:57.76 (won A-final)
Sanders: 2:00.14 (career-best in A-final)
Prelims
Dillon Hillis: 2:05.51 (career-best)
Smith: 2:00.678
Lochte: 1:58.77
Sanders: 2:00.31
Szaranek: 2:01.49
Women's 50 free
Finals
Hinds: 25.02 (A-final)
Prelims
Garofalo: 26.19
Gabby Hillis: 26.33
Bates: 26.22
Hinds: 25.15
Men's 50 free
Finals
Davis: 23.08 (C-final)
Prelims
Will Davis: 22.70
Women's 1,500 free
Finals
Ault: 16:41.66 (Olympic trial cut)
Men's 800 Free
Finals
Finke: 7:47.58 (won the event)
D'Arrigo: 7:59.61 (career-best)
Clark: 8:11.31
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FloridaGators.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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