BOCA RATON, Fla- The Gators notched their third win of the week on Saturday morning over the Florida Atlantic Owls to remain undefeated early in the 2019-20 season.
The Gators outscored the hosting Owls by a final score of 220.5-79.5.
Savanna Faulconer,
Nikki Miller,
Vanessa Pearl and
Ashley McCool all posted two victories to lead the way for Florida.
Faulconer crushed the 1,000 free with an effort of 10:10.49, winning her first event of the season almost 14 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Allison Piccirillo. Faulconer's second win would come later in the 200 breast in a time of 2:21.33.
Miller won her first pair of events this year in the 200 and 500 free . She registered a swim of 1:49.79 in the 200 and followed that up with the top time of 4:55.71 in the 500.
Pearl added wins five and six of the season as she was victorious in the 200 fly and 200 back.
In the fly,
Taylor Ault finished in second just over a second behind her and
Kelly Fertel placed second in the 200 back behind Pearl.
On the board,
Ashley McCool continued her success, posting winning tallies of 299.70 on the 1-meter and 314.85 on the 3-meter.
Joining McCool on the 3-meter,
Emma Whitner posted a third-place total of 264.37 and Abby Howell was right behind her in fourth-place, hitting a score of 244.20.
The Gators again found success in their relays.
Emma Ball,
Chade Nersicio,
Kathleen Golding and
Gabby Hillis continued the Gators momentum in relays to begin the year, hitting the wall in a combined swim of 1:11.54, almost two seconds faster than the Florida squad of
Sherridon Dressel,
Ellie Zweifel,
Celi Guzman and
Kirschtine Balbuena.
The relay success continued into the last event of the meet as Pearl, Dressel, Guzman and
Tori Bindi hit a combined time of 3:23.97. The second group of Gators finished just behind them in 3:24.71.
Dressel led the first group with a split of 49.25 and Bates anchored second-place finishers with a time of 50.12.
Freshmen Bates and Golding continued their strong start for the Gators. Bates added her third and fourth wins of the season in the 100 back with a time of 56.64 and the 100 free in 50.50. Golding posted a victory in the 200 IM (2:02.37) and finished just .33 seconds behind Bates in the 100 free to finish second.
The Gators continued to post fast sprinting numbers. Fertel won the 100 breast, just missing her personal-best by .58, and Dressel continued her fast swimming, posting the top time in the 50 free (22.89).
Emma Ball also fared well in sprints, winning the 100 fly in 56.61 and finished just behind Dressel in the 50 free, earning a runner-up bid in 23.30.
Quotables:
Head coach
Jeff Poppell: " I thought our women did a great job competing outdoors over three consecutive days in South Florida. It was very apparent today that the heat starting taking its toll on us a little bit as we looked a little more fatigued than the previous two days. Regardless, everyone competed hard and these meets provided us with an excellent opportunity to see where our athletes are at this stage of the season."
Up Next:
The Gators will return to the pool after almost two weeks off when they're back on the road against Minnesota on Oct. 11. The first event is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start.
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