Florida State Opens Season With Sweep Of Team Titles at TYR Classic
The Florida State swimming and diving teams opened the 2021-22 season by winning the TYR Classic at the Biscayne Bay Campus Aquatics Center on Saturday.
Heading into the second and final day of competition, the ladies (217) held a slight edge of the host team, FIU (213) after Friday’s session. With two student-athletes in each race only allowed to score points in their entered heat, the women won seven of the 16 heats in order to take the team title over FIU (408) with a total of 437 points. The men finished the meet with a total of 517.5 points, well ahead of TCU (321) and Pitt (312).
“We had an awesome day today,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “The ladies turned a small lead overnight into a huge win. They were outstanding today and dominated the competition. The men carried the momentum from yesterday and had some great performances.”
The women started the day with a win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:41.23 behind Tania Quaglieri, Nina Kucheran, Jenny Halden and Rebecca Moynihan. Kucheran won the 200 breast (2:15.29) by one one-hundredth of a second.
The Seminoles won three straight events to put away the meet, as Moynihan touched first in the 100 free at 51.06 and Hannah Womer won the 200 fly by a near two seconds at 2:01.39. Once again, Kucheran won a tight race, touching first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.94.
The men’s team won seven of the nine events on Saturday, starting with the 200 medley relay behind Mason Herbet, Izaak Bastian, Max McCusker, and Blake Moran with a time of 1:38.51. Bastian followed with a win in the 200 breast (2:01.33) and Herbet touched first in the 200 back (1:48.35).
Varjasi was the winner in the 100 free at 44.87, and Herbet added another victory, taking the 200 IM in dominating fashion at 1:48.68. On the boards, Jesco Helling brought home the win on 3-meter, scoring 343.55 to take the event by just under eight points. The Seminoles closed out the meet by winning the 400 free relay behind McCusker, Arijus Pavlidi, Moran and Varjasi at 3:00.98.