Florida swimming and diving went on the road and took down out-of-conference foe Minnesota in a co-ed matchup. Senior Sherridon Dressel had the swim of the day as she moved into the number one spot in the nation in the 100 back with a 52.21. Florida’s Leah Braswell (1000), Clark Beach (200 back), Kieran Smith (200 free) and Minnesota’s Lindsey Kozelsky (100 breast) each put up the second fastest time in Division I with their respective events.
Team Scores
Men: Florida 178.5, Minnesota 116.5
Women: Florida 202, Minnesota 97
Florida Swimming and Diving Press Release (Women)
The Gators, winning 12 individual events and both relays, were led in the pool by Sherridon Dressel and Leah Braswell.
After a successful start to her season during the Gators’ opening meets, Dressel claimed three individual victories in the 100 back (52.21), 200 back (1:55.86) and 100 fly (53.88). She now has won six events to start the season.
Braswell lifted the Gators right from the start, winning the opening event, the 1,000 free, in career-best fashion. The sophomore hit the wall in 9:49.24, two full seconds faster than her previous best.
The sophomore would go on to win the 500 free later in the meet with an effort of 4:50.57.
The Gators would post top-three finishes in four different events throughout the dual.
SEC Women’s Diver of the Week Ashley McCool would lead the Gators’ diving efforts, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter. McCool hit a score of 305.85 on the 1-meter and registered a season-best score of 338.40 on the 3-meter.
- Taylor Ault finished runner-up in both distance events behind Braswell. In the 1,000 free, Ault would hit the wall in 4:52.39 and then add her second runner-up bid with an effort of 4:52.39 in the 500 free.
- Winning her third event of the season, Nikki Miller took home the victory in the 200 fly with a swim of 2:02.62 with teammate Allie Piccirillo right behind her in second with an effort. Miller would go finish in third behind both Braswell and Ault in the 500 free.
- Talia Bates posted her fifth win of her freshman season with a victory in the 100 free with a time of 50.19. She also placed third in the 100 fly with a time of 55.30.
- Gabby Hillis won her first event of the year in the 50 free, hitting the wall in 22.73. Bella Garofalo rounded out the top-three with a time of 23.22.
- In the 200 IM, Kelly Fertel posted the fastest time (2:02.47), with Kathleen Golding finishing in third with an effort of 2:03.40. Savanna Faulconer finished in fourth in 2:03.40.
The 200 medley relay team of Emma Ball, Fertel, Bates and Garofalo won the event with a combined time of 1:39.45. Garofalo added the fastest split of 22.52.
In the final event of the meet, the Gators had the top two finishes.
In first, the team of Ball, Kirschtine Balbuena, Tori Bindi and Braswell hit the wall first in a combined effort of 3:26.21.
Behind them in the runner-up spot was the relay of Miller, Celi Guzman, Jillian Hatch and Ault. The team registered a combined swim of 3:27.01.
Quotables
Head coach Jeff Poppell– “I am so proud of these women and the way that they competed today. They have really approached this season with a heightened level of confidence and new sense of purpose. We’re in a pretty good spot for early October and can’t help but be excited for the months ahead!”
Head Diving coach Bryan Gillooly– “The travel squad for the women got it done in very strong fashion. Ashley McCool is really showing me what she is capable of. She is an excellent competitor and teammate and has really raised the level of this team. It is very exciting to see how things are developing.”
Minnesota Press Release (Women)
The University of Minnesota swimming and diving teams fell in their first dual of the season Friday at home against the Florida Gators. Several Gopher newcomers posted personal best times despite Minnesota’s losing effort against their highly ranked SEC foes.
Friday night’s dual also served as Minnesota’s senior meet. Prior to the start of the dual, seniors Lindsey Kozelsky, Jeremy Moser, Tuomas Pokkinen, Madison Preiss, Nick Saulnier, Matthew Thomas, Justin Torres, Tevyn Waddell and Katherine Wagner were celebrated by the home crowd.
Fitting of the night’s festivities, Kozelsky turned in a strong showing against some fast Gator swimmers. Kozelsky took first in two events for the Gophers, winning both the 100 breast and 200 breast with respective times of 1:00.50 and 2:12.83.
Led by Kozelsky, the Gophers swam to an impressive one-two finish in the 100 breast, as freshman Grace Bennin placed second by touching in 1:03.50.
Freshman Jordan McGinty also produced a quality debut performance for the U, winning the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:48.85.
In addition to Bennin and McGinty, two additional Minnesota newcomers notched personal best times on the women’s side. Plymouth, Minn. native Grace Wollschlager swam the 200 fly in 2:06.00, while Rachel Butler touched the wall in 2:21.57 in the 200 fly.
In the diving well, freshman Jaclynn Fowler placed third in the one-meter dive, securing a score of 268.20. In the three-meter, another freshman earned the top spot for the Gophers in Jae Sarkis, who finished second overall in the event with a 286.73 score.
Florida Swimming and Diving Press Release (Men)
The Gator men’s swimming and diving team picked up their fourth straight victory to begin the 2019-20 season with a 178.5-116.5 victory over Minnesota at the Jean L. Freeman Aquatic Center.
UF competed from start to finish, either winning or posting the fastest time in every swimming event and posting the fastest relay times in both the 200 medley and 400 free.
Kieran Smith earned three victories during the dual, posting top times in the 200 free (1:35.13), 100 free (44.07) and 200 IM (1:47.27).
Marco Guarente added a pair of victories with a swim of 54.97 in the 100 breast and 2:02.05 in the 200 breast.
Khader Baqlah gave the Gators a push, posting a new personal-best time for the second time this season. The senior took home the 200 fly with a new personal-best time of 1:47.72, almost two seconds faster than his previous best.
Senior Alex Farrow led the way on the board for the Gators, posting a runner-up bid on the 1-meter with a total score of 328.08, just three points shy of the leader. Farrow’s score of 318.38 was good enough for fourth-place, just .28 from a top-three finish.
Gator Splashes
- Robert Finke won his first event of the season in 1,000 free, hitting the wall in an effort of 9:05.79. The Gators would finish in the runner-up and third spot as Kevin Vargas hit the wall in 9:14.48 and Brennan Gravley finished in 9:16.56, respectively
- In the 200 back, Clark Beach and Ethan Beach posted top-three finishes. Clark Beach would take home the victory in a time of 1:44.25, while Ethan Beach finished just behind him in third with a swim of 1:47.75. Clark Beach would post another win, this time in the 100 back (48.47).
- Eric Friese, already picking up his three victories in his first week of collegiate swimming, won two more events as the Potsdam, Germany native posted the top 50 free time of 20.42 and 48.46 in the 100 fly, just .09 seconds faster than second-place. Will Davis would finish in second-place behind Friese in the 50 free while Isaac Davis (48.77) finished in third in the 100 fly.
- Freshman Alfonso Mestre won his first collegiate event with a swim of 4:28.00 in the 500 free, just hitting the wall .23 seconds faster than his teammate Finke.
The team of Dakota Mahaffey, Dillon Hillis, Friese and Will Davis got the meet started with their win in the 200 medley relay. The team combined for a time of 1:28.65, highlighted by Will Davis’ split of 19.66
UF ended the meet the same it started, with a top relay time.
Will Davis, Baqlah, Gerry Quinn and Smith combined for the top time (2:59.06). Baqlah brought his fast swimming into the relay, posting the fastest split of 43.94.
Quotables
Head coach Anthony Nesty- “I am extremely proud of our men. They performed well especially after a long travel day yesterday. We are continuing to focus on our goals with each practice and are preparing for our first SEC battle next week at Missouri. This is a true team effort and all members of this team have an integral part to play. Everyone is focused and doing their job. I am very pleased with their results today and we will press forward. I want to thank my Associate Head Coach, Steve Jungbluth, for his commitment to the program and I greatly appreciate our support staff who remain a constant and trusted resource for our athletes.”
Head Diving coach Bryan Gillooly- “The men’s team produced a solid day lead by senior Alex Farrow. It’s great to see him diving this well early in the season. His 1 meter event was outstanding and he was just a couple minor corrections away from a great 3 meter event as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do the rest of the year.
Minnesota Press Release (Men)
Although the Gophers came up short, the Maroon and Gold enjoyed some promising signs on Friday night. Freshman Isaac Barrera recorded a personal best time in the 200 fly, finishing the event in 1:56.40.
Minnesota also enjoyed a plethora of runner-up finishes. Junior Tim Sates touched second with a 1:37.93 time in the 200 free, while Thomas put a stamp on his senior night with a runner-up finish of 1:49.37 in the 200 fly.
Freshman Gavin Olson had a coming out party of sorts for the Gophers, finishing second in both the 100 back (48.71) and 200 back (1:47.67). Olson also turned in the only first place finish of the night on the men’s side, touching in 1:51.28 in the 200 IM
Also for the U, junior Eitan Yudashkin finished second in the 200 breast with a time of 2:04.07.
The Gopher men performed admirably in the diving well, as Jake Butler, Aiden Werner and Maxim Royzen swept the three-meter dive. Butler also claimed the top spot in the one-meter with a 331.65 score, finishing alongside teammate Duncan Lester, who came in third with a score of 306.15.
Quotable
“I could not be more proud of our student-athletes and staff,” said head coach Kelly Kremer. “Everyone fought from start to finish. Florida is a very good team on both sides and they provided a great challenge to start our year. We will look forward to getting ready for Florida State next week.”
