Florida Women, Indiana Men Win Tight Dual Meets as Bella Sims, Owen McDonald Star
The Indiana Hoosiers traveled to Gainesville, Fla., on the heels of their winter training trip to race the Gators in a star-powered dual meet. Both the women’s and men’s contests were highly competitive, but Florida came through on the women’s side by a score of 164-136, with 2021 Olympian Bella Sims winning three individual events. For the men, Indiana won 163-137 as transfer Owen McDonald won three times.
The Gator women’s team of Catie Choate, Anita Bottazzo, Olivia Peoples and Micayla Cronk edged out the Hoosiers to win the 200 medley relay by three hundredths. Florida clocked 1:38.84 as Cronk held off the surging 21.61 anchor split from Indiana’s Kristina Paegle.
Florida’s Michaela Mattes took first in the 1000 freestyle, overcoming a deficit of more than a second in the final 100 yards to edge out the Indiana veteran duo of Mariah Denigan (9:46.04) and Ching Hwan Gan (9:46.32). Bella Sims took first in the 100 backstroke (52.07). and Bottazzo won the 100 breaststroke (1:00.63). Freshman Addison Reese took first in the 200 butterfly (1:59.01), with teammate Lainy Kruger making it a 1-2 finish (1:59.46).
Sims completed the backstroke sweep with a comfortable win over 200 yards (1:54.77), followed by freshman Gracie Weyant winning the 200 breast (2:13.33). Emma Weyant, Gracie’s older sister and a two-time Olympian, clocked 4:44.32 for the win in the 500 free. Sims took her third win of the day in the 100 fly (52.84).
The team of Sims, Reese, Kruger and Cronk won the 400 free relay in 3:18.63, with Cronk splitting 48.68 to hold off Indiana’s charging veteran Anna Peplowski, who came home in 48.21.
Peplowski won the 200 free for Indiana in 1:44.78, and she returned to top the 100 free in 48.90. Paegle topped the 50 free (22.34), and Peplowski clocked 1:59.10 to hold off Weyant (1:59.37) in the 200 IM. In diving, Ella Roselli won on 1-meter (297.53) while Camyla Monroy topped 3-meter (364.50).
The Hoosier men got started with a dominant performance in the 200 free from Rafael Miroslaw, who posted a time of 1:34.33. McDonald topped the 100 back in 46.99, beating teammate Miroslav Knedla (47.74). McDonald won twice more in the 200 back (1:43.48) and 200 IM (1:46.20), and Jassen Yep claimed a dominant win in the 200 breast (1:54.93).
Carson Tyler won the 1-meter diving event (425.33), and Quinn Henninger won 3-meter (385.88). The Hoosiers finished off the meet with a comfortable win in the 400 free relay, with Miroslaw, Matt King, Mikkel Lee and Tomer Frankel combining for a time of 2:53.46.
Florida’s typically-strong 200 medley relay team claimed the win in 1:25.40, courtesy of Jonny Marshall, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo and Alex Painter. Florida swept the top-four spots in the 1000 free, with Eric Brown winning (9:05.02), and Smith beat out the Indiana breaststroke contingent to win the 100 breast (53.20) before Mason Laur placed first in the 200 fly (1:44.73)
Josh Liendo was his usual dominant self in the sprint events, winning the 50 free (19.32) and 100 free (43.40), with Indiana’s King taking second in both events. Liendo’s third win of the day came in the 100 fly (47.13), and Jake Mitchell won the 500 free (4:23.41).