Florida opened its swim season strong with both the men’s and women’s teams leading the seven-team field of the Pinch A Penny All-Florida Invitational after Day 1 in the O’Connell Center on Friday.
The Gator men totaled 374 points, leading the second-place Seminoles (282 points) and third-place Sharks (155 points) through the first 12 events.
Although the women’s team did not fair as well as the men’s, it lead Florida State – also in second place – by nearly the same margin, scoring 342 points to FSU’s 251. Florida Gulf Coast is in third with 225 points.
“It was a good way to start the season," coach Gregg Troy said. "It highlighted some of the things that we've worked on. I am really happy how everyone raced across the board. I think at this time of year that is what you want to see.”
The Gators nearly swept the first day of competition, picking up victories in 10 of the 12 finals. Florida State’s Kaitlyn Dressel captured first in the 50-yard freestyle (22.92), beating out Florida’s Natalie Hinds by 0.15 seconds.
Dan Wallace came away with the win in the 500-yard free in what was one of the most anticipated races of the night. Wallace was seeded third behind fellow Gators Mitch D’Arrigo and top-seeded Sebastien Rousseau. After leading off with a 23.98 on the first 50 yards, Wallace led the whole way.
UF’s record holder for the 50-yard free, Brad deBorde, came back from his second-place finish in the splash-and-dash during prelims – losing by 0.21 seconds to Paul Murray of FSU – after taking first in the finals with a swim of 20.33 seconds. It was 0.03 seconds slower than his prelim swim.
Elizabeth Beisel was a perfect 2-for-2 in individual competition, winning the 500-yard free (4:45.04) – improving on her prelim time by more than three seconds – and the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.53). However, her 400-yard medley relay team came in third.
The 200-yard IM was a close contest between a pair of Gators. Marcin Cieslak beat out Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez by 0.76 seconds with a swim of 1:46.
Solaeche-Gomez and D’Arrigo showed why Troy has faith in his young swimmers this season. Solaeche-Gomez picked up a second-place finish in the 200-yard IM and competed well in both the 200-yard free relay that took third and the 400-yard medley relay that placed second. D’Arrigo grabbed a third-place finish in the 500-yard free in his first collegiate final.
Another swimmer, Sinead Russell, performed well and met Troy's high expectations. She came in second in the 200-yard IM and was on the first-place 200-yard free relay and 400-yard medley relay teams.
“We saw some great swims from some people that are outstanding swimmers,” Troy said of his younger swimmers.
Gators diver Kahlia Warner earned her first win of the season with a score of 322.45 on the one-meter springboard.
Action continues today with prelims starting at 9 a.m. and finals at 4 p.m. Diving will begin one hour after the completion of the morning session.
Follow Logan McGuire on Twitter @loganjmcguire.
