Florida Men, Women Sweep Florida Atlantic to Kick Off 2017

University of Florida vs. Florida Atlantic University

• Results
• Hosted by Florida Atlantic University
• Friday, January 6th
• 25 yards
• Dual meet format

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

Men:

• Florida – 152
• Florida Atlantic – 83

Women:

• Florida – 155
• Florida Atlantic – 79

The Florida Gators started their spring semester off in dominating fashion, posting the fastest time in every event against Florida Atlantic on Friday afternoon in Boca Raton.

Coming off of Christmas training, the times posted and events swam by the Gators’ top talent were a mixed bag, leading to a total team effort.  For the men, Caeleb Dressel, Jan Switkowski, and Jack Blyzinskyj all took part in two winning relays, but competed in “off” events individually; Dressel posted the third-fastest time in the 500 freestyle (4:36.56), Switkowski finished 2nd (20.68) and 4th (46.32) in the sprint freestyles, and Blyzinskyj finished 6th (21.85) in the 50 free and 3rd (1:53.44) in the 200 backstroke.

Enzo Martinez-Scarpe (20.43 in the 50) and Jordanian freshman Khader Baqlah (45.00) touched first in the sprint events for the Gators.  Both swimmers will be competing over the next few months for the fourth spot on Florida’s sprint freestyle relays.

On the women’s side, Sherridon Dressel continued her strong freshman campaign with a pair of individual wins in the 200 backstroke (2:01.78) and 200 freestyle (1:51.01).  Dressel also led off the Gators’ top 200 freestyle relay (23.21), which posted the top time in the field (exhibition).

Fellow freshman Savanna Faulconer recorded two wins of her own, swimming the breaststroke leg of the Gators’ winning medley relay to open the meet, and came back in the next event to win the 1650 freestyle (16:52.26).

PRESS RELEASE – Florida:

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Gators proved they didn’t miss a beat coming back from their holiday break, defeating Florida Atlantic 152-83 on the men’s side and 155-79 on the women’s.

Florida now moves to 36-0 all-time against FAU with 18 wins on each side.

UF took victories through 16 swimming events and both the 1- and 3-meter springboards and then opted to swim the 500 free, 200 breast and 200 free relay as exhibitions.

The wins were widespread throughout Florida’s roster – Samuel Smith (1- and 3-meter) and Sherridon Dressel (200 back and 200 free) were the only two Gators to capture multiple individual titles.

For the relays, both the Gators’ A-teams won the 200 medley relay. Jack Blyzinskyj, Mark Szaranek, Jan Switkowski and Caeleb Dressel combined for the men’s win at 1:30.41, while Emma Ball, Savanna Faulconer, Alyssa Yambor-Maul and Kelsey Dambacher won for the women in 1:44.60.

Khader Baqlah introduced himself to the Florida roster this afternoon with a win in the 100 free. Baqlah, an early addition from last fall’s signing class, registered the Gators’ fourth-best time in the event at 45.00. Alyssa Yambor-Maul took the 100 free on the women’s side in 52.80.

Enzo Martinez-Scarpe and Amelia Maughan combined for wins in the 50 free at 20.43 and 24.00 respectively. Sherridon Dressel got her pair of wins in the 200 back (2:01.78) and 200 free (1:51.01). Brennan Balogh (1:49.28) and Mitch D’Arrigo (1:38.16) won the 200 back and 200 free for the men.

Savanna Faulconer and Andrew Brady got it done for Florida in distance. Faulconer took the win in 16:52.26, while Brady touched in 15:49.42.

A pair of sophomores swept the 400 IM – Ross Palazzo took the men’s title in 3:56.41, and Sydney Sell won for the women in 4:27.29.

Taylor Katz, who has competed in a limited capacity this season due to injury, won the 200 fly in 2:04.37, and Mark Szaranek won the same event in 1:48.89.

In the diving well, Samuel Smith won big on the 3-meter, putting up a career-best 397.57. He also took the 1-meter title with a season-high 348.22 score.

Brooke Madden and Teya Syskakis split the 1- and 3-meter titles. Madden’s career-high score of 291.60 gave her the win on the 1-meter, while Syskakis scored 299.02 on the 3-meter.

TROY’S TAKE ON SWIMMING
“It was a good way to start the new year and a good starting point as we go into tomorrow’s meet at Miami. Mitch D’Arrigo, Savanna Faulconer, Hannah Burns and Andrew Brady all competed well. Chandler Bray did good for the breaststrokers.”

GILLOOLY’S TAKE ON DIVING
“It was really fun for me personally to come back to FAU where I spent the last two seasons. Gamboa, the new coach, has done a great job with the team and especially the new recruits. It was great to see. The Gators did a solid job coming off of a long layoff and are in a good position to perform even better tomorrow against Miami.”

FLORIDA’S WINS
Men’s Events
1-meter – Samuel Smith (348.22)
3-meter – Samuel Smith (397.57)
50 free – Enzo Martinez-Scarpe (20.43)
100 free – Khader Baqlah (45.00)
200 back – Brennan Balogh (1:49.28)
200 fly – Mark Szaranek (1:48.89)
200 free – Mitch D’Arrigo (1:38.16)
400 IM – Ross Palazzo (3:56.41)
1650 free – Andrew Brady (15:49.42)
200 medley relay – A-team (Jack Blyzinskyj, Mark Szaranek, Jan Switkowski, Caeleb Dressel) [1:30.41]

Women’s Events
1-meter – Brooke Madden (291.60)
3-meter – Teya Syskakis (299.02)
50 free – Amelia Maughan (24.00)
100 free – Alyssa Yambor-Maul (52.80)
200 back – Sherridon Dressel (2:01.78)
200 fly – Taylor Katz (2:04.37)
200 free – Sherridon Dressel (1:51.01)
400 IM – Sydney Sell (4:27.29)
1650 free – Savanna Faulconer (16:52.26)
200 medley relay – A-team (Emma Ball, Savanna Faulconer, Alyssa Yambor-Maul, Kelsey Dambacher) [1:44.60]

UP NEXT
The Gators will stay in south Florida for the weekend, competing at Miami (FL) on Saturday at 3 p.m. As Miami does not field a men’s swimming team, only the Florida women’s team and male divers will compete.

PRESS RELEASE – Florida Atlantic:

Boca Raton, Fla. –

Florida Atlantic University swimming and diving hosted the University of Florida at the FAU Aquatic Center on Friday with the divers earning multiple top-three finishes.

Coach’s Quote

“It was a good team effort and again a great job from our divers with numerous second and third-place finishes,” said Head Swim and Dive Coach Lara Preacco. “We were also happy to welcome two new additions to the FAU family, Devon Mark and Victoria Moretti, who both had a great meet today.”

Making A Splash

Men

• Ryan McIntire was again one of the team’s shining stars as he finished second in both the 1-meter (317.17) and 3-meter dive (310.12). Miles Miller followed in the 3-meter with a third-place finish (303.15) and took fourth in the 1-meter (269.92).
• The men’s 200-yard medley relay started things off with a time of 1:34.56 to take fourth. The team consisted of John Brennock, Phillip Crouch III, John Nolte and Colin Kozak.
• With his second solid swim in the 200-yard freestyle this week, Connor Hodges came in seventh with a time of 1:44.61.
• Nolte swam a 21.29 in the 50-yard freestyle, which is the senior’s second fastest finish in the event this season, to claim fifth. Brennock also represented FAU well in the 100-yard freestyle as he finished sixth in 46.80.
• Marco Leo finished his last race of the day on a high note as he took sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a lifetime best time of 2:09.72.

Women

• Newcomer Victoria Moretti did not waste any time as she claimed third in her first event as an Owl, the 1-meter dive (250.87). Lauren Beyer was close behind in fourth (231.15) and took the same place in the 3-meter with a final score of 219.15.
• The meet began with the 200-yard medley relay in which the team of Megan Reuter, Hannah Roper, Kelsey Witkay and Melanie Doan finished five one hundredths of a second behind the runner-up to take third (1:49.49).
• Freshman Melanie Doan was the Owls’ top finisher in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.95.
• In her first meet as an Owl, Devon Mark had an impressive second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (53.40).
• Roper also had one of FAU’s top finishes as she earned second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:25.77).

Up Next

FAU women’s swimming and diving will compete at Florida Gulf Coast University on Friday, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m.