November weather usually doesn’t bode well for outdoor swimming. But with Tallahassee temperatures in the low 70s, the Seminoles hosted the Gators roof-less.
The FSU swimming and diving team competed against the Gators on Tuesday in its new outdoor Morcom Aquatic Center. While the facility was fresh, the Gators’ performance was anything but. UF’s men’s and women’s teams fell to FSU 184 to 116 and 187 to 113, respectively.
“Hats off to FSU,” coach Gregg Troy said. “They have a very good team and are in championship form. We are not as good as they are right now.”
The women’s side was without three-time SEC Swimmer of the Week Elizabeth Beisel and junior Teresa Crippen due to the 2010 Golden Goggle Awards in New York City Monday night. Both U.S. National Team members were nominees in the event.
“Elizabeth and Teresa are ranked in the top 10 in the world, so of course it was going to be a difficult dual meet since they both score in any event they would be placed in,” junior Shara Stafford said.
Stafford took the 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly, while fellow junior Sarah Bateman won the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Jamie Bohunicky also stepped up, topping the ’Noles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle.
Men also struggle: Though men’s senior captain Conor Dwyer won his third SEC Swimmer of the Week honor, the Seminoles outmatched the men’s squad. Dwyer pulled out wins in the 200-and 500-yard freestyle, while fellow senior Brett Fraser nabbed the 200-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly. However, key swimmers including Jeffrey Raymond, Scott Sommer and Marco Loughran were absent from the meet.
Both the men’s and women’s squads are in the midst of their trying training season, differing from FSU’s fall training approach.
“[FSU] decided to fully rest and wear suits for a dual meet at the end of November,” Fraser said. “We didn’t alter our rigorous regimen just to beat them.”
