Led by juniors Shara Stafford and James Turner, 17 gators earned NCAA “B” cuts this weekend at the Bulldog Last Chance Meet in Athens, Ga.
Stafford led the women’s team with four “B” cuts, including a season-best time in the women’s 50-yard freestyle, in which she took sixth place at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Her 22.72 is just .72 off the UF record for the event and will hopefully have earned her a trip to the women’s NCAA Championships at the University of Texas in Austin, March 24-26.
Turner set a personal record in the 50 free (19.89), good for one of his four “B” cuts for the weekend. Head Coach Gregg Troy said he was happy so many swimmers improved their chances of going to the NCAA Championships, which for the men will be held in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota March 24-26.
“We had some great performances with a lot of our swimmers improving their position for the upcoming NCAA meets,” Troy said. “Hopefully, with outstanding performances like the one James Turner had this weekend, we can get more people to the NCAA meets.”
Freshmen Kaitlin Frehling and Trish Regan also stood out for the women with three “B” cuts each. Frehling swam her personal best in the 100 free (50.00) and the 100 fly (54.50). Regan’s 54.20 in the 100 back was also a personal best.
Sophomore John Lehtonen also qualified in three events, and four other Gators from the men's team earned “B” cuts in two. Freshmen Eric Solis and Karl Wolk, sophomore Rodion Develaar, and seniors Logan Storie and Alex Martin earned personal-best times.
The Gators divers took four titles at the meet, with senior Monica Dodson taking first in the platform and junior Kaylee Doback winning the one-meter.
Junior Anthony Lewark dove a career-high 402.30 on the three-meter, taking first place, and also won the one-meter. Next up for Lewark and the other divers is the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in Athens, Ga., March 10-12.
