University of Florida freshman Roland Rudolf (Budapest, Hungary) claimed first place in the men’s 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:02.27 on Thursday, highlighting the first day of the U.S. Open for the Gators. His victory marks UF’s second-consecutive 200-meter back title at the U.S. Open, as former Florida standout Ryan Lochte took first at the 2005 edition.

“Roland Rudolf was the bright spot of the day for us on Thursday,” Florida head coach Gregg Troy said. “He really swam a great a race. It was impressive to see the way he went out and raced against a great field.”

Freshman Omar Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia) also turned in an impressive swim in the men’s 200-meter back, finishing 11th with a time of 2:05.21. Sophomore Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) swam to a 12th-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley (2:06.27), while junior Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.) placed 13th in the men’s 400-meter free with a time of 3:59.71. The quartet of freshman Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands), Rudolf, Ally and Work wrapped up Thursday’s action for the Florida men with a sixth-place showing in the men’s 800-meter FR, clocking in at 7:44.59.

The UF women collected a seventh-place finish in the 800-meter FR, as the team of sophomore Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.), junior Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.), senior Ashley Carusone (High Springs, Fla.) and sophomore Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) touched the wall in 8:31.35. Junior Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) was the Gator women’s top individual finisher on the day, placing 19th in the 400-meter free (4:20.76), while fellow junior Leah Retrum (Columbus, Ind.) finished 23rd in the women’s 200-meter back with a time 2:21.38.

“We didn’t have a great morning, but we bounced back and swam at a higher level in the evening,” Troy said. “We were a little better in the relays than the individual events today, but people like Caroline Burckle, Roland Rudolf and Omar Pinzon swam well for us. We’ll just try to build on this start over the next two days.”

Lochte posted a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter IM on Thursday, clocking a time of 2:03.82. He also finished ninth in the 200-meter back with a time 2:03.55.

In other UF swimming and diving action, the Gator men are 10th after the first day of the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas, while the Florida women sit in 15th. Senior Matt Coan (Plantation, Fla.) turned in a top-20 finish in the men’s 500 free with a time of 4:34.38, while sophomore Ron Ballatore (Gainesville, Fla.) did the same in the men’s 200 IM (1:51.73). Senior Justin Schmidt (Falcon, Colo.) also chipped in with a fourth-place finish in the men’s 1M dive, posting a score of 285.25 in the finals session.

U.S. Open Day One Finals Event Winners

Florida Finishes

Women’s 200-meter IM

36. Natalie Pike – 2:23.87

53. Ashley Carusone – 2:25.01

56. Leah Retrum – 2:25.23

85. Gemma Spofforth – 2:29.36

Men’s 200-meter IM

12. Bradley Ally – 2:06.27

27. Shaune Fraser – 2:10.06

32. Kevin Nead – 2:10.81

35. Omar Pinzon – 2:10.90

63. Matt Coan – 4:05.28

Women’s 400-meter Free

19. Caroline Burckle – 4:20.76

24. Laurabeth Guenthner – 4:24.59

46. Stephanie Cota – 4:28.69

59. Kim Larson – 4:31.24

Men’s 400-meter Free

13. Tobias Work – 3:59.71

20. Roland Rudolf – 4:03.74

50. Kevin Nead – 4:10.24

62. Shaune Fraser – 4:13.48

Men’s 100-meter Breast

28. Bradley Ally – 1:06.78

Women’s 200-meter Back

23. Leah Retrum – 2:21.38

54. Gemma Spofforth – 2:25.35

72. Stephanie Cota – 2:28.56

Men’s 200-meter Back

1. Roland Rudolf – 2:02.27

11. Omar Pinzon – 2:05.21

22. Kevin Nead – 2:08.28

36. Dustin McLarty – 2:09.61

Women’s 50-meter Free

33. Elizabeth Kemp – 27.09

49. Stephanie Napier – 27.27

T83. Coral Lopez – 27.71

Men’s 50-meter Free

53. Daniel Penniman – 24.66

-UF-