The University of Florida women’s swimming and diving team fell behind early and never recovered, suffering their first loss of the season, 148-95 at the hands of the University of Georgia this afternoon at Gabrielsen Natatorium on Georgia’s campus.  The Gators fall to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the SEC.

“We were out-manned today, we did not match up well,” said head coach Gregg Troy.  “I’m happy with how we stayed in the competition, lost too many close races.  We were a little short-handed, but still performed fairly well.  Natalie Pike was really good today, so was Caroline Burckle.  There were some bright spots, Liz Kemp was really good, Julianne Lago was better than what we had been seeing.”

Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) remained undefeated in individual events this year, swimming in with a time of 8:46.54 in the 800 free to earn Florida’s first victory of the day.  Laurabeth Geunthner (Wellington, Fla.) placed third with a time of 9:00.28 while Elizabeth Goldson (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and Madison Parker (Biloxi, Miss.) took fourth and fifth place finishes respectively.  Burckle later earned her second first place finish of the day, taking the top spot just ahead of Guenthner in the 400 free.  Burckle touched first with a time of 4:17.09 and Guenthner out-touched Kelsey Ditto at the wall for second with a time of 4:19.31.

Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) earned the first provisional qualifying time of the day for the Gators as she touched in second in the 50 free with a time of 26.73.  She was followed by Colleen Healy (Cape Coral, Fla.) who finished fifth, Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.) who earned the sixth spot and Caroline Drab (Lund, Sweden) rounded out the top eight.

Pike earned herself her second provisional qualifying time, this time in the 200 IM with a time of 2:21.43, also good enough for a second place finish.  Stacy Nedrud (Melbourne, Fla.), Coral Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and Jenny Lago (Wellington, Fla.) rounded out the top eight, finishing in places six through eight.

Julianne Lago (Miami, Fla.) earned the first provisional qualifying time of her collegiate career with a second place finish in the 200 butterfly.  She touched the wall just six one hundredths of a second behind Georgia’s Elizabeth Hill with a time of 2:18.79.  She was followed by freshman Sarah Sykes (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Lindsay Woodward (Assonet, Mass.).  Sykes finished third with a time of 2:20.13 while Woodward was fifth with a time of 2:25.26.

Pike returned to the water in the 100 free event and once again earned a provisional qualifying time of 57.91, touching first.  Elizabeth Kemp (Potomac, Md.) was not far behind, finishing third with a provisional time of 58.08. 

Still without NCAA Champion Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England), the Gators took the fourth and fifth place finishes in the 200 backstroke event.  Nedrud took fourth with a time of 2:24.48 and was followed by senior Samantha Vanderbilt who placed fifth with a time of 2:26.00.

Amanda Hartley (Tallahassee, Fla.) was Florida’s top finisher in the 200 breast, touching in at fourth place with a time of 2:42.80.

The relays proved the be a challenge for the Gators, who got another provisional time from their 400 free ‘A’ relay team.  Pike, Burckle, Kemp and Napier earned a second place finish with a time of 3:50.40.  In the first event of the afternoon Vanderbilt, Hartley, Healy and Napier combined for a third place finish in the 400 medley relay with a time of 4:24.81. 

On the diving boards, the Gators turned in solid performances, receiving first place points from freshman Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) in the one-meter event.  Dodson’s score of 253.35 was enough for the win while Whitney Stern (Safety Harbor, Fla.) was third with a score of 239.62.  Jeana Bartell (Boca Raton, Fla.) was fifth with 231.66 points.  The three returned later for the three-meter event and finished 2-3-4.  Bartell led the way with 287.40 points and was followed by Dodson (283.65) and Stern (262.50).