Led by a new American Record in the 200-yard individual medley, the University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams found success on day one of the 2007 USA Short Course National Championships.

Former Gator Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) set a new American record in the 200-yard individual Medley to lead the charge for the Florida.  Lochte’s time of 1:40.08 placed him well over a second ahead of second place finisher Michael Phelps and broke the record by .47 seconds.  Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) was the Gators second-best finisher, placing 15^th overall with a time of 1:48.33, a season best for the junior.  Clark Burckle and Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) finished 18^th and 19^th respectively with times of 1:49.09 and 1:49.26.  The duo finished second and third in the ‘C’ heat final.  Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.) and Dustin McLarty (DeLand, Fla.) also finished back-to-back, earning the 46^th and 47^th best times of the race at 1:53.20 and 1:53.25.

Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) turned in her best performance of the season in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing 33^rd overall with a time of 2:03.75.  She was tied in the standings with Stephanie Proud (Durham, England), who finished with the same time.  Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) swam a time of 2:03.85 to finish 38^th overall.  Former Gator Vipa Bernhardt turned in an 18^th place time of 2:00.60.

Led by senior Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.) who took home a 12^th place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:24.27, following a fourth place finish in the ‘B’ heat final, the Gators went on to earn four other top finishes.  Work was joined in the final by freshman Barlazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) who placed 16^th overall with an eighth place finish in the final and a time of 4:31.74.  Roland Rudolf (Budapest, Hungary) was the last of the Gators to final in the event.  Rudolf posted a time of 4:24.71 to rank 18^th overall, marking the sophomore’s best swim of the season.  Sophomore Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) placed 28^th overall with a time of 4:29.67.  The sophomore bested his previous season-best by 5.10 seconds.  McLarty rounded out the Gators’ finishers in the 500 free with a time of 4:32.88 for a 43^rd place finish.

On the women’s side, the Gators faired just as well, led by senior Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) who turned in a sixth place overall finish in the event.  Her time of 4:44.63 marked a season best.  Junior Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) was 21^st overall with a time of 4:48.15, placing fifth in the ‘C’ heat final.  Proud will bring a 37^th place finish back to Gainesville, touching the wall during preliminaries with a time of 452.79.  Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.) finished 52^nd with a time of 4:56.11, while Elizabeth Kemp (Potomac, Md.) rounded out Florida’s finishers with a time of 4:56.96 to place 56^th overall.

Lochte was the lone Gator to swim in the men’s 50-yard freestyle.  He secured his second win of the night, touching the wall in 19.31 seconds, bettering the second place finisher by just .03 seconds.

On the women’s end of the 50 free, Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.) turned in the Gators best performance, earning a 33^rd place finish with a time of 23.33 seconds.  Kemp also took part in the race, finishing 54^th overall with a time of 23.64. 

Tullius, Burckle, Fraser and Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.) combined to finish fifth in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:18.34, marking the second fastest time of the season swam by a Gator 400 medley relay team.  Rudolf, Ally, Tim Hughes (Winter Park, Fla.) and Work swam a time of 3:21.68 to place 12^th overall.

Spofforth, Burckle, Kemp and Pike swam to the wall in a combined time of 3:44.60 for a ninth place finish in the women’s 400 MR.

The Gators scored a combined 45 points to finish the first day in fourth place.  They lead rival Auburn by just five points. 

Tomorrow’s events will begin at 9:30 a.m. with preliminaries carrying through the morning.  Finals are set to begin at 6:00 p.m.  Those wishing to watch the event live should visit swimnetwork.com.