The Florida women capped off a back-to-back weekend with its second win in as many meets against South Carolina in swimming and diving action.  The Gators downed the Gamecocks 168-129 at the Carolina Natatorium with a total team effort to move to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference.

As a team the women took first place in 11 of the 16 events, with sweeps of first and second in two events, as well as one event in which the Gators took the three top spots and one event where the top four places were owned by UF competitors.  Head coach Gregg Troy was pleased with the total team effort on the women’s side.

“The women were pretty solid across the board today,” said Troy.  “A lot of people down the line were able to stand up and swim really well.  We still have some weaknesses, and we’re not quite where we would like to be with this team.  But this weekend we’ve been able to pinpoint the things we need to work on.”

The Orange and Blue opened up the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay.  The ‘A’ team of sophomore Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.), senior Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfeld, Germany), junior Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) and freshman Dana Vollmer (Grandbury, Texas) recorded a time of 1:42.90 to take top honors.  The ‘B’ team was close behind as junior Jamie Reid (Orlando, Fla.),  senior Mandy Huff (Gold Hill, N.C.), sophomore Colleen Healy (Cape Coral, Fla.) and sophomore Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) teamed up for a third place finish with a 1:45.96 effort.

Sophomore Kim Larson (Longwood, Fla.) turned in a solid 16:54.96 effort in the 1650 freestyle to lead a Gator sweep of the top three spots as freshman Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) finished second in 17:10.65.  Freshman Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) claimed third after turning in a 17:18.70 effort in the event, which coach Troy had listed as a point of concern on the women’s side before the season began.

“Kim Larson had an outstanding day for us in the distance,” said Troy.  “One of the biggest things we gained this weekend was being able to get our young freshman into the mix.  This weekend was a good starting point for us all-around.”

Burckle and freshman Silke Nowotzin (Essen, Germany) earned first and second place in the 200 freestyle, as Burckle championed the event in a 1:51.33 effort and Nowotzin claimed second with a 1:53.59.  Junior Nicole Allfrey finished sixth in the same event in a time of 1:57.16.

Freshman Kelsy Smith (Cary, N.C.) swam a 57.61 in the 100 back, good enough for first-place, while freshman Jenny Lago (Wellington, Fla.) claimed third with a 58.91 effort.  In the 100 breast Bernhardt posted a first-place finish with a 1:02.72, while Weiman took third with a 1:05.58, sophomore Amanda Hartley (Tallahassee, Fla.) claimed fourth in 1:06.53 and Huff notched a 1:07.41 to finish fifth.

Junior Ashley Carusone (Gainesville, Fla.) and Reid finished second and third in the 200 fly, respectively, with times of 2:02.21 and 2:02.88.  Junior teammate Brittany Johnson (Winston Salem, N.C.) posted a 2:05.68, good enough for fifth-place.

Vollmer notched a win in the 50 free with a 23.40 effort, while Vanderbilt recorded a 24.40 for a third place finish.  Healy swam a 24.59 in the same event to finish in seventh-place.  In the 200 back Smith took first-place with a 2:02.67 effort, while Cota and Lago finished fourth and fifth in times of 2:10.26 and 2:11.47.

Bernhardt notched a win in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:16.47, while Hartley finished in fifth place with a 2:25.66 effort.  Burckle led a contingent of five Gator competitors in the 500 free, with a 4:57.68 win in the event, while sophomore Natalie Pike (Boca Raton, Fla.) finished in a close second with a 4:58.08.  Johnson posted a 5:04.73 to finish fourth, junior Kristin Gilliam (Gainesville, Fla.) took sixth in a time of 5:06.92 while Allfrey notched a seventh-place 5:09.39 effort.

The 100 fly proved to be the most dominant event of the day for the Gator women, as they swept the top four spots behind a 54.59 champion effort by Weiman.  Vollmer clocked a 55.03 for second, while Healy took third in 56.87 and Vanderbilt followed with a 58.49 performance to finish fourth.  The final Orange and Blue win came in the 400 IM as Carusone notched a 4:22.57 to take top placement in the event.  Reid posted a fourth-place finish in the same event with a 4:29.14, while Nowotzin took fifth in 4:30.40 and Huff rounded out the Gator competitors with a sixth-place 4:30.46 effort.

In diving action the Gators took third, fourth and fifth place behind a 244.65 effort by freshman Jeana Bartell (Boca Raton, Fla.), a score of 237.08 by freshman Alicia Miller (Hobie Sound, Fla.) and a 213.45 from freshman Whitney Stern (Safety Harbor, Fla.) in the three-meter event.  In the one-meter, Miller took third with a 236.93, Bartell finished fourth in a 220.88 and Stern posted a 216.08, good enough for fifth-place.

The Gator women return to the water Oct. 20 for a dual meet against SMU in Dallas at 7 p.m.  The meet serves as a precursor to the Dallas Classic, also hosted by SMU, Oct. 21-22.

Florida, 168-129

-UF-