The Florida women’s swimming and diving team moved to 4-1 (1-1) with a 164.5-124.5 victory over Florida Atlantic in its home opener Friday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium.  The Gators swept the top three spots in four of the 16 events, and also claimed first place in 11.

The Gator divers started the meet off right for UF, as sophomore Sarah Ellerby (Oldsmar) posted a score of 255.38 in the three-meter competition to take first place.  Freshman Alicia Miller (Hobie Sound) took second with a 251.33 effort, while freshman Jeana Bartell (Boca Raton) claimed third with a 225.01.  In the one-meter event Miller notched an NCAA qualifying mark of 265.80 to take first place, while Ellerby finished second with a 231.60 effort.

The Orange and Blue quartet of Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.), Mandy Huff (Gold Hill, N.C.), Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) and Natalie Pike (Boca Raton) notched a 1:43.77 to take first place, while the team of Kelsy Smith (Cary, N.C.), Amanda Hartley (Tallahassee), Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) and Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) notched second with a 1:43.77.

In the 1,000 freestyle Jamie Tannhauser (Seattle, Wash.) led a Gator sweep of the top three spots in a time of 10:04.89.  Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington) posted a 10:10.13 to take second place, while Jamie Reid (Orlando) swam a 10:11.73, good for third place. 

Ashley Carusone (Gainesville) captured first place in the 200 freestyle in a 1:51.21 effort, while Kim Larson (Longwood) notched a 1:51.51 to finish second.  In the 100 backstroke Vanderbilt led the second Gator sweep of the night, with a time of 56.88, good enough for top honors in the event.  Kristen Harris (Holmdel, N.J.) took second with a 58.81 and Colleen Healy (Cape Coral) rounded out the trio with a time of 58.89.

Weiman and Huff each notched a first place finish in the following two events, as Weiman won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:04.53 and Huff bested the field in the 100 butterfly with a 2:05.14.  Healy kept the first-place trend alive with a victory in the 50 freestyle, in a time of 23.99.

In the 100 freestyle Weiman captured her second title of the meet with a 51.56 effort, while Smith, Harris and Vanderbilt finished one-two-three in the 200 backstroke in times of 2:00.64 (a provisional mark), 2:04.64 and 2:06.63, respectively.  Following the 200 breaststroke event, in which Carusone notched a second-place finish with a 2:22.88 effort, the Gator women swam exhibition races only.  Head coach Gregg Troy was pleased with the team’s effort in the dual meet.

“We had three weeks of traveling that were a lot harder than we anticipated,” said Troy.  “We were feeling dead, so it helped to be home for two weeks and have some solid training time. This was a good meet for some of our less experienced swimmers to compete in.  We tried to give them a chance to get in and get some experience. This was an opportunity for them to step-up in a comfortable environment.”

The Gators return to action on the road, when they travel to the Purdue Invitational Nov. 18-20, in West Lafayette, Ind.

Women’s Results

Florida 164.5, Florida Atlantic 124.5

-UF-