Senior Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) continued his stellar performance at the U.S. Open in Auburn, Ala. on Friday by claiming his third individual title of the three-day competition.

Lochte recorded a time of 55.83 to win the 100-meter backstroke for the second consecutive year. Lochte edged out Adam Mania of the Wisconsin Aquatic Club by .53 seconds to win the event in the 15th fastest time recorded this year. Yesterday, Lochte won two events, the 200-meter backstroke and the 200-meter IM.

“Ryan had a pretty good backstroke for this time of year,” Florida coach Gregg Troy said.  “He controlled the field and swam really well. What can I say, he’s a guy that likes to race.”

Senior Brian Hartley (Indianapolis, Ind.) qualified for the C final in the 100-meter backstroke and recorded a time of 1:00.23 to finish fifth in his race. Hartley has qualified for three event finals so far during the competition.

Sophomore Darian Townsend (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) raced in the championship final of the 200-meter freestyle. Townsend recorded a career-best time of 1:50.50 to finish third in the event. Pieter Van Den Hoogenband of PSV won the event in a James E. Martin Aquatic Center record time of 1:46.23.

A pair of Gators faired well in the championship final of the 400-meter IM. Sophomore Kevin Nead (Ithaca, N.Y.) and Dustin McLarty (DeLand, Fla.) place fourth and fifth respectively in the event with times of 4:30.93 and 4:32.44.

“It’s a good experience for both of them,” Troy said. “They’re both going to be big players for us this spring. Overall I’m very pleased with the group. We are getting a little race weary, but we’ve had a lot of good races mid-way through the season.”

Lochte continued his evening by placing fifth in the championship final of the 100-meter butterfly. His time of 54.34 was .68 seconds off the pace set by winner Todd Cooper of Scotland.

The Gators completed the second day of competition by racing to third-place in the 4 X 100-meter medley relay. The team of Lochte, Luca DeMatteis (Naples, Italy), Hartley and Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.) recorded a time of 3:50.84.

 The U.S. Open will conclude on Saturday with the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter breaststroke, 200-meter butterfly and 4 X 100-meter freestyle relay. The preliminary competition begins at 9:30 a.m. (CT), followed by the championship races at 7:30 p.m. (CT). Live results can be found at www.omegatiming.com.

Friday’s Results