For the third time in his career Florida senior standout Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach) earned the SEC Male High-Point Award, while leading the No. 4 University of Florida men’s swim team to a second place finish at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. On the women’s side, Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfeld, Germany) notched her second individual title of the meet on the final day of competition, as the No. 4 Gator women closed out the conference meet in third place.

In the final SEC meet of his historic UF swimming career, Lochte went out in the same record-breaking fashion he came in with. In the men’s 200 butterfly Lochte not only broke his second SEC record of the weekend, but his second Florida record as well. His NCAA automatic time of 1:42.39 eclipsed the SEC record, set by Auburn’s Jeff Somensatto in 2001, and shattered former Gator Duncan Sherrard’s 2001 mark of 1:43.18 in the Florida record book. According to head coach Gregg Troy Lochte’s gold-medal performance was the perfect way for him to end his final SEC championship meet.

“Ryan is certainly the best swimmer we’ve ever had at the University of Florida,” said Troy. “He holds the school record in both butterfly events, both individual medley’s, both of the backstrokes, he’s got the freestyle, he’s on every relay and could probably hold a few more of our records, he just hasn’t had a chance to swim the events. He swam events in the conference meet that we thought were weak team-wise, and those were events that he doesn’t fully prepare for. He was outstanding all the way around, and for the second year he’s the best all-around swimmer in the conference.”

“We had a lot of people do really well today,” Troy continued. “Down the line Mandy Huff was outstanding, swimming in two events. Nick Borreca and Dan Penniman are coming around. Candace Weiman was outstanding, and Caroline Burckle is starting to look better. So as a team we’re getting to where we’d like to be.”

On the women’s side of the 200 butterfly junior Candace Weiman (Castro Valley, Calif.) made a trip to the medal stand to claim the bronze following her provisional 1:58.71 performance in the championship final of the event. In the B final junior Ashley Carusone (Gainesville) notched a provisional 2:00.05 to claim the top spot in her heat, while senior Mandy Huff (Gold Hill, N.C.) claimed fourth in the same heat with a provisional and career-best mark of 2:01.38.

Throughout the 2005-06 season senior Vipa Bernhardt (Bad Hersfeld, Germany) has been the picture of consistency for the Florida women and the Gators go-to swimmer in the breaststroke events. Bernhardt racked up 18 first-place finishes throughout the year and can now add the SEC 200 breaststroke title to the list, in addition to the 100 breaststroke title she earned during day three of the conference meet. On the final day of the SEC meet, in her final individual event the senior pulled through, charging into the wall in the 200 breaststroke to out-touch Georgia’s Sarah Poewe in an NCAA automatic and Florida season best time of 2:11.04. Bernhardt demolished her previous season best time by nearly two seconds.

“Vipa is really consistent in the breaststroke events,” said Troy. “She’s got back-to-back conference championships, she’s one of the best in the country and just a real avid competitor. We will certainly miss her in the future, she’ll be tough to replace.”

On the men’s side in the 200 breaststroke, freshman Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale) had another strong showing for the Gator men, making his third trip of the meet to the medal stand, to claim the silver after posting a provisional time of 1:57.14 in the championship final of the event. Ally’s mark was not only a season best, but also the top time of the season for the Gator men.

In the B final of the men’s 200 breaststroke sophomore Luca DeMatteis (Naples, Italy) posted a B time of 2:00.10 to take third in the heat. On the women’s side in the B final of the 200 breaststroke Huff took top honors in the heat with a season best and provisional time of 2:15.90, while sophomore Amanda Hartley (Tallahassee) and redshirt freshman Caroline Drab (Lund, Sweden) took fifth and sixth in the B final with times of 2:18.48 and 2:20.23, respectively. Drab preceded her finals mark with a season-best 2:18.65 in the prelim of the event.

In the men’s 200 backstroke freshman Lucas Salatta (Sao Paulo, Brazil) made it to the medal stand for the Gators as he captured second place in the championship final with an NCAA automatic and season-best time of 1:42.98. Senior Brian Hartley (Indianapolis, Ind.) claimed fourth place in the championship final of the same event after he notched a provisional and season-best time of 1:45.70.

The men’s 1650 freestyle proved to be a big event for the Gators, as four Florida competitors finished in the top eight and five scored in the event. Sophomore Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.) led the Gator contingent with a fourth place finish in an NCAA provisional time of 15:05.18. Work’s mark was also not only his personal best this season, but also a season-best for the Gators. Sophomore Grant Johnson (Clearwater) notched a season best provisional time of 15:20.47 in the mile swim, to finish one spot behind Work in fifth place.

Sophomore Max Jaben (Overland Park, Kan.) posted a provisional time of 15:24.93 in the 1650 free, to finish seventh, while junior Matt Coan (Plantation) posted his best time of the season with a provisional 15:26.23 to finish eighth in the event. Sophomore Dustin McLarty (DeLand) claimed 13th in the mile swim in a time of 15:47.84 to round out the Gator competitors in the event.

In the women’s 1650 freestyle Stephanie Cota (Granite Bay, Calif.) claimed fourth place for UF with an NCAA provisional mark of 16:29.28, a Florida and personal season best for the freshman. Freshman Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington) notched a provisional mark in the 1650 free to finish seventh, while sophomore Kim Larson (Longwood) claimed eighth in a time of 16:43.76.

Freshman Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) claimed fifth place in the championship final of the 100 freestyle for the Gator women with an NCAA B time of 49.77, following her automatic time and Florida season best performance of 49.63 in the prelim of the event. Senior Nick Borreca (Honolulu, Hawaii) finished the 50 free championship final on the men’s side of the 100 freestyle in a provisional time of 44.07. Borreca’s mark of 44.01 in the prelim of the event was his best of the season, and also a best for the Florida men.

Cota put up a strong finish in the 200 backstroke, her second finals event of the day, by taking second place in the B final with a provisional time of 1:59.58, after she notched her season best 1:59.36 in the morning prelims. Freshman Kelsy Smith (Cary, N.C.) notched a season best in the 200 back B final with a provisional time of 1:59.93, while junior Jamie Reid (Orlando) finished one place behind Smith to grab fourth place in the B final with a provisional time of 1:59.98. Sophomore Samantha Vanderbilt (Nashville, Tenn.) took top honors in the C-final in a provisional and season best time of 2:00.44.

In the championship final of the men’s 400 freestyle relay the quartet of Lochte, sophomore Darian Townsend (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), sophomore Daniel Penniman (Pensacola) and Borreca combined to put up an NCAA provisional time of 2:54.95 and claim the silver medal. On the women’s side, sophomore Natalie Pike (Boca Raton), Vollmer, Weiman and Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) notched an NCAA provisional time of 3:22.88, good for fifth place.

Overall during the weekend the Gator men notched 13 NCAA automatic times, 52 provisional times, had 23 top five championship final finishes, including13 in the top three. The women posted 11 automatic times, 59 provisional times, had 13 top five finishes which included six in the top three. In the weeks before the NCAA Championships Troy will be looking for his swimmers to build on their performance at SEC’s.

“We qualified most of the people we wanted to for the NCAA meet,” said Troy. “We felt like there were some disappointments today, we felt like we could have been closer on the guys side. So we’ve got some things to work on, but overall we’re in pretty good shape for the NCAA meet.”

Next up, the Gators will compete in their final meet of the season before the NCAA Championships at the Georgia Last Chance Feb. 25 in Athens, Ga. The Florida divers will finish out their season March 10-12 at the NCAA Zone meet in Lexington, Ky., while the swimmers will close with the NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Athens, Ga., for the women and March 23-25 in Atlanta, Ga., for the men.

Day Four Finals Event Winners

Day Four Prelim Event Winners

Men’s Final Standings

Women’s Final Standings

Florida Team Stats                              Men                                         Women

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