California Wins Team Title, Cordes Breaks Second American Record, Murphy Wins Second Title At NCAA Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 29, 2014

The University of California Bears came to swim Saturday night at the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

By the third event on the final night of competition, the Bears knew the title was theirs.

Headed into the championship finals at the University of Texas’ Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center, only six points separated leader Texas and California but that all changed quickly after the first two events.

After a perfect dual-meet season and second consecutive conference title, California won its third team title in four years and fifth overall in the program’s history with 468.5 points.

Texas was second with 417.5 followed by Florida with 387 and defending champion Michigan fourth with 310. Florida State under first year coach Frankie Bradley finished 14th with 105 and University of Miami was 25th with 26 points, all in diving.

Cal had seven swimmers in the “A” finals and two in consolations. Texas had five in the “A” finals and five in consolations.

California freshman Ryan Murphy, 18, swept the backstroke events winning his second NCAA title in the 200-yard backstroke in an NCAA record 1:37.35, all but clinching the national title.

The Bolles alum and race favorite led from the start and was ahead of American record pace by half a second until the final five yards. Murphy also re-broke his 17-18 national age group record of 1:38.15.

Cal teammate Jacob Pedley was fourth in 1:39.59. Murphy and Pedley earned 35 points for the Bears. After the backstroke and mile, the Bears led Texas, 364.54-349.5.

“It’s all about the team title,” Murphy said. “We did everything we could do to contribute to the team. It was a great start to the evening. I hope we can keep rolling. It would be awesome if we did make a difference for the team title in this race.”

Arizona’s Kevin Cordes stole a little of California’s thunder with his second American record of the meet.

Cordes won the 200-yard breaststroke in an American, NCAA and U.S. Open record 1:48.66, breaking the record by 2/100ths of a second.

It was Cordes 11th American short course record in the last two years.

After the first 50, Cordes was a second ahead of American record pace, taking five strokes per 25. With clean walls and perfect streamline, he built a three-body length lead over some of the best breaststrokers in the world.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Cordes said. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I just go out there every day and try to improve. It’s just about different strategies, learning to swim and execute.”

After the breaststroke, Cal had a 412.5-370.5 lead.

In other championship races:

1,650-yard freestyle: Defending champion Connor Jaeger of Michigan led from wire-to-wire to win in a pool record 14:29.27. Cal senior Jeremy Bagshaw, who swam in an earlier heat, finished second in 14:39 to score 17 points for the Bears in their title run. After the event, California led Texas by 11, 329.5-318.5. Florida sophomore Arthur Frayler was third in 14:43.08.

100-yard freestyle: Brazilian Joao De Lucca of Louisville fought off fellow Brazilian Marcelo Chierighini of Auburn to win in 41.70. He is the first swimmer to sweep the 100 and 200 freestyle titles since Gustavo Borges accomplished the feat in 1995. Florida State senior and Florida Gold Coast swimmer Paul Murray was 20th in 42.70. Chierighini had broken the pool record in prelims in 41.52. Cal’s lead was 385.5-365.5 over Texas.

200-yard butterfly: South African Dylan Bosch, a sophomore at Michigan, knocked off Florida’s Marcin Cieslak to win in an NCAA and U.S. Open record of 1:39.33. Cieslak was second in 1:40.19. Florida State junior Connor Knight, a Florida Gold Coast swimmer, won the “B” final in 1:42.25.

“I had a pretty good feeling I could get it,” Bosch said. “This is the fastest meet in the world. It is crazy. I always thought I had a chance to get the record. I wanted to do it for my teammates. We all train together so well. Records are there to be broken. Just to be in the books and written into history is a great feeling.”

10-meter platform diving: Defending champion Nick McCrory of Duke nailed his final dive to make history as the only diver ever to win four consecutive NCAA platform titles. The Olympic bronze medalist finished with 454.85 that included a 10 on his final dive. Rafael Quintero of Arizona was second with 452.40 points.

“I was up there doing the math in my head what scores I had to average, I knew it was a tall order,” said McCrory, who scratched from 3-meter with an injury. “I tried to do my best. It was better than I thought when I hit the water. For me this is huge. I couldn’t ask for a better way to go out at Duke.”

400-yard freestyle relay: With two freshmen duking it out on the anchor leg for Auburn and N.C. State, Auburn, led by freshman Kyle Darmody knocked off a stacked field to win the final event of the night in a meet record 2:48.33. Cal was second in 2:49.48 and N.C. State, with freshman Areas Schiellerup on anchor leg, was third in 2:49.50.

In all, 56 schools and 270 participants—235 swimmers and 35 divers—competed in the three-day meet.

For those who would like to again watch the NCAA Men and Women Swimming and Diving Championships, ESPNU is re-broadcasting the women’s meet on April 2 at 9 p.m., April 3 at 11 p.m. and April 11 at 10 p.m. The men’s meet will be re-broadcast on April 9 at 8 p.m., April 10 at two times, 1 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

Three American Records Fall At NCAA Championships; Murphy Wins First NCAA Title As Freshman

Three American Records Fall At NCAA Men’s Championships; Murphy Wins First NCAA Title As Freshman

By Sharon Robb

March 28, 2014

On an amazing night of fast swimming, three American records were shattered Friday night at the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

Headed into the third and final night of competition at the University of Texas’ Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center, Texas leads with 318.5 followed by California with 312.5, Florida with 279 and Michigan with 225. Florida State is tenth with 96.

Three American records, two individual and one relay, fell on Friday night.

In the 400-yard individual medley, defending champion and top-seed Chase Kalisz of Georgia pulled away from the field to win in an American, NCAA, U.S. Open and pool record of 3:34.50, taking nearly two seconds off the previous record.

After a solid first half, the 6-foot-4 Kalisz came on strong in the back half on the breaststroke and freestyle legs to post the fastest time in the event’s history.

“The whole season I was looking at that record,” Kalisz said. “I told my coach that’s what I wanted to get. We worked on my front half. I got it done today. I couldn’t be happier.”

Florida junior Dan Wallace was second in 3:38.17. Florida teammate Carlos Omana, a Florida Gold Coast swimmer for Metro Aquatics, was 36th in 3:49.69.

Two-time defending champion Kevin Cordes of Arizona blistered his own American, NCAA and U.S. Open record in the 100-yard breaststroke to win his third NCAA title in the event in 50.04, winning by nearly a second and a half. He went out in 23.58, his fastest first half ever.

Cordes has now broken the record seven times in the last two years.

Cordes first broke his own American, NCAA and U.S. Open record during morning prelims in 50.55. The junior’s splits were 23.95 and 26.60. His previous best was 50.70.

Cordes now has the four fastest times in the history of the event.

In the 200-yard medley relay, California, which barely made it into the final, held off Texas and Arizona in an exciting battle to win in an American and pool record 1:22.83, lowering its own 2013 record of 1:23.17.

Bolles alum and freshman Ryan Murphy gave the Bears an early lead on the opening leg. Other relay members were Chuck Katis, Tony Cox and Tyler Messerschmidt with a quick anchor leg to the wall.

Texas was second in 1:23.30. Florida State with Pavel Sankovich, Jared Pike and Florida Gold Coast swimmers Connor Knight and Paul Murray was fourth in 1:24.57 and earned All-America honors, edging fifth-place Florida in 1:24.82 with Christian-Paul Homer, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, Marcin Cieslak and Bradley deBorde. Arizona was disqualified for an early takeoff on its second exchange.

With a great back-half surge, Murphy won his first individual NCAA title as a freshman in the 100-yard backstroke.

The PAC-12 champion, top-seed and youngest in the field at 18, won in a best time 44.63.

Murphy also lowered his own national age group record he had set on Thursday’s leadoff medley relay leg.

Before Murphy’s race, California and Texas were tied in the team standings. After his swim, the Bears moved ahead of Texas, 286.5-270.5. Florida was third with 245 and Michigan fell out of contention with 195.

“Going into the last turn I was hurting pretty bad but all the practice paid off there,” Murphy said. “Obviously, the team title is our goal and to help contribute to that makes it all that much better.”

Defending backstroke champion and junior David Nolan of Stanford was fourth in 45.21.

Heading into Friday night’s finals, Texas had a one-point lead over California with Florida and Michigan close behind.

Defending NCAA diving champion Nick McCrory was forced to withdraw from the 3-meter springboard competition after failing his third dive. Minnesota Matt Barnard hit his right heel on the board and was taken to the hospital with a splint on his right leg.

University of Florida was dealt a blow on the second day, losing 17 points from its seeds including fifth-seeded Sebastien Rousseau unable to make the “A” final in the 400-yard individual medley. Rousseau came back to win the “B” final by a best time by half a second in 3:40.77.

The Gators are not without their loyal teammates who did not qualify for NCAAs including Florida Gold Coast swimmers Luke Torres and Ryan Rosenbaum, painted with orange and blue Gator colors and hard to miss in the stands.

“The coaches were really excited about us coming,” said Torres, who drove to Texas with several of his teammates.

Michigan lost valuable points when its fourth-seeded 200-yard medley relay dropped to ninth place and lost its projected 30 points.

There have been 16 disqualifications in the relays after two days. ESPN analyst Rowdy Gaines said he has never seen anything like it in his 30 years of coming to the NCAA meet.

In other championship races:

100-yard butterfly: Florida senior Marcin Cieslak attacked the final wall to knock off an impressive field to win his second NCAA title in a best time 44.87, seventh fastest time in history. He also won the 200 IM earlier in the meet.

“I just tried to go as hard and fast as I could,” Cieslak said. “There is not a lot of time to think in the 100 fly. Every race counts at this meet. I just tried to stay relaxed.”

Florida State senior Pavel Sankovich was second in 45.00, also a best time. Top seed Tim Phillips, looking for Ohio State’s first NCAA title since 1965, was third in 45.10. FSU teammate and Florida Gold Coast swimmer Connor Knight was 19th in 46.42.

200-yard freestyle: Defending champion Joao de Lucca of Louisville defended his title in 1:31.96. Top seed Michael Wynalda of Michigan was third in 1:32.58.

“I knew those guys were coming for me, but I was so in my zone, I just did my race,” said de Lucca, who works with assistant coach and three-time Olympian Vlad Polyakov, a former Florida Gold Coast swimmer.

Also in the 100-yard breaststroke, Florida State freshman and Florida Gold Coast swimmer Jason Coombs was 20th in 53.26.

3-meter springboard diving: Texas freshman Michael Hixon nailed his final dive for more than 90 points to win his second NCAA title in two days with 457.20 for six rounds and gave the Longhorns another 20 points and put them back in the lead with 290.5 points to the Cal Bears’ 286.5. Hixon finished with 40 points for the Longhorns.

Stanford’s defending champion Kris Ipsen was fourth with 394.90. University of Miami fifth-year senior Zach Nees finished fifth with 386 points.

“The best thing to do was stay in the dive and take it one dive at a time,” Hixon said. “Our goal is to win a national championship and I am just trying to do everything I can do to help that.”

800-yard freestyle relay: University of Southern California, with a strong leg from Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter, won in 6:13.09. Other relay members were Cristian Quintero, Reed Malone and Dimitri Colupaev. Defending champion Florida was second in 6:14.74. Michigan’s U.S. open record-holding relay was looking for its first title of 2014, was third in 6:16.37.

Saturday’s events are 1,650-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breaststroke, 200-yard butterfly, 10-meter platform diving and 400-yard freestyle relay.

Prelims are 11 a.m. and finals 7 p.m. Both sessions will be live streamed at Texassports.com.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Florida Gators Off To Good Start At NCAA Men’s Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 27, 2014

In an electrifying atmosphere, University of California-Berkeley won the final event of the night to trail Texas by one point on the opening night of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

The 400-yard medley relay, with a blistering backstroke split of 44.91 from Bolles alum Ryan Murphy, won by a two-body length lead for a pool record 3:02.66. Other relay members were Chuck Katis, Marcin Tarcynski and Seth Stubblefield.

Murphy’s opening split was a national 17-18 age group record for the 18-year-old.

The previous pool record of 3:02.94 was held by Olympians Aaron Piersol, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker and Neil Walker.

As expected, it looks like a four-team battle for the national title between Texas with 146 points, Cal-Berkeley with 145, Florida with 137 and Michigan with 109 at the Lee and Joe Jamil Swimming Center at the University of Texas in Austin.

Florida State is 12th with 38 points and University of Miami is 20th with 12 points.

The Gators had plenty of star power on Thursday night.

Florida senior Marcin Cieslak won the 200-yard individual medley in a career-best time of 1:40.58, third fastest performer in history and fourth fastest of all-time. Cieslak broke Ryan Lochte’s pool record of 1:40.97.

Murphy, a freshman at California, was eighth in the 200 IM 1:43.91 after going 1:42.24 in prelims. Florida Gold Coast swimmer Jason Coombs, a freshman at Florida State, was 40th in 1:46.09.

Gator teammate Brad deBorde, seeded first after morning prelims, was third in the 50-yard freestyle in 18.98, the last swimmer under 19 seconds in finals.

Florida junior Dan Wallace was second in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:11.62. Florida Gold Coast swimmer Carlos Omana, a junior at Florida, was 37th in 4:20.58.

Florida’s 200-yard freestyle relay was fifth in 1:16.98 with Brad deBorde, Sebastien Rousseau, Corey Main and Matt Curby.

In other championship races:

Southern Cal junior Cristian Quintero won the 500-yard freestyle in a pool record 4:10.02. Quintero took it out fast and led from wire-to-wire. Defending champion Connor Jaeger of Michigan was third in 4:12.67.

Alabama freshman Kristian Gkolomeev and Arizona junior Brad Tandy tied for the NCAA title in the 50-yard freestyle in 18.95. Florida Gold Coast swimmer Paul Murray, a senior at Florida State, was seventh in 19.14 after going 19.08 in prelims. Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter, a freshman at Southern Cal, was 42nd in 19.93.

Top-seed California opened the evening with a win in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:15.27, just missing the American record by .01. The relay came from behind with an anchor leg split of 18.4 from Seth Stubblefield. Other relay members were Tyler Messerschmidt, Ryan Murphy and Tony Cox. Texas was second in 1:15.53.

Texas freshman Michael Hixon topped a strong field to win the 1-meter springboard diving title with 443.50 points. Stanford junior Kris Ipsen was second with 436.55. University of Miami junior Samuel Dorman was seventh with 379.00.

Friday’s events are 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, 800-yard freestyle relay and 3-meter springboard diving.

Prelims are 11 a.m. and finals 7 p.m. Both sessions will be live streamed at Texassports.com.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Florida Gold Coast Has Strong Presence At NCAA Men’s Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 26, 2014

A week after the women were in the spotlight, the men will take their turn at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships that begin Thursday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center at the University of Texas in Austin.

In what’s expected to come down to the final event, Florida is seeded first based on the psych sheet followed by Michigan, North Carolina State and University of California at Berkeley.

Florida State is seeded 11th with first-year coach Frankie Bradley, a former Florida Gold Coast swimmer, making his NCAA Championship coaching debut with the Seminoles.

The Florida, Michigan, N.C. State and Cal seedings are based on the Top 16 swimmers if they finished where they are seeded in the psych sheet, which of course, rarely happens, but then that’s why they have meets.

Florida has 391 points and Michigan, which spends time at The Race Club in the Keys training and fishing during holiday breaks, has 376 points. Florida State has 133 points.

If ever there was a year the Gators have a shot at another team title, it’s this year.

The Gators qualified 14 swimmers men and five powerful relays that features four seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.

Leading the Gators is Metro Aquatic Club’s Carlos Omana, one of the mainstays on the team.

Omana will be joined by Arthur Frayler, Sebastien Rousseau, Mitch D’Arrigo, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, Marcin Cieslak, Connor Signorin, Corey Main, Matt Elliott, Pawel Werner, Dan Wallace, Matt Curby, Brad deBorde and Jack Blyzinskyj. Christian-Paul Homer will travel with the team as a relay alternate.

The Gators are coming off their second consecutive SEC Championship title.

The Seminoles are led by two-time defending ACC Swimmer of the Meet Pavel Sankovich of Belarus. Sankovich will score most of FSU’s points in the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke and individual medley as well as the free relays.

The No. 17-ranked Seminoles will have eight swimmers competing in individual events and relays including Florida Gold Coast swimmers Paul Murray, Connor Knight, Jason McCormick and Jason Coombs.

The Wolverines are led by sprinter Bruno Ortiz and Michael Wynalda.

There will be a strong Florida Swimming and Florida Gold Coast presence at the three-day meet.

Also entered in the meet are Dylan Carter of Southern California and Trinidad and Tobago, who trains in South Florida extensively and competes in Florida Gold Coast meets.

Cal’s Ryan Murphy, a Bolles alum, could score 40 to 50 points on relays and in the backstroke events.

Thursday’s events are 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relay.

Prelims are 11 a.m. and finals 7 p.m. Both sessions will be live streamed at Texassports.com.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

SWIMMING ROUNDUP: South Florida Aquatic Club Basking In Winning Glow Of Senior Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 26, 2014

Two-time defending champion South Florida Aquatic Club returned to workouts earlier this week at Academic Village Pool still cloud-walking after its impressive Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships victory this past weekend.

Also on the pool deck this week during spring break enjoying the champion atmosphere is Texas A&M assistant coach Tanica Jamison.

Several SOFLO swimmers were among high point winners in the 15-16 and open divisions.

Three-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson, 25, a Texas A&M alum, won high point honors in the open division with 216 points. The national record-breaker earned the title by nearly 100 points and played a key role in SOFLO capturing the women’s team title in front of a nationwide audience on Florida Swim Network.

Jessica Rodriguez, 15, who enjoyed a breakthrough meet with some outstanding swims, was the second highest high point earner among the 15-16 age group swimmers with 164 points.

Other SOFLO women’s open high point earners were: Florida International University-bound Maria Lopez, 90; Kathleen Golding, 85; Florida Gulf Coast’s Marcella Marinheiro, 81; Kelley Heron 63; Olivia Katcher 62; Delanie Perez 47; Amber Hunter 45; Melissa Marinheiro 24; Jennifer Rodriguez 20; Kylie Herman 18; Lilli Calero 16; Katherine DeBarros 10; Bianca Muniz 9; Lynn University-bound Kaitlin Armstrong 7; Vanessa Mesa 6; Isabella Di Salvo 5; and Andrea Pereira, 1.

SOFLO 15-16 high point earners were: Melissa Marinheiro, 129; Kylie Herman 64; Carly Swanson, 28; Natasha Testa, 23; Star Fassler, 22; Stephanie Mlujeak, 9; and Lilli Calero, 4.

SOFLO’s top high point earner among the open men was C.J. Kopecki, 14, who had outstanding back-to-back FGC Junior Olympic and Senior Championship meets. He totaled 56 points.

Other SOFLO open point earners were: Florida State-bound Marc Rojas, 20; Ervin Marin, 41; Kry Nichlany, 25.50; Kevin Porto, 25; Nelson Diaz 22; Alejandro Zambrano, 20; Jordan Colon, 19; Matthew Gonzalez, 19; Esteban Diaz-Velasco, 14; Endi Babi, 11; Ricardo Roche, 11; Roger Capote, 10; Bowie Suen, 10; Rafael Rodriguez, 10; Leonardo Mateus, 5; Jonathan Strod, 4.

Julien Pinon, 15, swimming unattached for SOFLO because of his French club commitment overseas, was top high point winner in the 15-16 age group with 167 points. Other high point earners were: Ryan Capote, 105; Juan Lucas, 76; Alex Monti, 71; Jonathan Strod, 69; Alfredo Mesa, 54; Gustavo Valery, 48; Jordan Colon, 44; Baldwin Suen, 18; Brendan Cassie, 15; Alejandro Lombo, 8; Cristian Rossi, 3.

Paralympics National Championships

Miami Ransom Everglades will host the U.S. Paralympics Spring Swimming National Championships/Spring CanAm that get under way Thursday and end Saturday.

More than 200 athletes including top U.S. swimmers Cortney Jordan, Jessica Long and Ian Silverman head an international field that also includes Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico.

The event is the U.S. qualifier for the Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships.

The school’s Aquatic Center is located at 3575 Main Highway in Miami. Prelims are 9 a.m. and finals are 5 p.m. The public is welcome.

Missy Franklin Honored

Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Swimming national team member Missy Franklin was honored Wednesday as the youngest-ever winning of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.

Franklin won a record-setting six gold medals at the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona. She is coming off her freshman season at Cal-Berkeley where she set an American record in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships.

Franklin is the first swimmer to win the prestigious honor and joins Usain Bolt, Roger Federer and Lindsey Vonn. Franklin was given her award by U.S. swimming legend Mark Spitz during the awards ceremony at the Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In other awards, Franklin was also named PAC-12 Freshman of the Year. Stanford senior Maya DiRado was named swimmer of the Year and Stanford’s Greg Meehan was named coach of the Year.

No More Dancing For Swimmer

Record-breaking long distance swimmer and Pine Crest alum Diana Nyad was among the first to be voted off Dancing With The Stars. Nyad and former pro hockey player Sean Avery were sent packing Monday night in the first elimination of Season 18. “That was a full-on surprise,” Nyad said. “It was too short. If the dance had gone on for 53 hours nonstop, I think I would have beat everybody.”

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com
http://www.swim4soflo.com

South Florida Aquatic Club Defends Title At FGC Senior Championships; Atkinson Breaks National Record

By Sharon Robb

March 23, 2014

South Florida Aquatic Club defended its Florida Gold Coast Senior Championship title in style Sunday night at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

For the second year in a row, SOFLO made history by sweeping both the Junior Olympics and Senior Championship meets in the same season.

In front of 150 family and friends in their own home Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines, SOFLO captured the combined team title with 1,740 points.

SOFLO also won the women’s team title with 977 points.

Azura, one of the newest teams in the Florida Gold Coast, won the men’s team title with 1,060. SOFLO was third with 763 points.

For only the third time in his coaching career and first time on a Florida pool deck, SOFLO head coach Chris Anderson was thrown into the pool by his swimmers in celebration. The first time was in 1999 at N.C. State and second time in 2004 in New England.

“They deserved to dunk me,” Anderson said. “They all did such a great job. We have had a heck of a year. It is what it is. We have done some great things as far as training and this is the reward.”

Three-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson broke her own national record in the 100-yard breaststroke to win in 57.29, just 5/100ths of a second off the U.S. Open record. Her previous best time was 57.62.

Atkinson, 25, was the women’s high point winner after her Ironwoman performance over three days.

On Sunday, in addition to the 100-yard breaststroke, Atkinson also won the 50-yard butterfly in a best time 23.95, dropping from 24.29, and 200-yard individual medley in 1:57.09.

The first two days of the meet Atkinson won six individual events (200-yard freestyle, 50-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 100-yard freestyle, 50-yard breaststroke and 500-yard freestyle).

“We knew she would have a solid swim in the breaststroke,” Anderson said. “Her swim was on fire. She went out in 26.8 and was where she needed to be. She just wasn’t crisp enough on the third turn. After all the events she did, she did a hell of a job in that race.”

But the night belonged to the entire team, boys, girls, men and women, from the individual champions to the sixth, seventh and eighth place finishers, who scored so many important points against a field of outstanding Florida Gold Coast teams.

“I was getting a little nervous so we switched some things up and split some relays,” Anderson said. “We tried some different things and we ended on a good note.”

SOFLO swimmers went into the meet with a target on their backs.

“It was tougher to win it the second time around,” Anderson said. “We have improved so much the past year. It’s the same story as JOs. It was our depth, it was the people who were sixth, seventh and eighth.

“It was a lot of those people stepping up. We had people racing in consolations. They helped put us over the top. Winning JOs was great and to back it up winning seniors and to host seniors, it’s just the icing on the cake,” Anderson said.

The 14-year-old club has been working towards moments like this since the beginning, Anderson said.

“It’s is a plan that is coming into fruition,” Anderson said. “Everyone has worked so hard. I really feel we accomplished what we set out to do. We have a presence. People know who our club is.

“Defending back-to-back the developmental, JOs and seniors shows we are on the right path for success. It’s nice to see the confidence our kids have. We have a couple big steps to take for the future, but we want to enjoy this one for a while.”

It was another big night for SOFLO swimmers.

Melissa Marinheiro, 16, won the 1,650-yard freestyle in a best time 16:44.24, dropping from 16:51.94. Marinheiro was second in the 50-yard butterfly in 26.40 and also swam 59.91 in the 100-yard backstroke prelims but scratched from finals to focus on the mile and medley relays.

Jessica Rodriguez, 15, had a breakout meet in her breaststroke events. After going a best time 2:19 in the 200, she came back and won the 100-yard breaststroke in a best time 1:04.93, dropping from 1:07.67. She was also fourth in the 200 IM in 2:10.74. “Overall, she did a heck of a job,” Anderson said.

Jordan Colon was fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a best time 16:43.69, a huge time drop from 17:35.75.

Julien Pinon, swimming unattached for SOFLO, won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:55.01.

SUNDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 1,740, 2. Azura Florida Aquatic 1,518, 3. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 1,251, 4. Gulliver Swim Club 897, 5. Coral Springs Swim Club 676, 6. Miami Swimming 657, 7. Swim Fort Lauderdale 645, 8. AquaKids Sharks 431, 9. FLA Aquatics 369, 10. Heritage Aquatic Team 368.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 977, 2. Gulliver 580, 3. Azura 458, 4. Miami Swimming 431, 5. Metro Aquatics 344, 6. CSSC 300, 7. Swim Fort Lauderdale 287, 8. St. Andrew’s Swimming 256, 9. FLA 255, 10. Unattached Swim Fort Lauderdale 125.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 1,060, 2. Metro Aquatics 907, 3. SOFLO 763, 4. CSSC 275, 5. Swim Fort Lauderdale 358, 6. Heritage Aquatic Team 348, 7. Gulliver 317. 8. AquaKids Sharks 226, 8. Miami Swimming 226, 10. Unattached Azura 119.

WOMEN’S EVENTS

200-yard medley relay: 1. Miami Swimming 1:44.36, 2. SOFLO “B” 1:49.20 (Kelley Heron, Bianca Muniz, Alia Atkinson, Olivia Katcher), 3. Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:49.33, 4. Gulliver Swim Club 1:50.08, 5. SOFLO “A” 1”50.67 (Melissa Marinheiro, Jessica Rodriguez, Maria Lopez, Kathleen Golding).

100-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, Unattached 57.42, 2. Lindsay Manganiello, AquaKids Sharks 59.14, 3. Natalie Aulicino, Gulliver 1:00.04; SOFLO: 3. Melissa Marinheiro 59.91, 13. Carly Swanson 1:04.31; Open, 1. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 56.83, 2. Marcella Marinheiro, SOFLO 58.59, 3. Jamie Gurley, PAQ 59.15, 4. Zoie Balthazar, Azura 59.64; SOFLO: 9. Maria Lopez 1:00.61, 20. Andrea Pereira 1:04.78.

1,650-yard freestyle: 1. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 16:44.24, 2. Florencia Melo, MAC 17:29.34, 3. Cloe Bedard-Khalid, MAC 17:46.09, 4. Victoria Miyamoto, Pompano Beach 17:55.64; SOFLO: 5. Kylie Herman 18:00.82, 6. Kelley Heron 18:14.44, 7. Lilli Calero 18:28.01.

50-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Kelly Harrington, FLA 25.79, 2. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 26.40, 3. Allison Kopas, Unattached 26.46, 4. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 26.61; SOFLO: 9. Jessica Rodriguez 27.98, 10. Natasha Testa 28.14, 16. Star Fassler 28.75, 18. Carly Swanson 28.99; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 23.95, 2. Dorothy Morgan, Miami Swimming 25.42, 3. Maria Lopez, SOFLO 26.03, 4. Alexa Kaladiak, Miami Swimming 26.13; SOFLO: 6. Marcella Marinheiro 26.84, 8. Olivia Katcher 27.15, 15. Vanessa Mesa 27.87.

100-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 1:04.93, 2. Elizabeth Zubero, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:07.27, 3. Fatimah Westbrook, Pompano Beach 1:08.53, 4. Julianna Carbone, St. Andrew’s Swimming 1:09.17; SOFLO: 17. Star Fassler 1:13.52; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 57.29, 2. Emily Kopas, Unattached 1:02.21, 3. Caitlin Ahern, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:04.34, 4. Anna Valls, Miami Swimming 1:04.77; SOFLO: 9. Delanie Perez 1:09.94, 12. Jennifer Rodriguez 1:13.17.

50-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Kelly Harrington, FLA 24.02, 2. Nicole Urquidi, Gulliver 24.34, 3. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 24.63, 4. Fatimah Westbrook, Pompano beach 25.03; SOFLO: 14. Carly Swanson 26.52; Open, 1. Andrea Santander, Unattached 23.92, 2. Catharine Cooper, CSSC 24.22, 3. Dorothy Morgan, Miami Swimming 24.30, 4. Sophia Oliva, Plantation Swim team 24.61; SOFLO: 7. Maria Lopez 24.75, 19. Bianca Muniz 25.97.

200-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, Unattached 2:05.59, 2. Kelly Fertel, Rockway 2:05.60, 3. Namilla Sanchez, Gulliver 2:08.79, 4. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 2:10.74; SOFLO: 13. Kylie Herman 2:17.60; Women: 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 1:57.09, 2. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 2:05.17, 3. Emily Kopas, Unattached 2:06.95, 4. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:06.96; SOFLO: 8. Olivia Katcher 2:11.44.

400-yard medley relay: 1. Miami Swimming 3:52.87, 2. SOFLO “A” 3:56.49 (Kelley Heron, Jessica Rodriguez, Maria Lopez, Kathleen Golding), 3. SOFLO “B” 3:58.29 (Melissa Marinheiro, Bianca Muniz, Alia Atkinson, Olivia Katcher), 4. Gulliver Swim Club 3:58.49.

MEN’S EVENTS

200-yard medley relay: 1. Azura Florida Aquatic “B” 1:34.19, 2. Azura “A” 1:35.36, 3. Coral Springs Swim Club “A” 1:35.89, 4. Metro Aquatics 1:36.69, 7. SOFLO “A” 1:38.23 (Kry Nichlany, Marc Rojas, Alejandro Zambrano, Endi Babi), 13. SOFLO “B” 1:44.03 (Juan Lucas, Alex Monti, Ryan Capote, Xavier Brown).

100-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Unattached 50.59, 2. Fernando Alatorre, Azura 52.46, 3. Alejandro Carriazo, MAC 52.94, 4. Adriano Martinez, MAC 52.96; SOFLO: 6. Juan Lucas 55.12, 7. Ryan Capote 55.45, 8. Alfredo Mesa 56.44, 10. Gustavo Valery 57.25; Open, 1. Zachary McGinnis, Unattached 48.13, 2. Nick Carter, Gulliver 49.83, 3. Vicente Andrade, Swim Fort Lauderdale 50.36, 4. Fabio Guimares, Azura 50.52; SOFLO: 16. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 56.10.

1,650-yard freestyle: 1. Alexander Arrieta, MAC 16:01.70, 2. Marco Hosfeld, Swim Fort Lauderdale 16:01.77, 3. Miguel Basalo, MAC 16:27.04, 4. Jordan Colon, SOFLO 16:43.69; SOFLO: 9. Kevin Porto 17:02.35, 16. Leonardo Mateus 18:01.77, 17. Jonathan Strod 18:14.39.

50-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Taylor Eaddy, Heritage 23.21, 2. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 23.24, 3. Julien Pinon, SOFLO 23.71, 4. Franceso Guacci, MAC 23.85; SOFLO: 9. Ryan Capote 24.34, 15. Alfredo Mesa 25.05, 18. Jordan Colon 25.38, 20. Alexander Monti 25.63; Open, 1. Thiago Sickert, Azura 21.29, 2. Nick Carter, Gulliver 21.95, 3. Zachary McGinnis, Miami Swimming 21.99, 4. Joshua Romany, Azura 22.02; SOFLO: 11. Kry Nichlany 23.88, 18. Alejandro Zambrano 25.05.

100-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Julio Horrego, Hialeah 58.55, 2. Luis Llenin, MAC 1:00.15, 3. Tristan Celestin, Azura 1:01.19, 4. Cameron Anderson, Martin County 1:02.97; SOFLO: 5. Jonathan Strod 1:03.82, 10. Alex Monti 1:07.86, 12. Brendan Cassie 1:06.27, 16. Baldwin Suen 1:09.94; Open, 1. Wayne Denswil, MAC 56.36, 2. Alex Morgan, Azura 56.39, 3. Marco Guarente, Azura 57.33, 4. Alex Evdokimov, CSSC 57.71; SOFLO: 17. Roger Capote 1:04.54, 19. Bowie Suen 1:05.15.

50-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Swim Fort Lauderdale 21.25, 2. Adriano Martinez, MAC 21.59, 3. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 21.67, 4. Julien Pinon, SOFLO 21.86; SOFLO: 6. Ryan Capote 22.34, 14. Gustavo Valery 23.15, 20. Alfredo Mesa 23.47; Open, 1. Thiago Sickert, Azura 20.21, 2. Renzo Tjon A Joe, Azura 20.23, 3. Carlos Herrera, Azura 20.67, 4. Joshua Romany, Azura 20.68.

200-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Julien Pinon, SOFLO 1:55.01, 2. Fernando Alatorre, Azura 1:55.17, 3. Jonathan Farah, Heritage 1:57.23, 4. Alejandro Zarriazo, MAC 1:58.94; SOFLO: 6. Jonathan Strod 2:01.92, 19. Alex Monti 2:09.05; Open, 1. Carlos Herrera, Azura 1:49.43, 2. Mateo Gonzalez, Azura 1:51.84, 3. Marco Guarente, Azura 1:55.19, 4. Yago Bremenkamp, Azura 1:55.55; SOFLO: 10. Ervin Marin 1:59.46, 15. C.J. Kopecki 2:00.87.

400-yard medley relay: 1. Swim Fort Lauderdale 3:30.44, 2. Azura 3:31.29, 3. MAC 3:31.51, 4. SOFLO “A” 3:31.85 (Juan Lucas, marc Rojas, Kry Nichlany, Ryan Capote), 9. SOFLO “B” 3:43.28 (Esteban Diaz-Velasco, Ervin Marin, Alejandro Zambrano, Endi Babi).

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

MacLean, Reaney Have Record-Breaking Swims; Georgia Repeats As NCAA Women’s Champions

By Sharon Robb

March 22, 2014

Sophomore Brittany MacLean of Georgia was at it again Saturday night at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis.

Two days after making history with her record-breaking swim in the 500-yard freestyle, MacLean shattered the 1,000 and 1,650-yard NCAA records in the same swim winning the 1,650 title in 15:27.84, third fastest swim of all-time behind Katie Ledecky and Katie Hoff.

She broke Stephanie Peacock’s 2012-2013 NCAA record of 15:37.06. It also broke the meet record of 15:38.79 set by Peacock at the 2012 NCAA Championships.

MacLean also broke Peacock’s 1,000-yard NCAA record by five seconds on her split in 9:23.78.

Notre Dame’s Emma Reaney lowered her own American and NCAA records to win the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:04.06. She had nearly a full second lead after the first 100 yards.

The Georgia Bulldogs defended their title by winning the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships with 528. Stanford was second with 402.50 points and California was third with 386. Florida was sixth with 239, University of Miami was 21st with 38 points, Florida State was 30th with 23, Florida Gulf Coast was 32nd with 22 and Florida International was 47th with four points.

The Bulldogs back-to-back titles are impressive particularly this year after losing Megan Romano and Allison Schmitt to graduation.

The Bulldogs won five individual NCAA titles: two each from MacLean and diver Laura Ryan, and one by freshman Olivia Smoliga.

In other championship races on Saturday night:

Brooke Snodgrass of Indiana won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:50.52. Elizabeth Pelton was second in 1:50.55. Florida Gulf Coast’s Kira Toussaint was 12th in 1:53.79. Texas freshman Tasija Karosas of St. Andrew’s Swimming was 25th in 1:54.82. Johanna Gustafsdottir of Florida International was 28th in 1:55.33. Tennessee’s Lauren Driscoll was 45th in 1:56.83. Sonia Perez Arau of FIU was 49th in 1:58.44.

Arizona senior Margo Geer won the 100-yard freestyle in 47.10. Missy Franklin was third in 47.26. Florida State’s Tiffany Oliver of SOFLO was 26th in 48.84. Emma Svensson of Florida Gulf Coast was 39th in 49.13.

Haley Ishimatsu of Southern Cal won the 10-meter platform diving title with 349.30. Georgia’s two-time NCAA champion Laura Ryan was third with 345.25.

Stanford won the 400-yard freestyle in 3:10.83 with Maddy Schaefer, Felicia Lee, Maya DiRado and Lia Neal. Florida State, with Tiffany Oliver swimming anchor, was 14th in 3:16.07.

Georgia entered the final day with a 72-point lead.

Georgia did it without its head coach Jack Bauerle on the pool deck. Bauerle is still the subject of an internal investigation by the athletic department. Harvey Humphries was acting head coach.

Georgia’s Chantal Van Landeghem won the Elite 89 Award given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average competing at the NCAA finals. The sophomore from Canada has a 4.0 GPA and is majoring in psychology.

Full results can be found at the NCAA Championship site.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Team Effort Keeps SOFLO In The Lead at FGC Senior Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 22, 2014

With one day remaining, South Florida Aquatic Club continues to lead the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

After some outstanding swims from Alia Atkinson, Maria Lopez, Marc Rojas and several others, the defending champions lead the combined team standings with 1,740 points. Azura Florida Aquatic is close behind with 1,518 points and Metro Aquatic Club of Miami is third with 1,251 points.

SOFLO also leads the women’s team standings with 977 points. Gulliver Swim Club is second with 580 and Azura is third with 458.

Azura Florida Aquatic leads the men’s team standings with 1,060 points followed by Metro Aquatics with 907 and SOFLO with 763 points.

“I feel what we are doing in consolations and as a team is leading to our success,” SOFLO head coach Chris Anderson said. “We are swimming as a group and our group swam very well tonight, just an overall team effort. We had people in consos winning and in finals finding a way to get first or second.

“Our team is really understanding what it takes to move up and be successful,” Anderson said. “Tonight we lit it up. We swam well and we’re getting it done.”

SOFLO women’s 800-yard freestyle relay ended the night with a win in 7:36.82 with Maria Lopez, Melissa Marinheiro, Kathleen Golding and Olivia Katcher.

SOFLO men’s 800-yard freestyle relay of Rojas, Matthew Gonzalez, Jordan Colon and C.J. Kopecki finished fourth in 7:04.71.

Even though “B” relays cannot score points in the 800-yard freestyle relay, SOFLO’s men’s and women’s “B” teams put in a tremendous effort, Anderson said.

The third and final night of competition will be a battle among the top three teams. SOFLO’s depth and talent is expected to play a key role on Sunday.

Three-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson won three more events for a total of six events over two days. On Saturday night, Atkinson won the 200-yard freestyle in a best time 1:46.02, dropping from 1:47.75; 50-yard backstroke in 25.30 and 200-yard breaststroke in 2:08.50.

Atkinson won the 100-yard freestyle, 50-yard breaststroke and 500-yard freestyle on Friday night.

SOFLO teammate Maria Lopez, headed for Florida International University this fall, won the 100-yard butterfly in a best time 57.13, dropping from 57.32.

“It was a solid swim,” Anderson said. “She had time-trialed the 200 earlier and it took a little energy out of her.”

Marc Rojas, coming off his final college season at Indian River State College, won the men’s 200-yard breaststroke in the race of the night. Rojas pulled away from a strong field to win in a best time 2:00.66, lowering his previous best of 2:01.80. He finished ahead of Alex Morgan of Azura in 2:03.63 and Coral Springs’ Alex Evdokimov in 2:05.33.

“It was an awesome swim,” Anderson said. “He is the fastest human to swim the 200 breast in our pool. We wanted to get him under 2 minutes and he almost had it. It’s still pretty cool he is the fastest human. He worked hard for it. He is a seasoned athlete and he’s been around our program for 10, 11 years.”

For the second night in a row, SOFLO depended on its depth to pile up points.

Melissa Marinheiro, 16, won the 50-yard backstroke in 27.22 and was second in the “A” final of the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.91. Teammate Kylie Herman, 16, was second in the “B” final in 1:58.02.

Jessica Rodriguez, 15, was second in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:20.37, after going 2:19 in prelims. “She is young and emerging onto the national scene, I thought she had the race of the night,” Anderson said.

Kathleen Golding, at 13 one of the youngest swimmers in the meet, won the 400-yard individual medley in 4:21.14. She was also fourth in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke in 2:21.48.

Amber Hunter, 18, won the “B” final of the 100-yard butterfly in 59.32.

Jennifer Rodriguez, 13, was second in the “B” final of the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:36.11.

Ryan Capote, 16, won the “B” final of the 200-yard freestyle in 1:46.05. Matthew Gonzalez, 19, was second in the “B” final of the men’s 200-yard freestyle in 1:46.02.

Alfredo Mesa, 15, was second in the “B” final of the 50-yard backstroke in 26.59.

Other Florida Gold Coast swimmers also had a strong night of swimming.

Nikita Tretyakov, 15, swimming unattached won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:38.21 and 100-yard butterfly in 49.45.

Kelly Fertel, 16, of Rockway was also a double winner in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:18.23 and 400-yard individual medley in 4:23.46.

Azura’s Thiago Sickert, 25, won two more events in the 50-yard backstroke in 22.47 and 100-yard butterfly in 47.07.

Cody Cline, 16, of the Wellington Wahoos won the 50-yard backstroke in 24.57.

The three-day meet ends on Sunday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

Florida Swim Network and Swimmer Joe Auer will live stream the finals on Sunday night for the first time at Academic Village Pool.

The meet features 50 teams, 600 athletes, 75 coaches, 40 officials and 40 volunteers. SOFLO has 67 swimmers competing including 38 male and 29 females.

The meet, hosted by South Florida Aquatic Club, Comets Booster Club and City of Pembroke Pines, is providing visiting swimmers, coaches and parents great hospitality, a social area for swimmers, vendors, meet announcer, covered stands and ample parking.

SATURDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 1,740, 2. Azura Florida Aquatic Club 1,518, 3. Metro Aquatics 1,251, 4. Gulliver Swim Club 897, 5. Coral Springs Swim Club 676, 6. Miami Swimming 657, 7. Swim Fort Lauderdale 645, 8. AquaKids Sharks 431, 9. FLA Aquatics 369, 10. Heritage Aquatic Team 368.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 977, 2. Gulliver 580, 3. Azura 458, 4. Miami Swimming 431, 5. Metro Aquatics 344.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 1,060, 2. Metro Aquatics 907, 3. SOFLO 763, 4. Coral Springs Swim Club 375, 5. Swim Fort Lauderdale 358.

GIRLS

200-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nicole Urquidi, GRSC 1:50.25, 2. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 1:50.91, 3. Namilla Sanchez, GRSC 1:52.44, 4. Caroline Schirmer, SAS 1:52.57; SOFLO: 12. Kylie Herman 1:58.02; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 1:46.02, 2. Alina Schulhofer, PAQ 1:52.05, 3. Andrea Santander, Unattached 1:52.28, 4. Daniella Vandenberg, Azura 1:53.60; SOFLO: 6. Olivia Katcher 1:54.66, 7. Maria Lopez 1:55.02.

50-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 27.22, 2. Caroline Schirmer, SAS 27.56, 3. Kelly Harrington, FLA 27.63, 4. Tyla Martin, Unattached 27.66; SOFLO: 8. Jessica Rodriguez 29.18, 16. Carly Swanson 30.83; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 25.30, 2. Dorothy Morgan, Miami Swimming 26.19, 3. Kathleen Ligon, GRSC 26.62, 4. Marcella Marinheiro, SOFLO 27.07; SOFLO: 10. Amber Hunter 28.85, 14. Kaitlin Armstrong 30.26.

200-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Kelly Fertel, Rockway 2:18.23, 2. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 2:20.37, 3. Allison Kopas, Unattached 2:21.45, 4. Elizabeth Zubero, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:22.36; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 2:08.50, 2. Emily Kopas, Unattached 2:15.95, 3. Caitlin Ahern, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:20.49, 4. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 2:21.48; SOFLO: 8. Delanie Perez 2:29.46, 12. Jennifer Rodriguez 2:36.11, 17. Katherine DeBarros 2:42.00.

100-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Brook Ellis, GRSC 58.32, 2. Namilla Sanchez, GRSC 58.37, 3. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 58.70, 4. Cloe Bedard-Khalid, MAC 58.93; SOFLO: 5. Melissa Marinheiro 59.11, 15. Star Fassler 1:03.32, 17. Natasha Testa 1:03.52, 20. Kylie Herman 1:04.28; Open, 1. Maria Lopez, SOFLO 57.13, 2. Josefina Lorda Taylor, Unattached 57.48, 3. Alexa Kalandiak, Miami Swimming 57.54, 4. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 57.56; SOFLO: 8. Olivia Katcher 59.65, 11. Amber Hunter 59.32.

400-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Kelly Fertel, Rockway 4;23.46, 2. Allison Kopas, Unattached 4:28.43, 3. Chloe Bedard-Khalid 4:35.08, 4. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 4:35.49; SOFLO: 7. Kylie Herman 4:46.40.

Open, 1. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 4:21.14, 2. Emily Kopas, Unattached 4:26.04, 3. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 4:30.29, 4. Josefina Lorda Taylor, Unattached 4:33.27; SOFLO: 8. Kelley Heron 4:41.12.

800-yard freestyle relay: 1. SOFLO “A” 7:36.82 (Maria Lopez, Melissa Marinheiro, Kathleen Golding, Olivia Katcher), 2. Gulliver 7:39.51, 3. Coral Springs Swim Club 7:55.23, 4. Azura 7:55.91.

BOYS

200-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Unattached 1:38.21, 2. Julien Pinon, Unattached 1:38.77, 3. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:42.63 4. Nico Medina, Azura 1:42.84; SOFLO: 8. Jordan Colon 1:45.50, 11. Ryan Capote 1:46.05, 14. Juan Lucas 1:48.08, 16. Alex Monti 1:49.46, 20. Jonathan Strod 1:53.16; Open, 1. Carlos Herrera, Azura 1:38.53, 2. Nick Carter, GRSC 1:40.19, 3. Yago Bremenkamp, Unattached 1:42.22, 4. Renzo Tjon A Joe, Unattached 1:42.65; SOFLO: 12. Matthew Gonzalez 1:46.02.

50-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Cody Cline, Wellington 24.57, 2. Fernando Alatorre, Azura 24.81, 3. Adriano Martinez, MAC 24.95, 4. Nico Medina, Azura 25.02; SOFLO: 6. Juan Lucas 26.17, 7. Ryan Capote 26.20, 8. Gustavo Valery 26.26, 12. Alfredo Mesa 26.59, 13. Alejandro Lombo 27.23; Open, 1. Thiago Sickert, Unattached 22.47, 2. Nick Carter, GRSC 23.12, 3. Arthur Peres Rodriguez, Unattached 23.51, 4. Vicente Andrade, Swim Fort Lauderdale 24.07; SOFLO: 14. Kry Nichlany 26.12,

200-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Julio Horrego, Hialeah 2:05.01, 2. Luis Llenin, MAC 2;15.11, 3. Cameron Anderson, MCA 2:16.34, 4. Tristan Celestin, Azura 2:16.66; SOFLO: 6. Alex Monti 2:27.16, 13. Baldwin Suen 2:34.65; Open, 1. Marc Rojas, SOFLO 2:00.66, 2. Alex Morgan, Azura 2:03.63, 3. Alex Evdokimov, CSSC 2:05.33, 4. Daniel Pereira, Azura 2:07.49; SOFLO: 13. Ervin Marin 2:18.57, 15. Roger Capote 2:21.83, 16. Bowie Suen 2:22.38.

100-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Unattached 49.45, 2. Alejandro Carriazo, MAC 51.30, 3. Julien Pinon, Unattached 51.36, 4. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 51.58; SOFLO: 15. Jordan Colon 54.09, 20. Alfredo Mesa 55.36; Open, 1. Thiago Sickert, Azura 47.07, 2. Carlos Herrera, Azura 49.04, 3. Nick Carter, GRSC 49.60, 4. Enzo Pazos, Swim Fort Lauderdale 50.22; SOFLO: 15. Kry Nichlany 53.18, 17. Matthew Gonzalez 53.32, 19. Alejandro Zambrano 53.52.

400-yard individual medley: 15-16, 1. Alejandro Carriazo, MAC 4:08.69, 2. Cody Cline, Wellington 4:10.40, 3. Alexander Arrieta, MAC 4:10.68, 4. Jonathan Farah, HAT 4:14.36; SOFLO: 5. Julien Pinon, Unattached 4:14.80, 10. Jonathan Strod 4:28.14, 15. Alex Monti 4:37.62.

Open, 1. Marco Hosfeld, Swim Fort Lauderdale 4:04.09, 2. Matheus Borges, Azura 4:06.16, 3. Nicholas Nord, Gulliver 4:07.37, 4. Nicolas Oberndorfer, Heritage 4:13.69; SOFLO: 6. C.J. Kopecki 4:15.23, 9. Ervin Marin 4:17.21.

800-yard freestyle relay: 1. Azura 6:53.89, 2. Metro Aquatics 6:56.23, 3. Coral Springs Swim Club 7:02.93, 4. SOFLO “A” 7:04.71 (Marc Rojas, Matthew Gonzalez, Jordan Colon, C.J. Kopecki).

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships

When: Sunday

Schedule: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. prelims, finals 5 p.m.

Where: Academic Village Pool, 17191 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines.

Webcast: Florida Swim Network will live stream the meet on Sunday night and Swimmer Joe Auer will conduct poolside interviews.

Admission: $3 per session, $3 heat sheets per session.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

Franklin, Larson Break American Records On Day Two Of NCAA Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 21, 2014

Two American records were broken on Day Two of the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Friday at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis.

Missy Franklin of University of California bounced back after getting out-touched in the 500-yard freestyle Thursday night, with an American, NCAA, U.S. Open and meet record in the 200-yard freestyle.

Franklin won her first NCAA title with a convincing time of 1:40.31. She went out in 48.71 for the first 100 and had back-to-back splits of 25.7 and 25.8 in the last 100.

The old record was 1:41.21 held by Megan Romano of St. Petersburg.

Texas freshman Tasija Karosas of St. Andrew’s Swimming in the Florida Gold Coast was 28th in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:46.12. Florida sophomore Lindsey McKnight was 48th in 1:48.86 and Florida State senior Tiffany Oliver of SOFLO was 50th in 1:50.23.

Texas A&M’s Breeja Larson broke the American, NCAA and U.S. Open record in the 100-yard breaststroke to win the event for the third consecutive year.

Larson went out in 27.03 and came home in 30.20 to win in 57.23, breaking her own record of 57.28 she set at the Southeastern Conference Championships.

The Cal Bears lost valuable relay points when its 200-yard medley relay was disqualified because of an early takeoff on the second exchange between Celina Li and Cindy Tran. The DQ may have sealed Georgia’s second consecutive NCAA title barring any Bulldog relay disqualifications.

In other championship finals:

Stanford opened the evening with a win in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:34.95 with Felicia Lee, Katie Olsen, Nicole Stafford and Maddy Schaefer. Tennessee was second in 1:35.32 with Florida Gold Coast swimmer Harper Bruens swimming third leg. SOFLO’s Tiffany Oliver anchored Florida State’s 200-yard medley relay that finished 24th in 1:38.74.

In an exciting race, Stanford senior Maya DiRado won the 400-yard individual medley in 3:58.12. Florida senior Elizabeth Beisel was second in 3:58.84. Tennessee’s Lauren Driscoll, a FGC swimmer, was 44th in 4:15.55.

Stanford senior Felicia Lee won the 100-yard butterfly in 50.89. Florida State freshman Chelsea Britt was 37th in 53.48.

Texas A&M senior Paige Miller won the 100-yard backstroke in 50.77. Florida Gulf Coast’s Kira Toussaint was seventh in 51.81 after going 51.75 in prelims. Florida International’s Johanna Gustafsdottir was 48th in 54.82.

Georgia’s Laura Ryan won her second NCAA diving title on 3-meter springboard with 423.15 points. She was the only diver to score more than 400 points.

After two days Georgia continues to lead followed by Stanford and Cal Bears.

Saturday’s events are: 1,650-yard freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay.

Prelims begin at 11 a.m. and finals at 7 p.m. The top 16 advance into finals.

Both prelims and finals will be streamed live through gophersports.com. Saturday finals sessions will be televised on ESPN3.com.

Information and results can also be found at the NCAA Championship site.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO Leads After Day One Of FGC Senior Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 20, 2014

Defending champion South Florida Aquatic Club got off to a good start on opening day of the Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships Friday at Academic Village Pool in Pembroke Pines.

In front of a packed house, SOFLO girls opened the evening session with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:37.03 with Maria Lopez, Olivia Katcher, Alia Atkinson and Melissa Marinheiro and ended the night with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:30.65 with Kathleen Golding, Marinheiro, Lopez and Katcher.

Against a talented field, SOFLO relied on depth and talent to score points. After Day One, SOFLO leads the combined team standings with 973 points and women’s team standings with 509 points. Azura Florida Aquatic leads the men’s team standings with 538.

Three-time Jamaican Olympian Alia Atkinson won three individual events. Atkinson, 25, won the 100-yard freestyle in 49.69; 50-yard breaststroke in 27.02; and 500-yard freestyle in 4:52.35.

Atkinson and Kathleen Golding swept the top two spots in the 500 freestyle. Golding was second in 4:55.09. Both swimmers turned in best times.

Melissa Marinheiro, 16, won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:53.64. Marinheiro was also second in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:02.88.

SOFLO’s Marc Rojas, 20, was second in the 50-yard breaststroke in 25.94. Teammate Jordan Colon, 16, was third in the 500-yard freestyle in a best time 4:45.59, dropping from 4:55.05.

SOFLO’s Julien Pinon, swimming unattached because he competed overseas for his French club, won the 200-yard butterfly in 1:51.67. He was also second in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.12.

“We definitely did a great job of coming together as a team and continuing the concept of Junior Olympics and Speedo Championships,” SOFLO head coach Chris Anderson said. “Our entire club came together today in prelims and finals. Our depth again is helping us be successful.

“We know we are going to have to work much harder in being creative with our relays for the next two days,” Anderson said. “I think one of the biggest surprises of the meet is the continuation of our JO athletes going best times.”

Anderson was also impressed by the return of several collegiate athletes who wanted to swim and take a leadership role with their club teammates including Marc Rojas, Bianca Muniz, Marcella Marinheiro, Alex Rodriguez and Matthew Gonzalez.

“Seeing them come back is something special,” Anderson said. “They have taken on a leadership role for our athletes and are competing well.”

Several other Florida Gold Coast swimmers turned in some outstanding swims.

Amanda Tipton, 17, of Swim Fort Lauderdale was a double winner capturing the open 200-yard backstroke in 2:00.06 and 200-yard butterfly in 2:03.69.

Allison Kopas, 15, swimming unattached and one of three talented sisters in the sport, was also a double winner. Kopas won the 200-yard backstroke in 2:02.01 and 200-yard butterfly in 2:03.44.

In the men’s competition, Nikita Tretyakov, 15, and Thiago Sickert, 25, both swimming unattached were double winners.

Tretyakov won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:49.50 and 100-yard freestyle in 46.10. Sickert won the 100-yard freestyle in 43.37 and 50-yard breaststroke in 25.63.

“As far as Senior Championships, this is one of the most competitive fields,” Anderson said. “We have some pretty solid athletes and great swims. That’s what makes it so exciting to be swimming against these swimmers and doing well.”

The three-day meet continues on Saturday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

Florida Swim Network and Swimmer Joe Auer will live stream the finals on Saturday and Sunday nights for the first time at Academic Village Pool.

The meet features 50 teams, 600 athletes, 75 coaches, 40 officials and 40 volunteers. SOFLO has 67 swimmers competing including 38 male and 29 females.

The meet, hosted by South Florida Aquatic Club, Comets Booster Club and City of Pembroke Pines, is providing visiting swimmers, coaches and parents great hospitality, a social area for swimmers, vendors, meet announcer, covered stands and ample parking.

FRIDAY RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. South Florida Aquatic Club 973, 2. Azura Florida Aquatic 837, 3. Metro Aquatics 679, 4. Gulliver Swim Club 485, 5. Miami Swimming 384, 6. Coral Springs Swim Club 375, 7. Swim Fort Lauderdale 365, 8. AquaKids Sharks 244, 9. PAQ 213, 10. Heritage Aquatic Team, 195.

WOMEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. SOFLO 509, 2. Gulliver 328, 3. Azura 299, 4. Miami Swimming 253, 5. MAC 203.

MEN TEAM TOTALS: 1. Azura 538, 2. MAC 476, 3. SOFLO 464, 4. Coral Springs 212, 5. Swim Fort Lauderdale 204.

GIRLS

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. SOFLO “A” 1:37.03 (Maria Lopez, Olivia Katcher, Alia Atkinson, Melissa Marinheiro) 2. PAQ 1:38.40, 3. Azura Florida Aquatic 1:38.77, 4. Miami Swimming 1:38.90, 6. SOFLO “B” 1:40.23 (Amber Hunter, Kelley Heron, Bianca Muniz, Kathleen Golding).

200-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, Unattached 2:02.01, 2. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 2:02.88, 3. Natalie Aulicini, GRSC 2:08.02, 4. Lindsay Manganiello, AquaKids Sharks 2:08.12; SOFLO: 5. Jessica Rodriguez 2:11.33, 12. Stephanie Mlujeak 2:17.49, 16. Carly Swanson 2:22.61; Open, 1. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:00.06, 2. Megan Schimansky, CSSC 2:05.14, 3. Kathleen Ligon, GRSC 2:05.27, 4. Emily Kopas, Unattached 2:05.85; SOFLO: 5. Marcella Marinheiro 2:07.05, 6. Kelley Heron 2:08.17, 15. Katherine DeBarros 2:20.41, 16. Isabella DiSalvo 2:21.00.

100-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Kelly Harrington, FLA 52.10, 2. Nicole Urquidi, GRSC 52.29, 3. Samantha Roth, CSSC 53.46, 4. Kelly Fertel, Rockway 54.06; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 49.69, 2. Jennifer Marquez, Azura 51.88, 3. Dorothy Morgan, Miami Swimming 52.40, 4. Alina Schulhofer, PAQ 52.93; SOFLO: 15. Marcella Marinheiro 54.18, 16. Amber Hunter 54.35.

200-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Allison Kopas, Unattached 2:03.44, 2. Namilla Sanchez, GRSC 2:04.48, 3. Kyla Valls, Miami Swimming 2:05.05, 4. Brooke Ellis, GRSC 2:06.06; SOFLO: 8. Jessica Rodriguez 2:14.81, 9. Kylie Herman 2:16.16, 15. Natasha Testa 2:26.04; Open, 1. Amanda Tipton, Swim Fort Lauderdale 2:03.69, 2. Laura Gutierrez, Azura 2:03.73, 3. Josefina Lorda Taylor, Unattached 2:03.76, 4. Julia Talamo, MAC 2:12.06; SOFLO: 5. Delanie Perez 2:15.37, 7. Amber Hunter 2:18.57.

50-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Kelly Fertel, Rockway 30.45, 2. Kelly Harrington, FLA 30.55, 3. Fatimah Westbrook, Pompano 31.12, 4. Jessica Rodriguez, SOFLO 31.23; SOFLO: 14. Star Fassler 33.89; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 27.02, 2. Caitlin Ahern, Swim Fort Lauderdale 29.25, 3. Anna Valls, Miami Swimming 29.53, 4. Emily Kop,as Unattached 29.58; SOFLO: 14. Bianca Muniz 33.42, 19. Jennifer Rodriguez 34.22.

500-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Melissa Marinheiro, SOFLO 4:53.64, 2. Nicole Urquidi, GRSC 4:59.57, 3. Namilla Sanchez, GRSC 5:00.72, 4. Allison Kopas, Unattached 5:04.13; SOFLO: 7. Kylie Herman 5:13.15, 17. Lilli Calero 5:27.53; Open, 1. Alia Atkinson, SOFLO 4.52.35, 2. Kathleen Golding, SOFLO 4:55.09, 3. Daniella Vandenberg, Azura 5:01.21, 4. Geena Squartino, SwimFast 5:02.57; SOFLO: 9. Kelley Heron 5:16.15.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. SOFLO “A” 3:30.65 (Kathleen Goolding, Melissa Marinheiro, Maria Lopez, Olivia Katcher), 4. SOFLO “B” 3:36.10 (Amber Hunter, Alia Atkinson, Bianca Muniz, Kelley Heron).

BOYS

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Azura Florida Aquatic 1:25.92, 2. Coral Springs Swim Club 1:26.07, 3. Metro Aquatics 1:27.10, 4. SOFLO “A” 1:27.12 (Ryan Capote, Matthew Gonzalez, Marc Rojas, Alejandro Zambrano), 10. SOFLO “B” 1:31.07 (Xavier Brown, Gustavo Valery, Endi Babi, Ervin Marin).

200-yard backstroke: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Unattached Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:49.50, 2. Fernando Alatorre, Azura 1:52.32, 3. Alejandro Carriazo, MAC 1:52.58, 4. Nico Medina, Azura 1:56.44; SOFLO: 5. Juan Lucas 1:57.45, 8. Ryan Capote 1:59.59, 11. Alfredo Mesa 2:01.86, 12. Gustavo Valery 2:02.67; Open, 1. Vicente Andrade, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:48.26, 2. Nick Carter, GRSC 1:48.59, 3. Mateo Gonzalez, Azura 1:49.92, 4. Marco Hosfeld, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:51.82; SOFLO: 9. Esteban Diaz-Velasco 1:58.97, 15. Ricardo Roche 2:06.55, 17. Rafael Rodriguez 2:07.28.

100-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Nikita Tretyakov, Unattached 46.10, 2. Julien Pinon, Unattached 46.12, 3. Raphael Marcoux, Swim Fort Lauderdale 46.26, 4. Cody Cline, Wellington Wahoos 46.99; SOFLO: 7. Ryan Capote 48.54, 17. Alfredo Mesa 49.96; Open, 1. Thiago Sickert, Unattached 43.37, 2. Carlos Herrera, Azura 44.87, 3. Renzo Tjon A Joe, Unattached 46.20, 4. Kyle Desrosiers, CSSC 47.52; SOFLO: 18. Matthew Gonzalez 49.32, 19. Alejandro Zambrano 49.62.

200-yard butterfly: 15-16, 1. Julien Pinon, Unattached 1:51.67, 2. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 1:53.33, 3. Alejandro Carriazo, MAC 1:53.58, 4. Nico Medina, Azura 1:53.95; SOFLO: 9. Jonathan Strod 2:00.83; Open, 1. Enzo Pazos, Swim Fort Lauderdale 1:52.80, 2. Nicholas Nord, GRSC 1:53.13, 3. Matheus Borges, Azura 1:53.74, 4. Austin Saunders, Pompano 1:54.45; SOFLO: 6. Nelson Diaz 1:55.67, 9. C.J. Kopecki 1:56.92, 10. Alejandro Zambrano 1:59.87, 11. Endi Babi 1:57.59, 15. Ervin Marin 1:59.86, 18. Matthew Gonzalez 2:01.26.

50-yard breaststroke: 15-16, 1. Julio Horrego, Hialeah 27.15, 2. Luis Llenin, MAC 27.96, 3. Tristan Celestin, Azura 28.17, 4. Jonathan Farah, HAT 29.07; SOFLO: 11. Alex Monti 30.21, 15. Brendan Cassie 30.74, 16. Baldwin Suen 31.02, 18. Cristian Rossi 31.32; Open, 1. Thiago Sickert, Unattached 25.63, 2. Marc Rojas, SOFLO 25.94, 3. Carlos Herrera, Azura 26.12, 4. Alex Morgan, Azura 26.38; SOFLO: 18. Bowie Suen 29.85.

500-yard freestyle: 15-16, 1. Cody Cline, Wellington 4:34.40, 2. Alexander Arrieta, MAC 4:35.90, 3. Jordan Colon, SOFLO 4:45.59, 4. Luke Smutny, AquaKids Sharks 4:47.38; SOFLO: 6. Juan Cluas 4:52.07, 7. Alex Monti 4:52.41, 14. Alfredo Mesa 4:59.95, 15. Jonathan Strod 5:01.75, 17. Gustavo Valery 5:03; Open, 1. Marco Hosfeld, Swim Fort Lauderdale 4:33.84, 2. Marcelo Acosta, Unattached 4:38.75, 3. Matthew Fisher, FLA 4:45.26, 4. C.J. Kopecki, SOFLO 4:46.94; SOFLO: 11. Kevin Porto 4:50.80, 15. Rafael Rodriguez 4:59.24, 16. Ricardo Roche 5:00.20, 21. Matthew Menocal 5:10.68, 23. Gabriel Segui 5:26.23.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Coral Springs Swim Club 3:08.39, 2. Swim Fort Lauderdale 3:09.11, 3. Metro Aquatics 3:09.75, 4. Azura 3:12.06, 7. SOFLO “A” 3:16.19 (Matthew Gonzalez, Alejandro Zambrano, Marc Rojas, Endi Babi), 9. SOFLO “B” 3:19.88 (Ryan Capote, Xavier Brown, Juan Lucas, Alfredo Mesa).

IF YOU GO

What: Florida Gold Coast Senior Championships

When: Saturday-Sunday

Schedule: Saturday, prelims 8:30 a.m., finals 5 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. prelims, finals 5 p.m.

Where: Academic Village Pool, 17191 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines.

Webcast: Florida Swim Network will live stream the meet on Saturday and Sunday night and Swimmer Joe Auer will conduct poolside interviews.

Admission: $3 per session, $3 heat sheets per session.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com