Cypress Bay Lightning Sweeps BCAA Team Titles; Cooper City’s Kathleen Golding Breaks Two BCAA Records

By Sharon Robb

PLANTATION, OCTOBER 7, 2017—Before the season started, Cypress Bay veteran swim coach John Spire said he could have the best girls team since 2006 when it finished sixth at the State 4A meet. He just may be right.

And the boys team isn’t too shabby either.

With both talent and depth, which can take a high school team a long way during the championship season, Cypress Bay looked impressive Saturday night sweeping the boys and girls team titles at the Broward County Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championship.

The Lightning, led by freshman sensation Paige Lane, winner in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard freestyle; Gaby Banks, winner in the 50-yard freestyle; and winning 400-yard freestyle relay with Lane, Elizabeth Riley, Ulrike Tovilla and Banks, the girls team won with 554 points, the only team, boys or girls, to crack the 500-point barrier.

2015 defending girls champion St. Thomas Aquinas was second with 426 and much-improved Cooper City was third with 334, edging Fort Lauderdale by two points (332).

Cypress Bay, the 2015 defending boys champion, defended its title with 419 points ahead of Fort Lauderdale with 345 and St. Thomas Aquinas was third with 321.

The Lightning was led by individual winner Diego Machado in the 200-yard freestyle, also second in the 100-yard butterfly. Machado was swimming on very little sleep after returning to the U.S. Saturday morning at 4 a.m. after competing in the Junior South American Youth Games in Santiago, Chile.

The 2016 BCAA meet was cancelled because of Hurricane Matthew. This season’s swimmers, despite missing more than a week of training because of Hurricane Irma, were excited to compete for BCAA bragging rights and gauge their training for the upcoming district, region and state meets.

Cooper City junior Kathleen Golding, who as a freshman won the 200-yard individual medley (2:06.86) and 100-yard butterfly (56.80, BCAA record) at the BCAA meet, was outstanding among the girls field breaking two more BCAA records.

Golding, the only Florida Gold Coast swimmer recently selected for USA Swimming’s National Select Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, set records in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard freestyle.

Golding led from wire-to-wire in the 200-yard medley relay to finish in 2:02.93 ahead of her freshman teammate and sister Molly Golding in 2:13.44. She broke the 2009 record of 2:03.64 set by Lindsey McKnight of Douglas.

Golding also broke the 100-yard freestyle record in 51.14. The previous mark of 52.10 was held by Tiffany Oliver of Cypress Bay. Oliver trained at the same South Florida Aquatic Club that Golding now trains at. Oliver went on to Florida State and successfully passed her bar exam and recently was sworn into the Florida Bar.

Oliver took to Facebook late Saturday night after learning her record was broken.

“Congratulations Kathleen Golding for breaking my 8-year-old Broward County High School record in the 100-freestyle,” Oliver wrote. “Must be one helluva swimmer.”

Golding finished with 48 points and tied Fort Lauderdale’s Giulia Guerre-Montes for high point honors.

At the mid-season point, Golding was pleased with her record swims and also happy the select camp will not interfere with her high school championship season.

“Those were two records I wasn’t really expecting at all,” Golding said. “I thought I could get close to the records, I knew that it was possible but because of the hurricane we have been training hard to catch up to the time lost. I didn’t think I would go best times, untaper and unshaved. I just wanted to see what I could.

“I am so happy for Cooper City, it’s exciting to have a team there,” Golding said. “The best part is they help me swim well. We talk and have fun.”

The only other girls’ double winner was Giulia Guerre Montes of Fort Lauderdale in the 500-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.

Fort Lauderdale also had a boys’ double winner. Kevin De Grijze won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:55.03 and 100-yard breaststroke in 1:00.33. He finished with 48 points and tied for high point award with Douglas sprinter Nicholas Dworet also a double winner in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles.

Douglas swept the 1-meter springboard diving titles.

Connor Dietrich won the boys with 206.55 points. Tyler Flowers of Cooper City was runner-up with 193.40. Six divers competed with four no-shows. Olivia Rosen won the girls title with 232.45 points ahead of Cooper City’s Courtney Russo with 225.95.

Several swimmers did not compete because of Saturdays SATs college placement testing.

ELSEWHERE

Gulf Coast High School captured its eighth Collier County Athletic Conference overall title on Saturday. A scoring error of calculating points for only top five instead of top 16 was discovered after Barron Collier was initially announced the winner. Gulf Coast girls finished with 628 followed by Barron Collier with 451 and Naples with 344. Barron Collier won the boys with 511 and Gulf Coast was runner-up with 450.

2017 BCAA SWIMMING & DIVING RESULTS

COMBINED TEAM TOTALS: 1. Cypress Bay 973, 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 747, 3. Fort Lauderdale 677.5, 4. Cooper City 648, 5. Douglas 475, 6. Pembroke Pines Charter 349, 7. Pompano Beach 335, 8. Deerfield Beach 291, 9. Coral Glades 286, 10. South Broward 234, 11. Everglades 215, 12. Cardinal Gibbons 204, 13. Nova 200, 14. Coral Springs Charter 189, 15. West Broward 167, 16. Western 165, 17. Taravella 164, 18. South Plantation 134.5, 19. Coral Springs 99, 20. Northeast 90, 21. Monarch 59, 22. Flanagan 58, 23. McArthur 20.

GIRLS TEAM TOTALS: 1. Cypress Bay 554, 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 426, 3. Cooper City 334, 4. Fort Lauderdale 332, 5. Cardinal Gibbons 166, 6. Deerfield Beach 165, 7. Coral Springs Charter 164, 8. Douglas 159, 9. Everglades 157, 10. Taravella 118, 11. Pembroke Pines Charter 115, 12. Pompano Beach 113, 13. Coral Glades 112, 14. Nova 107, 15. South Broward 92, 16. Western, West Broward 72, 18. South Plantation 64, 19. Monarch 38, 20. Northeast 30, 21. Flanagan 25, 22. Coral Springs, McArthur 20.

GIRLS RESULTS

200-yard medley relay: 1. Cypress Bay 1:51.15 (Ellie Koch, Isabella Nigro, Paige Lane, Gaby Banks), 2. Cooper City 1:51.39, 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 1:53.90.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Paige Lane, CB 1:54.20, 2. Ulrike Tovilla, CB 1:58.26, 3. Elizabeth Riley, CB 1:58.69.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Kathleen Golding, CC 2:02.93, 2. Molly Golding, CC 2:13.44, 3. Lalainie Bannister, STA 2:17.23.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Gaby Banks, CB 24.23, 2. Solana Capalbo, CC 24.26, 3. Savannah Yates, CG 24.98.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Racine Ross, FTL 57.95, 2. Delaney Biro, CSC 59.84, 3. Elizabeth Riley, CB 1:00.82.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Kathleen Golding, CC 51.14, 2. Solana Capalbo, CC 52.57, 3. Paige Lane, CB 52.98.

1-meter diving: 1. Olivia Rosen, DOUG 232.45, 2. Courtney Russo, CC 225.95, 3. Leanne Sheffer, SP 215.55.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Giulia Guerre Montes, FTL 5:12.65, 2. Summer Schulte, PB 5:14.18, 3. Barbara Bernal, CC 5:21.41.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Cooper City 1:40.88 (Solana Capalbo, Barbara Bernal, Molly Golding, Kathleen Golding), 2. Cypress Bay 1:43.75, 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 1:45.94.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Giulia Guerre Montes, FL 59.48, 2. Kayla Cunningham, EVER 1:02.04, 3. Ellie Koch, CB 1:02.67.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Savannah Yates, CG 1:07.45, 2. Molly Golding, CC 1:07.98, 3. Daniela Kim, CB 1:09.37.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Cypress Bay 3:40.92 (Paige Lane, Elizabeth Riley, Ulrike Tovilla, Gaby Banks), 2. St. Thomas 3:45.85, 3. Fort Lauderdale 3:57.89.

BOYS TEAM TOTALS: 1. Cypress Bay 419, 2. Fort Lauderdale 345.5, 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 321, 4. Douglas 316, 5. Cooper City 314, 6. Pembroke Pines Charter 234, 7. Pompano Beach 222, 8. Coral Glades 174, 9. South Broward 142, 10. Deerfield Beach 126, 11. West Broward 95, 12. Western, Nova 93, 14. Coral Springs 79, 15. South Plantation 70.5, 16. Northeast 60, 17. Everglades 58, 18. Taravella 46, 19. Cardinal Gibbons 38, 20. Flanagan 33, 21. Coral Springs Charter 25, 22. Monarch 21.

BOYS RESULTS

200-yard medley relay: 1. Pembroke Pines Charter 1:39.51 (Andres Lares, Ricky Roche, Rafael Rodriguez, Casey Moya), 2. Cypress Bay 1:40.82, 3. Fort Lauderdale 1:41.64.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Diego Machado, CB 1:42.92, 2. Rafael Rodriguez, PPC 1:44.90, 3. Luis Bucaro, CB 1:45.36.

200-yard individual medley: 1. Kevin De Grijze, FTL 1:55.03, 2. Juan Zapata, STA 1:55.20, 3. Rafael Santos, PB 1:59.83.

50-yard freestyle: 1. Nicholas Dworet, DOUG 21.77, 2. Dante Poe, PB 22.36, 3. Robert Wilson, CC 22.46.

100-yard butterfly: 1. Rafael Rodriguez, PPC 52.46, 2. Diego Machado, CB 53.02, 3. Juan Serna, WB 53.27.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Nicholas Dworet, DOUG 47.87, 2. Heath Brames, CC 49.01, 3. Juan Serna, WB 49.18.

1-meter diving: 1. Connor Dietrich, DOUG 206.55, 2. Tyler Flowers, CC 193.40, 3. Dillon Kadish, NOVA 177.90.

500-yard freestyle: 1. Andres Lares, PPC 4:36.77, 2. Carlos Vasquez, STA 4:38.17, 3. Luis Bucaro, CB 4:45.05.

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Cooper City 1:31.50 (Heath Brames, Ivan Capalbo, Mark Zhang, Robert Wilson), 2. Douglas 1:31.96, 3. Cypress Bay 1:32.06.

100-yard backstroke: 1. Ricky Roche, PPC 52.58, 2. Juan Zapata, STA 53.52, 3. Alex Marrero, SB 55.13.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Kevin De Grijze, FTL 1:00.33, 2. Yona Rubin, FTL 1:01.36, 3. Andrew Rogantinsky, SB 1:01.52.

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Pembroke Pines Charter 3:15.80 (Ricky Roche, Sebastian Sevilla, Rafael Rodriguez, Andres Lares), 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 3:16.91, 3. Cypress Bay 3:17.60.

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

SWIM ROUNDUP: SOFLO’s Tiffany Oliver Ends Swimming Career As FSU’s Most Valuable Swimmer

By Sharon Robb

April 22, 2014

Longtime Comets and South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer Tiffany Oliver ended one chapter of her life and is about to embark on a new journey in law school.

The Florida State Senior and four-year swimmer for the Seminoles was honored at the team’s recent banquet as one of three Most Valuable Swimmers.

Oliver shared honors with Madison Jacobi and Pavel Sankovich.

Oliver’s college legacy includes school records in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.02 and 100-yard freestyle in the 100-yard freestyle. Her best time in the 200-yard freestyle was 1:46.72.

She was also the first Seminole in history to defend her sprint titles at the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. She qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials and three NCAA Championship meets.

Oliver, an honors student, was accepted into FSU’s law school.

“I thought we had a great season,” FSU first-year coach Frankie Bradley said. “All our award winners were picked by the coaching staff and they were very deserving. These athletes had an impact on our program this year.”

Other Florida Gold Coast swimmers and divers honored were Mikey Lewark, Jason Coombs, Connor Knight and Jason McCormick.

SOFLO SWIMMER SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

South Florida Aquatic Club’s Amber Hunter of West Broward High School was among athletes from south area high schools to be honored recently by the Broward County Athletic Association Scholar Athletes Monday at the Signature Grand in Davie.

FLORIDA GULF COAST SWIMMER HONORED

Freshman Kira Toussaint of Florida Gulf Coast was named Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Swimmer of the Year. During her first season she broke eight FGCU records including four individual and four relays and also four CCSA records. Toussaint, an All-American, is a teammate of SOFLO swimmer Marcella Marinheiro, who also finished her freshman season.

BOLLES HOSTS TYR JAX 50

George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago heads the field for this weekend’s fifth annual TYR JAX 50. All proceeds benefit Planet Swim Foundation with the goal of providing learn-to-swim lessons to in-need children in the Jacksonville area. On Friday night the 100s and 200 individual medley events will be held. Saturday morning the 50s will be held to determine the Top 8 qualifiers in each age group for the three-race bracket challenge. It will be live-streamed by Florida Swim Network.

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

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

MacLean Knocks Off Franklin On Day One Of NCAA Championships

By Sharon Robb

March 20, 2014

Georgia sophomore Brittany MacLean made a name for herself on the opening day of the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis.

In the race of the day, MacLean won the 500-yard freestyle in 4:32.53, breaking the NCAA and meet record of 4:32.71 and U.S. Open and American record of 4:28.71.

MacLean out-touched Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin of the University of California in 4:32.66, also dipping under the meet, U.S. Open and American records.

Trailing Franklin until the final 25 yards, MacLean reeled her in with a 25.81 anchor split. It was the seventh fastest time in history.

It was the first of two second places for Franklin, the most talked about college freshman this season. With Franklin swimming third leg, the Cal Bears finished second behind Stanford in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

After Day One, defending champion Georgia leads followed by California and Stanford. Florida is 11th, University of Miami is 12th and Florida Gulf Coast is 26th.

In other championship finals:

Georgia freshman Olivia Smoliga won the 50-yard freestyle in 21.59 ahead of Southern California senior Kasey Carlson in 21.72. Florida Gulf Coast’s Emma Svensson was 12th in 22.33.

Stanford senior Maya DiRado won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:52.50. Texas freshman Tasija Karosas of St. Andrew’s Swimming was 38th in 1:58.67. Florida International’s Johanna Gustafsdottir was 51st in 2:00.15. Florida’s Lindsey McKnight was 54th in 2:00.55.

In a tight race, Stanford won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:26.23 with Maddy Schaefer, Lia Neal, Felicia Lee and Katie Olsen ahead of the Cal Bears in 1:26.67 with Kaylin Bing, Cindy Tran, Missy Franklin and Farida Osman.

Georgia’s Laura Ryan won the 1-meter springboard diving title with 338.60 points. Ryan is the first NCAA diving champion in Bulldogs history. Miami’s Kara McCormack and Thea Vock finished seventh and eighth respectively.

It was a tough day for Florida State senior Tiffany Oliver. The South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer was 39th in 22.63 in the 50-yard freestyle, her signature event. She was seeded 11th.

Oliver led off the Seminoles’ 200-yard freestyle relay that finished 18th in 1:29.61 with teammates Kaitlyn Dressel, Bianca Spinazzola and McKayla Lightbourn.

Friday’s events are 200-yard medley relay, 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, 3-meter diving and 800-yard 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. Friday and 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’s Tiffany Oliver Makes Final NCAA Women’s Championship Appearance

By Sharon Robb

March 19, 2014

Tiffany Oliver will close another chapter in her impressive swimming career when she competes in her final NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center.

The Florida State senior, who grew up swimming for the Comets, South Florida Aquatic Club and West Broward High School, will swim in her final college meet that begins on Thursday.

It will be her third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance. Last year she finished tenth in the 50-yard freestyle and was a member of the All-American honorable mention 800-yard freestyle relay team that finished 16th at NCAAs.

Thursday’s events are the 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 400-yard medley relay and 1-meter springboard diving.

Oliver will compete in her signature event, the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay on opening day. Her best time in the 50 is 22.02 which she swam at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship meet. She is seeded 11th in the 50.

Oliver is the first swimmer in FSU history to successfully defend her sprinting titles at this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. The four-time ACC champion also won the 100-yard freestyle in 48.17. Both her 50 and 100 times are school records.

“Every year at NCAA’s I keep getting better in terms of what to expect,” Oliver said. “Hopefully, I won’t be as nervous.

“I remember my first year I was taking it all in and then last year I got a little more comfortable. It wasn’t my best but I got into the flow. This year, I don’t know how it’s going to go, but right now I feel relaxed and ready to go faster.

“We have a great group of people going. It’s going to be fun.”

Oliver is one of a school record setting 11 NCAA qualifiers.

“We’re excited,” FSU coach Frankie Bradley said. “We have been developing all year and with this many swimmers and a pair of divers and two alternates, we have a nice size group.

“It’s simple, our goals are to go best times and to perform better than we did at ACCs.”

The NCAA women’s meet will be one of the most exiting with a star-studded cast. A field of 281 swimmers from 70 teams are competing.

Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin will make her NCAA Championship debut. The most talked about college freshman will compete in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events.

“I think for everyone on the team, when we put the California cap on there is so much more meaning behind it than just putting on a regular cap,” Franklin said. “For me, it is very similar to having an American flag on my cap.”

The team title will come down to her Cal Bears team against defending champion Georgia. The Bears are looking for their fourth title in six years.

If Georgia does win, they will do it without their head coach Jack Bauerle who will not be at the meet. Bauerle has been suspended for the past three months. The school has not released any official statement concerning the internal investigation.

Olympian Shannon Vreeland will lead the Bulldogs. Another Olympian, Breeja Larson of Texas A&M heads the breaststroke field. Her biggest challenge in the 200 event will be American record holder Emma Reaney of Notre Dame.

Franklin isn’t the only talented freshman in the field. Stanford’s Lia Neal, a U.S. Olympian; Georgia’s Olivia Smoliga and Virginia’s Leah Smith are all expected to do well.

Another Florida swimmer ending her college career at NCAAs will be Olympian Elizabeth Beisel of the University of Florida. Beisel is defending champion in the 400-yard individual medley. She will also compete in the 200-yard backstroke against American record holder Elizabeth Pelton of Cal. Beisel is one of 14 qualifiers from Florida including Florida Gold Coast swimmer Lindsey McKnight.

Florida International University has two swimmers competing with junior Johanna Gustafsdottir and senior Sonia Perez Arau.

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. Friday and 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’s Oliver Makes FSU History, Defends ACC Sprint Titles

By Sharon Robb

February 22, 2014

Florida State senior Tiffany Oliver won her second individual event and made collegiate history Saturday night at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.

Oliver, making her final ACC Championship meet appearance, left a lasting memory by becoming the first swimmer in FSU history to defend the sprint titles.

The fastest morning qualifier defended her title in the event winning in 48.54, out-touching UNC’s Lauren Earp in 48.67. Oliver’s back half split was 25.05, the fastest among the field.

In prelims, Oliver qualified in a best time of 48.50, lowering her seed time of 48.81.

Oliver was in control for most of the race, accelerating in the final five yards to touch first.

“For sure winning never gets old,” Oliver said. “It’s been an amazing meet and nice way to go out.”

It was her second ACC title of the meet. She also defended her title in the 50-yard freestyle winning in 22.02.

In the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, the final event of the meet, Oliver led off the relay and touched first in 48.75. The Seminoles finished third.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Oliver tied for 12th in 1:47.00. She swam a personal best time of 1:46.86 in prelims.

Going into the final day of races on Saturday, FSU was third after setting ten new school records and maintained its third place finish under first-year coach Frankie Bradley with 972 points. University of Miami was ninth with 470.5.

Virginia won its seventh women’s team title in a row, a first by any ACC women’s team. The Cavaliers finished with 1,433 points, more than a 200-point cushion.

Notre Dame junior Emma Reaney broke the NCAA record in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:04.34 to win the ACC title and break Breeja Larson’s record. She was named the meet’s Most Valuable Swimmer.

During the meet, North Carolina’s Stephanie Peacock was taken from the meet on a stretcher after breaking the NCAA 1,000-yard freestyle record during the 1,650-yard freestyle. The school did not release any information other than Peacock fell ill during the race.

The men’s competition is next weekend.

SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS

University of Florida men’s team and Georgia women’s team defended their titles Saturday night in Athens, Ga.

The No. 1 ranked Gators were led by Sebastien Rousseau, named SEC Swimmer of the Year and the meet’s high point winner.

The Gators finished with 1,440 points ahead of Auburn with 1,280.50 and Georgia with 1,095.

“Winning the first time was really great, coming back and having the opportunity to repeat shows the character of the guys,” Gators coach Gregg Troy said. “It’s great racing fast. We think we have a lot left in the tank for NCAAs.”

Georgia Bulldogs won the women’s title with 1,589. Texas A&M finished second with 1,204 and Florida was third. Elizabeth Beisel was high point winner for the women.

Texas A&M’s Breeja Larson broke the NCAA, U.S. Open and American record in the 100-yard breaststroke for the second straight year at the SEC Championships. Larson swam 57.24, bettering the previous mark of 57.43. She now holds the three fastest times in history.

AAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Former University of Miami swimmer Kelsi Worrell, a Louisville sophomore, was second in the 100-yard butterfly in 51.76 just behind SMU freshman Marne Erasmus in 51.73. Both were NCAA “A” cuts. She also swam a 51.3 split for Louisville’s second place 400-yard medley relay that finished in 3:33.99, under the existing pool record. Louisville won the men’s title.

CCSA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Five-time champion Florida Gulf Coast fell short of defending its title in the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Championships.

The team had its 400-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay disqualified for early takeoff costing them valuable points and eventually denying them their sixth straight women’s title.

Going into the final day of competition, FGCU trailed Liberty, 471-453 and ended up finishing second with 718 points behind team champion Liberty University with 732 points. University of the Incarnate Word won the men’s title with 886 points.

SOFLO’s Marcella Marinheiro, a freshman, is a member of the FGCU women’s team. FGC swimmer Lani Cabrera won the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:36.

SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tampa, with former SOFLO swimmer Leonie Davies, leading going into the final day of competition at the Sunshine State Conference Championships, captured the women’s title at the Orlando YMCA Aquatic Center.

Tampa finished with 820 points ahead of Florida Southern with 738 and Nova Southeastern third with 556 points. St. Leo was fifth with 326 and Lynn was seventh with 248.

Lynn University’s women’s 200-yard medley relay team became the first relay in the program’s young history to medal at the SSC Championships. Relay members were Thalie Carmigniani, Tyne Potgeiter, Tieri Erasito and Julia Pedersen edged Nova Southeastern for a bronze medal in 1:47.24. Potgieter also took a silver in the 100-yard breaststroke.

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Florida Gold Coast swimmer Gina Gautieri of Bucknell swam a college best of 2:21.30 in the 200-yard breaststroke to earn the seventh seed for the championship “A” final. Her previous best was 2:22.55. She finished seventh in finals in 2:22.27. In the 100 breaststroke, she was seventh in the “B” final in 1:06.43 after going a best time 1:06.16 in prelims, bettering her previous best of 1:06.39. Bucknell finished second among women’s teams with 580 points. The U.S. Naval Academy won in 778.

NSISC CHAMPIONSHIPS

No. 21-ranked West Florida was second among a five-team field at the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference Championship at Delta State Aquatic Center. Host Delta State led with 699 going into the final day ahead of UWF with 653. UWF’s Carla Robles, a Coral Reef alum from Miami and Florida Gold Coast swimmer, was sixth in the 200-yard freestyle.

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

In one of the most exciting 400-yard freestyle relays in Iona College swim history, second leg swimmer Keegan Boisson-Yates swam a 46.72 leg. On the final leg, Iona captain Justin Grigull became the only swimmer in the meet and first in Iona history to break 45, going 44.70 and rallying his team on anchor leg to beat Rider for the win in 3:03.64. Grigull was also second in the 100-yard freestyle in 45.90, an NCAA “A” cut. Boisson-Yates, a freshman, was seventh in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:54.86, after swimming 1:53.36 in prelims. Both Boisson-Yates and Grigull are Florida Gold Coast swimmers.

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

SOFLO’s Oliver Qualifies For NCAA Championships In Opening Three Relays, Wins 50 Gold At ACC Championships

By Sharon Robb

February 20, 2014

Florida State’s Tiffany Oliver is making her final appearance at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships a memorable one.

Oliver and her 200-yard medley relay teammates Bianca Spinazzola, Sami Pochowski and Chelsea Britt swam an NCAA automatic qualifying time and school record on Wednesday, the opening night of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

Oliver, a senior competing in her final conference meet, anchored the relay that finished in 1:37.97 breaking the 2006 school record of 1:38.59. The Seminoles finished sixth in the race.

Oliver also led off the 800-yard freestyle relay that finished third with Kaitlyn Dressel, Julia Henkel and Madison Jacobi swam the Seminoles’ second NCAA “A” cut and school record time of 7:06.56.

On Thursday, Oliver competed in her third relay and individual sprint event.

Oliver led off the Seminoles 200-yard freestyle relay that finished second in 1:29.25, another NCAA “A” cut. Kaitlyn Dressel, Bianca Spinazzola and McKayla Lightbourn were also on the relay.

Oliver, first at the turn, accelerated off the wall to defend her title and win the 50-yard freestyle in 22.02, an NCAA “B” cut. Oliver was second fastest qualifier in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.17, lowering her seed time of 22.44.

The Seminoles are in third place after two days of competition. Reigning champion Virginia leads with more than 500 points.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

LSU freshman and Florida Gold Coast swimmer Brandon Goldman swam the fifth fastest time in LSU history in the 400-yard individual medley at the Southeastern Conference Championships. Goldman finished in 3:51.55, an NCAA “B” cut. Goldman has the 100 backstroke on Friday and 200 backstroke on Saturday. He went 1:49.34 in the 200-yard individual medley on Wednesday.

Florida’s Elizabeth Beisel won her fourth consecutive conference title in the 400-yard individual medley in 3:59.26. Florida Gold Coast swimmer Lauren Driscoll of Tennessee was seventh in 4:12.60, an NCAA “B” cut.

Florida’s Carlos Omana was seventh in the 400-yard individual medley in 3:45.95, an NCAA “B” cut.

Georgia leads the women’s team standings with 879 and Florida is second with 642. Florida leads the men’s with 773.5 and Auburn is second with 721.5.

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

SOFLO’s Oliver Makes Final ACC Championship Appearance; Florida Gold Coast Swimmers Compete Around The Country

By Sharon Robb

February 17, 2014

Tiffany Oliver, one of South Florida Aquatic Club’s best-known college swimmers, will make her final appearance at this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Greensboro (N.C.) Aquatic Center.

The Florida State senior is winding down a successful college career.

Oliver holds the school records in the 50-yard freestyle (22.17), 100-yard freestyle (48.17) and 200-yard freestyle (1:46.72) and been a leadoff and anchor swimmer on the relays.

The All-American qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials and last two NCAA Championships. Oliver is also a returning ACC champion.

The women’s competition begins Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the relays and ends on Saturday. The men’s competition begins a week later on Feb. 26.

Other FGC swimmers competing in ACCs are Chelsie Britt, Paul Murray, Dylan Marsolek, Kevin Matheus, Jason McCormick, SOFLO’s Alex Rodriguez, Juan Sequera and Phillip Sims.

FSU is coached by former FGC swimmer Frankie Bradley.

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The SEC Championships begin Tuesday at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.

University of Florida’s top-ranked men (8-0) and No. 8-ranked women (5-3) are expected to dominate the five-day meet.

The men are favored to defend their title and the women will battle it out with four-time defending champion Georgia and Texas A&M.

The Gators return eight SEC champions who have combined for 25 conference titles including seniors Marcin Cieslak and Elizabeth Beisel.

“This is an exciting time for us,” said Gators coach Gregg Troy. “Championship season is always big in swimming. Everything counts the rest of the way.”

Florida Gold Coast swimmers Lindsey McKnight, Luke Torres, Ryan Rosenbaum, Austin Manganiello, Blake Manganiello, Carlos Omana, Daniel Spas, Thomas Veale and Quinn Cassidy are members of the Gators squads.

Prelims are 9 a.m. and finals are 5 p.m. The meet will air live on ESPN3.com on Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. The relays and diving begin on Tuesday and individual events get under way on Wednesday.

Florida Gold Coast swimmer Brandon Goldman, a freshman at LSU, will make his debut at the conference meet. Goldman has been a bright spot on the LSU men’s team in the backstroke and individual medley events.

Goldman swam the 400-yard individual medley at the Texas A&M Invite that was the tenth fastest time in LSU history. He also finished sixth in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 backstroke in NCAA “B” cut times. Last season the men finished sixth at SECs.

“We are going to go out and do our best,” LSU swim coach Dave Geyer said. “The men and women know what they need to do as a team and individuals to perform at their highest levels. There’s some tough competition but we expect to see personal bests.”

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Louisville will host the inaugural meet for the newly-formed conference. Louisville is expected to sweep the team titles and top the field that also includes SMU, Cincinnati, Houston, Rutgers and Connecticut.

Former University of Miami swimmer Kelsi Worrell, now at Louisville, is favored in the 100-yard freestyle. Florida Gold Coast swimmer Chinyere Pigot, a junior sprint, will compete for Connecticut. Three-time Olympian and former FGC Swimmer of the Year Vlad Polyakov is an assistant coach at Louisville.

SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE

St. Leo College swimmer Bianca Muniz, a senior, will make her final appearance at the SSC meet at the YMCA Aquatic Center in Orlando.

The South Florida Aquatic Club swimmer and Pembroke Pines Charter alum and her teammates will begin competing on Wednesday.

Nova Southeastern University, Lynn University, Florida Southern, Florida Tech, Tampa and Rollins swim teams will also compete in the meet.

Lynn University’s women’s team will compete in the meet in its second year of existence. Last year, under new coach Niki Alvarez, the Knights finished sixth at the conference meet with six swimmers and 26th at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

Florida Gold coast swimmers Thomas Aycart, Jared Fish and Cheyenne Rodriguez will compete for the NSU men’s team.

CCSA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Five-time defending champion Florida Gulf Coast’s women’s team will defend its title when the meet begins on Wednesday and ends Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. SOFLO’s Marcella Marinheiro, a freshman and West Broward alum, will make her conference debut. Othe FGC swimmers on the roster are Victoria Ho, Maggie Holding, Evita Leter, Lindsey Meeder, and Claudia Reyes. Conference Coach of the Year Neal Studd is a former Florida Atlantic University and FGC coach.

C-USA CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Florida International University is preparing for the meet scheduled for Feb. 26-March 1 hosted in Atlanta. FGC swimmers Melissa Moreno and Hannah Vandersluis are on the women’s roster. SOFLO’s Maria Lopez will be joining the team in the fall.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4soflo.com

SOFLO’s Oliver Sweeps Events, Leads Florida State To Win Over Miami In Last Home Meet

By Sharon Robb

January 31, 2014

South Florida Aquatic Club’s Tiffany Oliver made her last dual meet of her college career a memorable one.

The Florida State senior captain won two individual events and led the Seminoles win their 15th consecutive meet over the University of Miami, 174-113, Friday at the Bobby E. Leach Center in Tallahassee.

“It was a little rough but a win is a win,” said FSU coach Frankie Bradley. “We have some things we need to work on. They have got to hit some gears that they struggled with today but we’ll work on it. We’re ready to shift our focus to the ACC Championships.”

Oliver, preparing for the big post-season meets, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:51.49 and 50-yard freestyle in 23.34.

Oliver also anchored the winning 200-yard medley relay (1:43.75).

It was FSU’s last dual meet of the 2013-14 season. FSU’s women’s team improved to 7-2 under first-year coach Bradley and UM dropped to 0-7.

FSU leads UM 26-11 in their all-time series. It was also the Seminoles 16h straight Atlantic Coast Conference dual meet victory.

The Seminoles will now resume training for the Feb. 19-22 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C. The Women’s NCAA Championships are March 20-22 in Minneapolis.

FSU won 12 out of 16 events. Among other individual winners were:

Madison Jacobi, 1,000-yard freestyle, 9:52.82, 200-yard backstroke, 2:05.02, 500-yard freestyle, 4:53.99.

Chelsea Britt, 200-yard butterfly, 2:03.27.

Sami Pochowski, 200-yard breaststroke, 2:14.23.

Diver Katrina Young won the 3-meter springboard title with a career-high 343.35 points.

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