CLEVELAND, Miss. – The West Florida women’s swimming and diving team extended its lead on day two of the New South Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championships hosted by Delta State on Thursday. The Argonauts now hold the lead with 756 points and are 178 ahead of second place St. Cloud State (578) halfway through the meet.
“We had a task at hand today, and we accomplished that task,” said UWF head coach Andrew Hancock. “We wanted to excel in the events we feel we are strong in, and we were able to do that by having tremendous morning swims in the prelims. We like our position, but we know we have some good schools chasing us down.”
It was a historic day for the Argonauts, as diver Monica Amaral (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and swimmer Anna-Marie Macht (Markkleeberg, Germany) both set NSISC records while winning individual events. Amaral posted a score of 546.25 in the 3-meter diving competition, a score that is an NCAA qualifying score, a UWF school record, and a DSU Aquatic Center record along with breaking the NSISC mark. The score also would have topped the NCAA Division II Championships record of 539.35 set by Kristin Day from Clarion at the 2013-14 national meet.
Macht’s conference record time of 2:01.62 came in the 200-yard individual medley, and it was also an NCAA A-cut automatic qualifying time, a UWF school record, and a DSU Aquatic Center record.
“Any time you can achieve an A-cut it’s a very rare thing,” said Hancock. “We’re delighted for Anna-Marie, a senior that has led by example her entire career at UWF.”
Peggy de Villiers (Somerset West, South Africa) was UWF’s third individual event winner, as she placed first in the 50-yard freestyle with an NCAA B-cut time of 23.47.
The Argos had multiple student-athletes score well in every event on day two. Angelina Gallastegui (Brandon, Fla.) placed second in the 500 free with a B-cut and school record time of 4:58.25, and she was followed closely by teammate Maggie Layde (Kennesaw, Ga.) who finished fourth with a B-cut time of 5:05.72. Madeline Pitt (Trussville, Ala.) also competed in the event as an exhibition in the morning prelim and swam a B-cut time of 5:05.54.
Macht’s win in the 200 IM was her second of her career, as she also placed first in the event at the 2013-14 NSISC Championships. Her teammate Gabrielle Spangenberg (Chuluota, Fla.) finished fifth with a B-cut time of 2:07.54, marking a new UWF freshman record. Paulina Szydlo (Wroclaw, Poland) finished seventh in the 200 IM finals at 2:09.26, and in the morning prelim she swam a B-cut time of 2:07.85.
In the 50 free, de Villiers’ win was the second of her career and she joins Macht as two-time NSISC individual champions in a single event. Danica Burnett (Perth, Australia) finished sixth in the 50 free with a B-cut time of 24.02. She and de Villiers both posted faster times in the morning prelim, as de Villiers swam a season-best time of 23.43 and Burnett broke the UWF freshman school record at 23.92.
The final race of the day was the 200 free relay, and the Argos’ A-team of de Villiers, Mariana de Paula (Santos, Brazil), Burnett and Macht finished second with a B-cut and school record time of 1:34.19.
Amaral made history in the 3-meter diving competition, but the Argos also placed second and fourth. Josie McKee (Canton, Ohio) was second with an NCAA qualifying score of 471.65 in the finals, topping her personal best score and previous school record of 462.60. Meghan Zets (Grovetown, Ga.) was close behind in fourth place with a score of 418.40.
“Diving is a strength for us, and we hoped it would be here at the conference meet,” said Hancock. “Monica had an outstanding score that should get the nation’s attention. We’re proud of her and all of our divers. They were able to really contribute big points to the team effort.”
Day three of the NSISC Championships will start with prelims at 9:30 a.m. in the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke. The evening session will begin at 5 p.m. and will also include the 400 medley relay. For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
NSISC Championships Home Page:
http://www.gostatesmen.com/
Day Two Results:
http://goargos.com/documents/
News courtesy West Florida Athletics.