2020 FLORIDA GULF COAST INVITE
- Thursday, November 19-Saturday, November 21
- Teams: Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Florida International
- FGCU, Fort Meyers, Florida
- Format: Short Course Yards (SCY)
- Prelims/Finals
- Prelims @9AM Central, Finals @4PM Central
- Results: Meet Mobile: “2020 Eagle Invite”
- 2021 NCAA Qualifying Times
- Results: Thursday-Friday
FGCU kicked off the session Friday evening with a commanding victory in the 400 medley relay, posting a 3:40.50 to beat FIU by nearly 3 seconds. Notably, Petra Halmai split a 1:00.12 on the breaststroke, the fastest split in the field by nearly a second and a half.
Halmai had broken the FGCU program record in the 100 breaststroke in prelims, registering a 59.89 and achieving the NCAA ‘B’ cut time. Halmai held off the field in the finals though fell just shy of her new record, winning in a 1:00.21, nearly 2 seconds ahead of runner-up Delaine Goll from FIU who finished in 1:02.57. Halmai’s swims are noteworthy because the competition this weekend will not be her primary focus this semester–Halmai is Hungarian and will be focusing on making the Hungarian Olympic Team.
Georgia Southern’s Amy Hornyak placed 3rd in 1:02.78. Hornyak won the 400 IM earlier in the evening by 3 seconds, registering a new best time of 4:22.05.
FGCU went 1-2-3 in the 200 freestyle, led by Zuzu Rabiniak in a 1:50.99, just ahead of Kaja Reinhardt n 1:51.08 and Joely Merriman in 1:51.49.
FIU’s Kelsie Campbell won the 100 backstroke in a new best time of 55.05, barely holding off teammate Michaela Trnkova who touched 2nd in 55.14, about a second and a half shy of her lifetime best. Campbell also placed 3rd in the 100 fly in 54.64, while Trnkova placed 8th in 57.68.
The FGCU women bookended the meet with another relay victory in the 800 freestyle, clocking a time of 7:31.57 to FIU’s 7:34.92.
FIU and FGCU picked up a lot of points in diving as the finals of the women’s 3-meter got underway. There, Mandy Song, Maha Gouda, and Rachel Foord swept the top-3 spots for FIU, and FIU also placed 5th and 7th, while FGCU took 4th, 6th, and 8th.
Team Scores Day 2
- Florida Gulf Coast University, 982
- Florida International University, 742
- Georgia Southern University, 518