RESULTS

TAMPA, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern swimming and diving teams fell to the nationally ranked team Tampa Spartans on Saturday, Dec. 1. The No. 11 Spartans men’s team took down the No. 12 Sharks, 106-99, while the No. 6 Spartans women’s team defeated the No. 15 Sharks, 126-79.

The women’s 400-yard medley relay started off the day as the Sharks took second place to Tampa. The women’s A-team recorded a time of 4:03.36. The men followed up with their 400-medley relay in a race that was as tightly contested as any race during the meet.  Tampa’s A pulled ahead late in the race and claimed the victory. NSU’s A-team clocked in with a time of 3:32.71, which was good for second place.

The 1000-yard freestyle followed with the women’s race headlined by two swimmers, Erin Black (Sr., Fort Myers, Fla.) and Tampa’s Heather Glenday, who have already provisionally qualified for Nationals in the event. Black further displayed her dominance as she blew by the B-cut time with a winning time of 10:39.14.

The men were even more dominant, as the Sharks claimed the top-three positions in the event. Addison Cates (So., Port Charlotte, Fla.) led the way for the Sharks for his first win of the season with a time of 9:52.44. Following Cates, were teammates Cameron Chambers (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Chris Norris (Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) with times of 9:57.32 and 9:58.17, respectively.

In the 200-yard freestyle Kristen Ann Zielinski (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.) claimed the win in the women’s race with a time of 1:55.38, which was a B-cut time in the event. The men were also victorious in the event, as Oskar Nordstrand (Sr., Stockholm, Sweden) and Florian Mehlan  (Jr., Moers, Germany) took first and second place with times of 1:43.14 and 1:44.20, respectively.

In the 50-yard freestyle, Linea Cutter (So., Coral Springs, Fla.) was the top finisher for the Sharks with a time of 25.33. On the men’s side, Esau Simpson (Jr., St. Davids, Grenada) was the top Shark in the event with a time of 21.65.

Ashley Bransford (Jr., Santa Cruz, Aruba) was the top finisher in the women’s 200-yard IM, with a time of 2:15.74. On the men’s side, Oscar Aldabe (Jr., Alicante, Spain) claimed a victory for the Sharks, with a time of 1:58.78.

The 200-yard butterfly followed, as the Spartans claimed a 1-2 finish. Kathleen Bowman (Fr., Iowa City, Iowa) touched the wall for third with a time of 2:13.21. On the men’s side, Santiago Pombo (So., Bogota, Columbia) touched the wall for second place in the 200-fly with a time of 1:56.51, which was exactly two seconds after Tampa’s Nobert Kovacs.

The women’s 100-yard freestyle race was one the closest of the day, as Kristine Kassl touched-out Zielinkski by hitting the wall at a time of 53.64. Zielinski followed immediately after striking the wall with a time of 53.99. On the men’s side, Simpson was the top finisher in the event for the Sharks with a time of 47.85.

In the women’s 200-yard backstroke, Lauren Chapple (So., London, England) claimed her first individual victory of the season clocking in at 2:09.06. Josh Davis (Jr., Huron, S.D.) took second place in the event with a time of 1:57.46.

One of the most surprising events during the meet was when NSU claimed the top-two finishes in the in the 500-yard freestyle, knocking Tampa’s Glenday to a third-place finish. Black led the way for her second victory of the day and recorded a time of 5:11.09. Following her was teammate Jessica Rocheleau (So., Jacksonville, Fla.) ,who struck the wall at a time of 5:13.76. NSU further proved its dominance in the distance race as the men took the top-four spots in the event. Nordstrand paved the way for the Sharks, coming into the wall with a time of 4:41.85. Following him were teammates Cates, Chambers and Norris recording times of 4:51.53, 4:52.53, and 4:53.34, respectively.

In the final individual event of the day, Bransford claimed second place in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:28.44. The men’s team followed up in the same event with, Thomas Aycart (Jr., Miami, Fla.) winning his first race for the Sharks, with a time of 2:11.38 and was followed in second by Aldabe with a time of 2:11.92.

In the final women’s event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Sharks’ A- team claimed second place with a time of 3:41.73. The final race of the day, the men’s 400-freestyle relay, Sharks’ A-team came in third with a time of 3:13.26.

The Sharks will return to action in the four-day NSU Shark Invitational at the NSU Aquatic Center, beginning on Dec. 14.