Swim & Dive Downs Minnesota

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –   On a chilly Friday evening at the Morcom Aquatics Center, the (No.17/24) Florida State swimming and diving teams were on fire against RV/18 Minnesota, claiming two strong victories.

The women’s team picked up its first win of the season (1-2, 0-2 ACC) in its second-straight upset over the 18th-ranked Golden Gophers by a score of 186.5-111.5. The men moved to 2-1, 1-1 ACC behind its 197-103 win over RV Minnesota.

Between both teams, the Seminoles won 23 events, including four sweeps of first, second and third place.

“It worked out great for us tonight,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “Our team fixed some things from last week that we were working on, which is what we were most happy about. We had a great day and we’re really excited with how we competed across the board.”

The women started off the night with a big win in the 200 medley relay behind the team of freshman Tania Quaglieri, sophomore Nina Kucheran, sophomore Aryanna Fernandes and junior Emma Terebo, with a time of 1:39.78.

The Golden Gophers won the 1000 free, but sophomore Kertu Alnek answered with a season best swim in the 200 free for the victory at 1:49.43.

Minnesota followed with a one-two finish in the 100 back, but Kucheran held on to win the 100 breast at 1:00.42.

The Noles kept the momentum rolling and swept the 200 fly behind a trio of sophomores as Fernandes was first (2:01.53), Boglarka Bonecz took second (2:02.48) and Hannah Womer (2:03.18) placed third.

Terebo added a victory in the 50 free at 23.19 ahead of Alnek in third place at 23.47.  Following the break, the two led the sweep of the 100 free, led by Terbo (50.57), Alnek in second (50.65) and junior Rebecca Moynihan in third (51.36).

Minnesota won the next three events before Fernandes won her second event of the night in the 100 fly, posting a time of 53.82.

Freshman Sydney VanOvermeiren led the Seminoles to a one-two-three finish in the 400 IM, posting a time of 4:21.92, ahead of Kucheran in second (4:24.93) and Womer in third (4:26.15).

The team of Moynihan, Terebo, Fernandes and Alnek closed out the meet with a victory in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:32.62.

Florida State was dominant on the boards, finishing in first and second place in all four diving events on the night.

Senior Ayla Bonniwell scored a total of 299.40 to win 1-meter ahead of senior Molly Carlson (278.40), but Carlson was the winner on 3-meter with a total of 326.10 and Bonniwell followed in second (303.60).

In the men’s competition, junior Joshua Davidson won both boards and senior Cam Thatcher placed second. On 1-meter, Davidson scored 327.37 and Thatcher tallied 322.20 and on 3-meter, Davidson’s totaled 333.75 and Thatcher amassed 317.10 points.

“They did a good job for where they’re at in the season,” FSU head diving coach John Proctor said. “Especially under these conditions. Everybody showed up and we got it done.”

The men also took control of the meet early, winning the 200 medley relay with a team of senior Griffin Alaniz, freshman Peter Varjasi, senior Vladimir Stefanik and sophomore Jakub Ksiazek at 1:29.77.

Freshman Aziz Ghaffari out-touched Minnesota’s Tim Sates (1:38.95) for the victory at 1:38.90 and Alaniz followed that performance with a victory in the 100 back at 49.40.

Two more freshmen won back-to-back events Varjasi won the 100 breast (56.17) and Maurice Ingenrieth took home the 200 fly (56.17).

The Seminoles closed out the first part of the meet with a sweep in the 50 free as Ksiazek led the way in first with a time of 20.58, followed by freshmen Ian Cooper at 20.77 in second and rookie Domen Demsar in third at 20.91.

Varjasi (44.51) and Stefanik (44.97) added first and second place points in the 100 free off the break and Alaniz (1:50.35) and junior Jackson Lucas (1:51.77) followed with another one-two finish in the 200 back.

Ghaffari secured his second win of the night, clocking a season best of 4:29.93 in the 500 free.

In the final individual event of the night, a pair of freshmen added FSU’s sixth one-two showing of the meet, led by Nick Vance in first place with a time of 3:59.66 followed by Scott Pekarske (4:07.38)., who edged out Minnesota’s top swimmer (4:07.47).

The Seminoles will travel to Atlanta, Ga., to face Georgia Tech on Oct. 26 at 11 a.m.  For more information on FSU swimming and diving, visit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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