Swimming & Diving Celebrate Multiple Top Finishes on Senior Day

Saturday, January 5

Boca Raton, Fla.

11:00 AM

Florida Atlantic

NJIT (Men Only)

Swimming & Diving Celebrate Multiple Top Finishes on Senior Day

1/5/2019 4:36:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

Full Results

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University swimming and diving dominated on Saturday at FAU Aquatic Center, as the Owls hosted the men of NJIT and the men and women of NYU. The day began with honoring the seven graduating seniors and ended on a happy note, as 27 different Owls made their way to the proverbial medal stand for their individual performances. Overall, the Owls had 18 first-place titles, 14 second-place times and 13 third-place finishes.

Notables:
Women

The meet began with the Owl women taking control of the 200-yard medley relay by capturing first and second. The team of Abby Marshall, Danica Garbett, Haley O'Meara and Kelsey Witkay took first (1:50.49)
The Owl women swept in four events on the afternoon with the first one coming in the 1000-yard freestyle. Spence Atkins (10:26.05) captured first, Caitlin Dunne followed in second (10:54.42) and Brooke Johnson came in third (11:07.37)
Sharon Kok claimed two first-place finishes on the day with the first coming in the 200-yard freestyle (1:57.44) where Sarah Martin came in second. Kok would later capture the top time in the 100-yard freestyle (54.74) where Witkay followed in second
Marshall and Melanie Doan went one and two in the 50-yard freestyle. Marshall would later claim second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 59.29
The women swept in the 200-yard IM with Miranda Fellowes claiming first (2:11.76), Garbett tallying second (2:12.08) and O'Meara touching the wall third (2:16.02)
Garbett captured another second-place finish after her 59.97 time in the 100-yard butterfly. Kara Wilkins finished third (1:00.68)
Atkins continued to show why she is dominant in distance events, finishing first in the 500-yard freestyle (5:06.73), where Madison Rizzo and Dunne claimed second and third, respectively
In the final individual event of the day, the Owls swept in the 100-yard breaststroke with Ana Neff-Jendrasko leading the way (1:08.96) followed by O'Meara in second (1:10.00) and Shae Clifton in third (1:11.13)
The meet ended with the Owls claiming first and second in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Atkins, Martin, Doan and Witkay were a part of the first-place effort (3:41.81)

Men

In the first event for the Owl men, FAU's relay teams took first and third. Alex Taber, Phillip Crouch, Skyler Hamilton and Connor Smoak finished first (1:36.96)
Will Smith tallied a first-place finish in the 1000 freestyle with a time of (9:55.41) and Joshua McQueen followed him in second (10:02.68)
Senior Colin Kozak captured second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.91)
Connor Smoak took home two top finishes on the day with the first coming in the 50-yard freestyle (21.64) and the other with his finish in the 100-yard butterfly (47.39)
Calvin Lillo tallied a first-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 1:57.65 and Taber followed in third (2:01.71)
In the 100-yard backstroke, Maguire touched the wall first (53.39) and Taber followed at third (54.79)
Senior Connor Hodges tallied his first individual win of the season in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.37)
Phillip Crouch tallied another victory in the 100-yard breaststroke on the season with his 59.54 finish
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Owl men took first and third with Kozak, Joaquin Garcia, Maguire and Smoak behind the winning lane (3:14.86)

Quotable:
"I would like to say thank you to our seniors, from the bottom of my heart," said Head Coach Lara Preacco. "They have worked hard day in and day out to make FAU swimming & diving faster and stronger. As they continue to be successful in their life after their time with FAU swimming & diving is over, I hope they always remember that they have made a difference. Thank you from all of us! Once and Owl, always an Owl!"

Up Next:
FAU swimming and diving will travel to Tallahassee for their next meet against Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 11 a.m. The women's team will be back at FAU Aquatic Center for one final time this season to take on FIU on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 11 a.m.