Warner Breaks Platform Record on Day Four of SEC Championships
Saturday, February 21, 2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Day Four Results | SEC Championships Central Page
Dale Schultz Interview | Kahlia Warner Interview | Delaney Dye Interview
AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Florida No. 1 men's and No.4-ranked women's swimming & diving teams sit first and third heading into the final day of the Southeastern Conference Championships. Junior diver Kahlia Warner paced the Gators tonight, as she set a school-record on the women's platform dive with a score of 326.45 points. This week's meet is being held at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala.
Warner, who finished third in prelims with a score of 265.80, finished runner-up in tonight's finals.
In addition on the boards, junior Delaney Dye was the surprise of the day for the Gators, as she qualified for platform finals with a personal-best score of 241.95. Although she was thrilled just to make the final, Dye she still wasn't satisfied. The Tallahassee, Fla. native finished eighth in final with a mark of 238.40. Her eighth place finish marked her highest-career finish in any event at the SEC Championships.
In the pool for the women, sophomore Taylor Katz captured the Gators highest individual, as she finished third in the women's 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:54.44. That mark ranks her third in UF history. Katz surpassed Gator Great Elizabeth Beisel's time of 1:54.60, which she set a year ago.
On the men's side, Florida put together one of its best races of the week in the 100-yard backstroke, as the Gators captured second, fifth and eighth in the event. Sophomore Jack Blyzinskyj paced the Gators as he finished runner-up in a time of 46.01 seconds. Behind Blyzinskyj was junior Corey Main and senior Christian Homer who clocked times of 46.52 and 46.73 seconds, respectively.
Earlier in the day, Blyzinskyj clocked a time of 45.81 seconds during the prelims, which ranks as the third-fastest mark in school history.
In addition, seniors Dan Wallace and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez placed sixth and seventh in the men's 200-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke events with times of 1:42.49 and 52.78 seconds, respectively. Wallace's mark is the fifth-fastest time in UF history.
Florida's men (Blyzinskyj, Solaeche-Gomez, Christian Homer, Caeleb Dressel) and women (Ashlee Linn, Theresa Michalak, Natalie Hinds, Amelia Maughan) placed second and seventh in the lone relay event of the evening, the 400-yard medley. The men's time was 3:05.09, which ranks fourth in school history, meanwhile the Gator women clocked a mark of 3:34.76.
UF is back in action tomorrow for the final day of the SEC Championships with prelims beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET and finals at 7:00 p.m. Florida's men's team are looking for its third-straight SEC Championship and 36th in program history, while the Gator women are looking to win their 18th conference title and the program's first since 2009.
Coaches Corner:
Head Coach Gregg Troy:
On his thoughts on today…
“We were pleased with our racing tonight. We had some especially good swims in a few spots, as all our guys backstrokes were really good and I'm really excited about the two relay events at the end of the night. Our women didn't finish as high as they wanted, but we've had to make-shift and they've done a tremendous job. On the men's side, we were just off another record. Overall, today was really good for us.”
On the men being in first place…
“Georgia had a real big day, but we've got to come in and swim well again tomorrow. It is what it is. If we come in and race and take care of business then we will be fine.”
Diving Coach Dale Schultz:
On his first SEC Championships as UF's diving coach…
“This has been really special. We're just trying to pick up where Donnie (Craine) left off. We've just been working really hard. What I've told our kids, is that the best thing to do is just to move forward in his honor.”
On Kahlia Warner breaking the school record…
“That was awesome. It was Monica Dodson's school-record and Monica was an All-American at the University of Florida and that was a big record to go get. Her back 2.5 pike that got some 10's, that was cool. You don't see that very often.”
On Delaney Dye making the finals…
“That was very emotional. When I get to work with a kid who has worked as hard as she (Delaney Dye) has worked this year and then you get those special performances. That's what this is all about. That's why we coach.”
Talking Gators:
Junior Kahlia Warner:
On placing second in the platform dive finals…
“That was the best set of dives that I have ever done in my life. I honestly didn't even think that I was going to make the final. I went into it hoping to make the final but I was not very confident. 10-meter definitely isn't my favorite thing to do but I did well.”
On breaking the school-record…
“It's unbelievable. I've been trying to break a school-record for at least the last year. But I've really been trying on the springboard. I never, ever thought that I would get it on 10-meter. Wow.”
Junior Delaney Dye:
On competing in the finals…
“It was unbelievable. I wasn't expecting (to make the) final in the platform event. I was just trying to get through it (prelims) and score as many points as I could but when I finished in eighth, it was unbelievable. It was the coolest feeling I have felt in my diving career yet. It was awesome.”
2015 SEC Championships Day 4 Team Standings
| MEN | WOMEN | ||||
| Rank | Team | Score | Rank | Team | Score |
| 1. | Florida | 980 | 1. | Georgia | 1,082 |
| 2. | Georgia | 848 | 2. | Texas A&M | 875 |
| 3. | Auburn | 760 | 3. | Florida | 730.5 |
| 4. | Tennessee | 687.5 | 4. | LSU | 614 |
| 5. | Alabama | 610.5 | 5. | Tennessee | 584.5 |
| 6. | Missouri | 549 | 6. | Auburn | 521 |
| 7. | LSU | 420 | 7. | Kentucky | 499 |
| 8. | Texas A&M | 385 | 8. | Missouri | 470 |
| 9. | South Carolina | 359 | 8. | Alabama | 403 |
| 10. | Kentucky | 301 | 10. | Arkansas | 320 |
| 11. | South Carolina | 308 | |||
| 12. | Vanderbilt | 137 | |||
SEC Champions:
- Men's 800 FR (Wallace, Werner, Alexiou, D'Arrigo – 6:12.85) – SEC & UF record
- Mitch D'Arrigo (500 Free – 4:10.77) – 2nd in UF history
- Theresa Michalak (200 IM – 1:56.09) – 3rd in UF history
- Caeleb Dressel (100 Fly – 45.28) – 2nd in UF history
- Amelia Maughan (200 Free – 1:44.68) – 7th in UF history
Day 4 - B & C Final Top-3 Finishers:
- In the men's 100-yard breaststroke B Final, Matt Elliott placed first in a time of 52.95 seconds.
- Ben Kennedy won the men's 200-yard butterfly C Final as he touched the wall in 1:44.84.
- Erik Kahr finished runner-up in the C Final of the men's 100-yard breaststroke with a mark of 54.65 seconds.
- Alyssa Yambor-Maul placed third in the women's 200-yard butterfly B Final with a mark of 1.56.78.
- Matt Curby finished third in the men's 100-yard backstroke B Final with a time of a time 47.19 seconds.
- Theresa Michalak and Lindsey McKnight each placed fourth in the B and C Finals of the women's 100-yard breaststroke, as they touched the wall in times of 59.94 and 1:01.78, respectively.
NCAA Qualifiers:
Florida notched 18 NCAA automatic qualifying marks through the first three days of competition at the SEC Championships, including:
- Men's 200 MR (Homer, Solaeche-Gomez, Main – 1:24.95) – 4th in UF history
- Men's 400 MR (Blyzinskyj, Solaeche-Gomez, Homer, Dressel – 3:05.09) – 4th in UF history
- Men's 200 FR (Main, Dressel, Werner, Curby – 1:17.60) – 4th in UF history
- Men's 800 FR (Wallace, Werner, Alexiou, D'Arrigo – 6:12.85) – SEC & UF record
- Mitch D'Arrigo - 500 Free (4:10.77) – 2nd in UF history
- Caeleb Dressel - 50 Free (18.89) - 2nd in UF history (prelims)
- Caeleb Dressel - 100 Fly (45.28) - 2nd in UF history & U.S. 17-18 age group record holder
- Carlos Omana – 400 IM (3:40.35) - 6th in UF history
- Mark Szaranek – 400 IM (3:40.22) – 5h in UF history
- Dan Wallace - 500 Free (4:13.61) – prelims
- Dan Wallace – 400 IM (3:41.14)
- Dan Wallace – 200 Fly (1:42.49) – 5th in UF history
- Women's 200 MR (Hinds, McKnight, Batchelor, Michalak - 1:37.12) – 5th in UF history
- Women's 200 FR (Hinds, McKnight, Linn, Michalak - 1:29.43)
- Women's 800 FR (Linn, Thielmann, Maughan - 7:00.25) – 5th in UF history
- Natalie Hinds - 50 Free (21.90) – prelims
- Natalie Hinds – 100 Fly (21.70)
- Taylor Katz – 200 Fly (1:54.44) – 3rd in UF history
What Just Happened:
Click here for a recap of day four's prelims action.
Click here for a recap of day three's finals action.
Click here for a recap of day three's prelims action.
Click here for a recap of day two's finals action.
Click here for a recap of day two's prelims action.
Click here for a recap of day one's finals action.
Click here for a recap of day one's prelims action.
Follow the Gators:
For more information on the conference meet, check out the SEC Championships central web page here. Also, Gator fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook.
** All videos courtesy of the Florida Swim Network
