Florida State University’s swimming and diving teams participated in the Bulldog Invitational Last Chance Meet held at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia, from February 28 to March 1. The event featured swimmers from several programs, including Georgia, South Carolina (men), Howard, and Georgia Tech.
The Seminoles sent select athletes to the two-day meet with the goal of improving their season-best times and securing qualifying marks for the upcoming NCAA Championships in March.
Senior Julia Mansson achieved an NCAA-qualifying time of 1:00.22 in the 100 breaststroke on the first day of competition. She also secured another NCAA cut in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:10.03.
Freshman Ioana Stribu earned an NCAA cut in the 200 freestyle by finishing with a finals time of 1:45.30. Fellow freshman Lucy Porter won the 200 breaststroke final with a time of 2:08.77, which is now ranked as the third-fastest performance in program history and also met the NCAA qualifying standard.
Senior Tommaso Baravelli continued Florida State’s strong showing in breaststroke events by placing second in the 100 (52.41) before winning the 200 with a time of 1:54.70 to secure another NCAA cut.
Sophomore Mathias Christensen posted a time trial mark of 1:41.81 in the 200 butterfly, making it the third-fastest swim for that event in school history and earning him an NCAA-qualifying spot. He went on to win first place in that event on day two with a swim of 1:41.99.
On the backstroke side, senior Sarah Evans won the women’s 100 backstroke with an NCAA-qualifying time of 52.57.
The Florida State men’s team finished first overall at the meet with a total score of 146 points, ahead of South Carolina’s men’s team (112 points) and Georgia (86 points). The women’s team placed second overall with a score of 129.5 points.
Looking ahead, selected Seminole athletes will participate at both the Zone Diving Championships from March 6-11 and at their respective NCAA Championship meets later in March.
“Up next, select Seminoles will compete at the NCAA Championships in March, with the Zone Diving Championships from March 6-11 before the women’s NCAA meet is scheduled for March 18-21 and the men’s meet is set for March 25-28.”
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