Alabama Crimson Tide Tops Florida State on Senior Day

FLORIDA STATE VS. ALABAMA

  • Results
  • Hosted by University of Alabama
  • Saturday, January 21st
  • 25 yards
  • Dual meet format

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

  • MEN- Alabama 182, FSU 111
  • WOMEN- Alabama 170, FSU 130

Alabama honored their seniors on Saturday as the men and women both won their final home dual meet against visiting Florida State. Senior Anton McKee was among the Bama swimmers picking up multiple individual wins at the meet. In the final home dual meet of his career, he dominated the 200 breast in 1:56.61 and the 200 IM in 1:49.12. He also battled closely with Florida State’s Jason Coombs in the 100 breast. McKee had the slight edge at the 50-mark, but Coombs came back a little faster to win in 54.18 ahead of McKee’s 54.44.

Backstroker Connor Oslin was another Bama senior picking up a victory individually. He was neck-and-neck with teammate Christopher Reid in the 200 back, pulling ahead in the final 50 yards to win in 1:45.29, while Reid finished a touch behind in 1:45.77. Oslin and Reid had another close race in the 100 back, but it was teammate Luke Kaliszak taking the win in 47.49. Oslin followed in 47.68, while Reid took 3rd in 47.91.

On the women’s side, junior Mia Nonnenberg was one of the top performers for Bama. She won the 1000 free on back-to-back days, this time racing to a 10:03.05 to outpace FSU’s Alex Wittman (10:06.93). Nonnenberg then took on the 200 IM, finishing 2nd in 2:03.77. Winning that race was Florida State’s Lydia Ware, who took advantage of the breaststroke leg to give herself the edge en route to a 2:02.62 victory.

PRESS RELEASE – ALABAMA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished their regular season by sweeping up Senior Day victories over ACC powerhouse Florida State Saturday at the Alabama Aquatics Center.

“Today we were a little bit more excited and hyped up than under normal circumstances because it was the last home meet for our seniors in their collegiate career,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “It was the last home meet of the season for us as well so that added a little spice to it and they really responded to that. There was a lot of energy today.”

The Crimson Tide men posted a 182-111 win, while the Alabama women beat FSU, 170-130.

The Tide got off to a quick start Saturday morning, sweeping both the men and women’s 400 medley relays. Sophomore Katie Kelsoe, senior Bridget Blood and juniors Hannah Musser and Bailey Scott combined to take top honors in the women’s event with a 3:42.33. For the men, junior Christopher Reid, senior Anton McKee, freshman Zane Waddell and sophomore Robert Howard joined forces to win the opening relay with a 3:12.23.

From there, the Tide won 17 individual events, including 10 for the men’s team and seven for women’s team before closing out the meet with wins in both the men’s and women’s 400 freestyle relays.

Junior Mia Nonnenberg picked up the Tide’s first individual win of the day with a 10:03.05 in the women’s 1,000 freestyle. Freshman Daniel Kober placed first in the men’s 1,000, touching the wall at 9:23.56. Kober later swam a 4:31.71 to secure the win in the men’s 500 freestyle.

Junior Temarie Tomley won the women’s 200 freestyle, touching the wall at 1:49.44. Freshman Laurent Bams secured a win in the men’s 200 freestyle with a 1:37.87, before going on to win the 100 freestyle, stopping the clock at 44.10. Scott swam a 22.76 to take first in the women’s 50 freestyle while Waddell won the men’s 50 freestyle, sprinting to a time of 19.74.

The Tide men and women swept the backstroke events. Kelsoe won the women’s 100 race, clocking a 56.00 while junior Luke Kaliszak won the men’s 100 with a 47.49. Freshman Kacey Oberlander took first in the women’s 200 backstroke, swimming a 2:02.35 while senior Connor Oslin earned a win in the men’s race with a 1:45.29.

Musser took top honors in the women’s 200 butterfly with a 2:02.46 while Kaliszak swam a 48.32 to win the men’s 100 butterfly.

McKee earned a win in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a 1:56.61 before picking up top honors in the men’s 200 individual medley, touching the wall at 1:49.12.

Off the boards, senior Taylor Zablocki finished first off the women’s 1-meter with a score of 276.45 while senior Brent Sagert took top honors off the 3-meter after tallying 350.25 points.

The women’s quartet of Musser, Tomley, Scott and junior Lindsay Morrow posted a 3:22.23 to win the women’s 400 freestyle relay while Waddell, Howard, Bams and senior Alex Gray swam a 2:55.22 to out-touch the Seminoles in the men’s 400 freestyle relay, the day’s final race.

Prior to the meet, Alabama recognized its 24 seniors, the class that Pursley credits for putting Alabama back in the national conversation.

The Alabama men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams return to action February 14-18 in Knoxville, Tenn., for the Southeastern Conference Championships.

For all the latest information on the Alabama swimming and diving teams, follow AlabamaSwimDive on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.

PRESS RELEASE – FLORIDA STATE

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.  – The Florida State swimming and diving teams both fell to Alabama on the road on Saturday.

The 25th-ranked women (4-2-1-0 ACC) made a surge towards the end of the meet, however the Crimson Tide picked up the win, 170-130. In addition, No. 11 Alabama defeated No. 19 FSU (2-2, 1-0 ACC) in the men’s meet, 182-111.

“It was a solid day for us,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “Alabama was especially tough today, on senior day. They swam very well. We were good in places, but we also have areas to work on.”

In the women’s contest, Alabama started by winning the 400 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free and 200 back events before juniors Natalie Pierce (1:02.89) and Christina Loh (1:03.00) held off Alabama’s Bridget Blood (1:03.31) to finish first and second in the 100 breast.

The Seminoles would put together a pair of second place finishes, as junior Tayla Lovemore was the runner up in the 200 fly (2:04.18) before her classmate, Alexi Smith took second in the 50 free (23.14) ahead of senior Lydia Ware (23.20) who was third.

Following the break, Ware responded with a victory in the 100 free with a time of 50.26, however the Seminoles surrendered a sweep in the 200 back.

Loh answered with a close win in the 200 breast, finishing with a time of 2:16.11, holding off Marian Yurchishin (2:16.33).

Junior Alex Wittman followed with a near three-second victory in the 500 free (4:56.51) before Lovemore made it three wins in a row by finishing first in the 100 fly with a time of 54.88.

Ware continued the stretch, capturing her second event of the day, touching with a time of 2:02.62 in the 200 IM.

In diving, freshman Ayla Bonniwell led the way with a victory on 3-meter, scoring a tally of 320.50. She also added a second place finish on 1-meter, with a total of 267.68.

In the men’s competition, the Crimson Tide came out of the gates strong, sweeping the 400 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free and 100 back before senior Jason Coombs posted a big win in the 100 breast with a time of 54.18.

Freshman Max Polianski gave the Seminoles back-to-back victories, touching first in the 200 fly with a mark of 1:49.29.

The Seminoles scored second place points in the 50 free behind junior Chad Mylin (20.15) before adding third and fourth to the team total as sophomore Emir Muratovic (45.17) and senior Jason McCormick (45.23) were third and fourth respectively.

Junior Connor Kalisz finished third (1:49.48) in the 200 back, before Coombs added a second place showing in the 200 breast (1:59.32).

In diving, junior Tyler Roberge was dominant on 1-meter, winning with a score of 335.85. He added a second place finish, scoring 350.03 on 3-meter.

“We had a bunch of wins today,” Studd said. “Especially in the back half of the meet, which was great. Now, we’re looking forward to our next meet.”

Florida State will travel to Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday, Jan. 28 to face Georgia Tech in the final duel of the season. For more information on FSU swimming and diving, visit Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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