The University of West Florida women’s swimming and diving team made history on Saturday, as the Argonauts won the New South Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championships in just their second season as a program. UWF led for the entire four-day meet and defeated eight other teams, including two ranked in the top 25 in Division II, to take home the trophy.
The Argos, ranked No. 15, placed first with 1,730.5 points, and No. 23 St. Cloud State was second with 1,391. Meet host and defending NSISC champion Delta State, ranked No. 13, finished third with 1,281.5 points.
UWF head coach Andrew Hancock was named the NSISC Coach of the Year, and Barbara Parker was named NSISC Diving Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Monica Amaral (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was the meet’s high point diver, and Anna-Marie Macht (Markkleeberg, Germany) was one point behind the meet’s high point swimmer, Melanie Tombers from Delta State.
“Every single one of our girls contributed to this,” said Hancock. “We scored 17 swimmers, and the others played just as important a role in the victory. It was a tremendous team effort. Every single person stepped up and did what they needed to do. Every one of them swam the fastest that they’ve ever swam in their life.”
Day four of the meet was full of highlights for UWF, as the Argos won four of the seven events. Event winners on Saturday included Angelina Gallastegui (Brandon, Fla.) in the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:55.05), Paulina Szydlo (Wroclaw, Poland) in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:16.01), Amaral in the 1-meter diving competition (494.85), and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Peggy de Villiers (Somerset West, South Africa), Macht, Emily Mitchell (Allen Park, Mich.) and Ana Cristina de Paula (Santos, Brazil) (3:26.49). All four times and scores were new school records and NSISC records, while Amaral and the 400 free relay team also set DSU Aquatic Center records.
The evening session began with the 1,650 free, and Gallastegui was followed closely by teammate Madeline Pitt (Trussville, Ala.) in second place with a B-cut time of 17:05.79. In the 100 free, de Villiers finished second with a time of 51.15, which was 0.13 seconds behind the event winner Chloe Bennett from Delta State. Mariana de Paula (Santos, Brazil) finished fifth in the event and also posted a B-cut time of 52.62.
UWF also had B-cuts from Macht in the 200 breast (2:16.78) and Maggie Layde (Kennesaw, Ga.) in the 200 butterfly (2:06.24). Layde’s time in the 200 fly was a new school record. UWF also had a new freshman record set by Gabrielle Spangenberg (Chuluota, Fla.) in the 200 breast prelim (2:22.32).
Amaral finished her NSISC debut with a win in the 1-meter event, and she was followed closely by teammate Josie McKee (Canton, Ohio) in second place with 461.90 points. Meghan Zets (Grovetown, Ga.) finished fourth in the event and also posted an NCAA qualifying score of 400.20.
“It was a fun weekend,” said Hancock. “Our team deserves a lot of credit. They had the most fun at the meet, and they always do. We love their spirit. Our staff also deserves a lot of the credit too. Barbara Parker led our divers to success once again. Kevin Kelly and Lauren Clifford did a great job keeping our team focused. I can’t thank them enough.”
The NCAA Division II Championships selections will be officially announced on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Swimmers with NCAA A-cut qualification times during the regular season will automatically qualify, and the rest of the selections will be from the pool of swimmers with B-cut times. Divers who score NCAA qualifying scores during the regular season will have the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Diving Qualifier in Indianapolis on March 10, the day before the NCAA Championships begin at the IU Natatorium.
Anna-Marie Macht is UWF’s automatic qualifier after her A-cut time in the 200 IM on day two of the NSISC Championships. UWF divers Monica Amaral, Josie McKee and Meghan Zets have all posted NCAA qualifying scores, so they will be eligible to compete at the NCAA Diving Qualifier on March 10.C
College Swimming News is courtesy of the University of West Florida women’s swimming and diving.
