ATHENS, Ga. – In their last-ditch efforts to qualify for the 2016 NCAA Championships,
Katie Armitage, Barbara Caraballo and
Evita Leter turned in impressive performances but ultimately came up short of the NCAA invite line during day one of the Bulldog Invitational at the University of Georgia's Gabrielsen Natatorium.
"The girls gave it all they could but came up just shy this afternoon," said FGCU head coach
Neal Studd. "We'll give it one more shot tomorrow with hopes of qualifying our fourth swimmer for next month's NCAA meet."
Armitage (Bushey, United Kingdom/Queens School Bushey) clocked a season-best time of 1:00.90 in the 100-yard breaststroke prelims before finishing runner up in the final event after touching the pads in 1:01.03. Her times, which rank second and third-fastest in program history, came up less than a half of a second shy of getting inside that top-38 cut line.
Also in the 100-yard event,
Leter (Paramaribo, Suriname/Doral Academy) finished 12th overall and fourth in the 'B' final in a time of 1:03.15.
Caraballo (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Indian River/Newsome HS) swam a time of 2:02.00 in the 200-yard IM and placed third in the event.
FGCU currently has three swimmers inside the 2016 NCAA Championships invite line, which hovers right around the top 38 swimmers in each event, in
Elise Haan (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS),
Katie Latham (Deal, Kent, United Kingdom/Sir Roger Manwood's School) and
Fanny Teijonsalo (Espoo, Finland/Makelanrinteen Lukio). Haan ranks 11th in the 100-yard backstroke while Teijonsalo ranks 28th in the 100-yard butterfly and 34th in the 100-yard freestyle. Additionally, Latham currently ranks 30th in the 50-yard freestyle.
In the event they stay within the cut line after this weekend's meet, these three individuals will compete in the NCAA meet and be allowed to swim in all events in which they surpassed the NCAA 'B' cut standard this season. In the event FGCU qualifies a fourth individual this weekend, they will be able to enter those four swimmers into any relay event in which they swam a NCAA 'B' cut time this season. Additionally, four alternate swimmers will be allowed to travel for the relay events as well.
Tomorrow, Armitage will swim the 200-yard breaststroke and
Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) will swim the 200-yard butterfly.
SEASON-BEST TIMES Included below is each individual's season-best time in their respective events and were they rank in the NCAA this season.
FOLLOW ALONGFor up-to-date coverage of FGCU women's swimming and diving, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_WSWIM and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com where full recaps and results will be available. HEAD COACH NEAL STUDDNeal Studd has garnered six CCSA Coach of the Year awards, won seven CCSA Championships (2009-13, 2015-16) and guided the Eagles to a 32-1 (.970) CCSA all-time record since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just four years of postseason eligibility, Studd has coached NCAA Championship Meet qualifiers and competitors each of the four years, with 2015 yielding the best results to date as the Eagles finished a mid-major best 26th and produced four CSCAA All-America honorees. SUPPORT THE CAUSEFGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
