MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech swimming teams swam in front of a home crowd for the first time in the 2022-23 season on Friday afternoon in a Sunshine State Conference meet with Lynn at the Panther Aquatic Center.
 
The #18 ranked Panther men were victorious by a score of 166-96, while the #16 ranked Fighting Knight women won by an identical score.
Men's Highlights
-1000 Free
Freshman Gavin Lanka placed second with a 9:58.20 time that was only .33 from the top spot. David Armstrong took third with a 10:15.62 finish.
 
-200 Free
Matthew Goembel (1:45.53) and George Jekov (1:47.56) took second and third place respectively.
 
-100 Back
Daniel Aizenberg and Jay Jay Fonnotto split top honors by each recording a time of 51.53.
 
-100 Breast
Connor Orth was the top Tech finisher with his 58.80 time good for second place.
 
-200 Fly
Kyle Gibson earned the first of his two victories on the afternoon by recording a time of 1:55.92 that was over five seconds better than his closest competition, which was Colin Goddard at 2:01.21.
 
-50 Free
Max Martino recorded his first individual win of the campaign with a 21.40 time.
 
-100 Free
In an incredibly tight race, Colin Harrison (49.16) and George Jekov (49.17) took home second and third place.
 
-200 Back
Colin Goddard's 2:04.32 time was good for third place, the highest of five Tech competitors.
 
-200 Breast
Gibson recorded his second victory of the day thanks a 2:07.37 that was nearly five full seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Michael Panariello's time of 2:14.76 was good for third.
 
-500 Free
Fonnotto earned his second win of the meet with a time of 4:46.21 that was three and a half seconds ahead of the second place swimmer, Lanka.
 
-100 Fly
Harrison tallied his first career win thanks to a time of 52.79 with Jacob Coutant (53.65) and Reston Bartlett (53.84) rounding out the podium spots.
 
-200 IM
Josh Davis recorded his fourth career victory thanks to a time of 2:02.96. Freshman Jack Pillsbury (2:04.31) earned second place while Sean Catron (2:04.87) grabbed third.
 
-200 Medley Relay
The group of Aizenberg, Orth, Fonnotto and Martino recorded Florida Tech's first victory of the day thanks to a time of 1:32.90, which was three and a half seconds ahead of second place. Michael Panariello, Gibson, Nathan Scott and Firtag combined to put up a time of 1:36.85 that earned them third place.
 
-400 Free Relay
The quartet of Nathaniel Allen, Benny Firtag, Josh McLean and Martino closed the meet with a thrilling victory thanks to a time of 3:10.39. The team of Goembel, Jacob Sykora, Joao Felipe Nascimento and Jekov earned third place through a 3:15.34 time
 
 
Women's Highlights
-1000 Free
Freshman Leah Fonnotto earned the victory in her first ever home event with a time of 11:03.53. Fellow newcomer Emma Knick placed second with a time of 11:23.28.
 
-200 Free
Nicole Rautemberg took home a third place finish thanks to a time of 1:58.74.
 
-100 Back
Freshmen Sophia Keller (1:02.23) and Kat Reburn (1:02.83) were able to grab third and fourth place each.
 
-100 Breast
Erin Graham had the highest finish of four Tech swimmers, taking fourth place with a 1:10.93 time.
 
-200 Fly
Kiera Ceely earned her first career win as her time of 2:17.60 was three seconds clear of her closest competitor.
 
-50 Free
Shaelyn Rutta had the best finish of the four Panthers in the event, taking third with a time of exactly 25.00. Debora Xavier and Harper Powell took fourth and fifth respectively, finishing less than a second behind Rutta.
 
-100 Free
Rautemberg nabbed another third place finish with a 54.22 time.
 
-200 Back
Keller (2:13.55) and Knick (2:19.83) grabbed second and third while Mo Olhasso (2:19.97) earned fourth.
-200 Breast
Emma Keegan had the best Panther finish in the event with her 2:34.77 time good for fourth.
 
-500 Free
Freshman Alex Knodel took second place thanks to a time of 5:21.10
 
-100 Fly
Xavier (1:00.22), Reegan Tiltmann (1:01.32) and Christina Ramierz (1:01.42) took second through fourth place in the event.
 
-200 IM
Knodel completed her impressive performance with her first win as a Panther by posting a time of 2:14.75. Ceely's finish of 2:21.69 was good for third.
 
-200 Medley Relay
The squad of Keller, Rutta, Rautemberg and Xavier earned third place through a time of 1:50.87.
 
-400 Free Relay
The team of Rutta, Brynn Romberger, Xavier and Rautemberg took home second thanks to a 3:37.09 finish. The group of Reburn, Emily Vossler, Mina Lynch and Keller's 3:46.82 time was good for third place.
 
Team Results
Men
1. Florida Tech- 166
2. Lynn- 96
 
 
Women
1. Lynn- 166
2. Florida Tech- 96
 
 
Coach's Corner
On Fonnotto and Gibson's performances: "Kyle put on a good amount of muscle over the summer, and I think that's really paying off with his events. It's setting him up for a good conference, a good Panther Invite. JJ, he's had a really good mentality going on this year, just focusing on the little things like recovery and getting himself in a better position to train harder. That's really paying off with his competition. As far as the rest of the guys, they're swimming really well for where we're at right now. We've been pushing really, really hard in the pool. The fact that they were able to pull out some of those times that they did today is a good sign for the Panther Invite.I think we're going to surprise some people."
 
On this year's team having a bigger roster than before: "I'll be honest, The freshmen and newcomers came in, and they just bought in to thew culture so fast. This is probably the best culture we've had since I've been here and because of that, we're just going to continue to get better and better. We're just going to continue to push each other and try to climb up the rankings as high as we can."
 
On how far this season could go: "I'm confident. I think we're in a good spot to get some relays back to NCAA's and hopefully get a few more individuals qualified this year. We're in a good spot."
 
 
On the high expectations put forth by the team: "They put up some tough and lofty goals, but they're putting in the work to try to reach those goals. That's what they want to work for and, and the whole team is buying into those goals."


The Panthers will return to the pool on Wednesday November 9^th at 11 A.M. for a home meet against Keiser.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech men's swimming team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.