Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's swimming program were back in the pool on Friday evening as they competed in Day One of the Shark Invitational at the NSU Aquatic Center.
After the first night of competition, the Panthers are in fourth place out of eight teams with 218 points, albeit with just 36 points separating second and fourth place.
Akos Hajagos was Florida Tech's first big individual finisher in the meet, earning fifth place out of 65 swimmers and the team 14 points in the 200 IM thanks to his time of 1:53.04.
Zachary Reese would earn a further five points thanks to his 18
th place finish of 1:57.13.
Senior transfer
Luke Altmann continued his impressive start to life as a Panther by finishing eighth out of 71 competitors in the 50 Free with his 20.94 time earning 13 points for the team.
Max Martino (21.40, 18
th) and
Matteo Caruso (21.46, 19
th) would earn another combined five points in the event.
Jay Jay Fonnotto took home second out of 59 swimmers in the 100 Fly as well as 17 points for Tech thanks to his effort of 49.25. Altmann added another 14 points with his time of 49.95 good for sixth
Hajagos, a freshman from Budapest, Hungary, continued what's been a strong first month in the Crimson and Gray by taking second in the 400 IM with his time of 4:02.46 giving Tech another 17 points.
Gaspard Thierry's time of 4:21.60 was good for 15
th place and four points.
The 200 Free would see Altmann cap an excellent overall performance by finishing third out of 70 competitors in the 200 Free as his effort of 1:40.23 earned the Panthers 16 points. Fonnotto (1:43.00, 11
th) and
David Armstrong (1:44.37, 16
th) would bank an additional eight points.
Gavin Lanka (10:25.86, 15
th) and
Zachary Kopel (10:26.86, 16
th) were Florida Tech's top two finishers in the 1000 Free, adding three points while doing so.
In relay action, the group of Fonnotto,
Connor Orth, Caruso and Altmann earned 28 points in the 200 Medley with a sixth place finish in a field of 26 teams, thanks to a time of 1:32.00. The quartet of
Daniel Aizenberg,
Jacob Sykora, Hajagos and Martino would earn another 24 points thanks to their ninth place finish of 1:33.46.
In the 400 Free, Tech would see a repeat top finish of sixth and 26 points thanks to the team of Hajagos, Martino, Caruso and Altmann thanks to a 3:05.79 finish. Déjà vu would be the word for this event as the squad of Sykora,
Josh McLean, Fonnotto and Armstrong would take home 10
th place and 22 points with a time of 3:09.94.
Up Next:
The Panthers will conclude their weekend in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow with Day Two of competition, beginning at 9:30 A.M.
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.
