MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech swimming programs recognized the Class of 2025 on Friday afternoon prior to their Sunshine State Conference meet against Rollins at the Panther Aquatic Center.
The women's program honored Keira Ceely,
Kate Helminiak,
Emma Keegan,
Christina Ramirez and
Debora Xavier. The men's program honored
David Armstrong,
Camden Bell,
Connor Bryant,
Colin Goddard,
Colin Harrison,
Zachary Kopel,
George Jekov,
Connor Orth,
Michael Panariello,
Slater Sabel and
Jacob Sykora.
Tech made it a Senior Day to remember as the women dominated the Tars, 170-92 and the men held on to defeat the #17 Tars, 141-121. Between the teams, the Panthers recorded 19 individual victories.
WOMEN'S STANDOUTS
- Abby Briggs recorded her fourth and fifth individual victories by taking the 1000 Free (10:57.05) by over 20 seconds and winning the 200 Fly (2:12.08) by .60s.
- Kate Helminiak was dominant in her final home competition, winning the 200 Free (1:54.76) by nearly seven seconds and the 500 Free (5:10.25) by 16 seconds.
- Christina Ramirez was victorious in her final home meet, winning the 100 Back with a time of 57.78.
- Rae Ann Dressel will look back fondly on her final competition at the Panther Aquatic Center as she took top honors in the 100 Breast thanks to a time of 1:05.48 that was nearly two seconds ahead of the closest competitor.
- Miranda Olahsso was first to the wall in the 100 Free (52.95) and 100 Fly (57.98) for her second and third individual wins of the season.
- Debora Xavier earned the fourth win of her senior season by winning the 50 Free (24.26) over Olhasso by just .01s.
- Melissa Zucco earned double glory as well, winning the 200 Back (2:10.51) and 200 IM (2:14.85).
MEN'S STANDOUTS
- Brayden Hohman earned the first individual victory of his Florida Tech career by winning the 1000 Free by over 16 seconds.
- Efe Ongoren continued his outstanding campaign by winning the 200 Free (1:41.10), 500 Free (4:39.85) and 200 IM (1:54.98).
- Zachary Reese earned his third win of the season, taking the 100 Back (53.15) by half a second.
- Dylan Ostolaza's first individual victories with the Crimson and Gray came in the 50 Free (21.41) and 200 Back (1:54.69). His triumph in the 50 Free was won by .03s.
- George Jekov concluded his home Florida Tech career with victory in the 100 Free (46.78).
COACH'S CORNER
On the dominant showing following Winter Break:
"This is a really hard part of the season for us. We have doubles every day, we're getting ready to put in some hard practices to get ready for conference. I kept telling them that we have to race at this meet, but our main focus is conference. It was great to see them race while they're tired and win so many races and look as good as they did. Obviously, they had that extra excitement for the seniors, so I think thing that got them going even more."
How he views the team heading into the season's closing stages:
"Yes, so we're not just happy with how the meet went today, but also how the practices are going. They stayed in shape during the break at home, so when they came back after New Years, they were ready to go. I'm super excited to see what we can do at Lynn and then conference."
His experience with the Class of 2025:
"It's always hard to have a coaching change, especially before last year, but they adjusted really quick and they were very supportive of not just me coming into the program, but also to everybody else."
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will conclude the 2024-25 regular season on Saturday, Jan. 25 in Boca Raton against Lynn. The first event is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at the McCusker Pool Complex.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech men's and women's swimming teams, 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.
