BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Tech swimming programs concluded the 2024-25 regular season on Tuesday afternoon with a Sunshine State Conference meet against Lynn at the McCusker Pool Complex.
The men were competitive against the 13th-ranked Fighting Knights, falling 152-110, while the women were defeated by the No. 9 ranked team in the nation, 195-66.
WOMEN'S STANDOUTS
· Kate Helminiak won the meet's first individual event by being first to the wall in the 1000 Free by over four seconds (11:02.98). Julia Pearson's time of 11:36.24 was good for third place. The win was the fourth individual win for Helminiak in the past two meets.
· In the 100 Back, Christina Ramirez nabbed second thanks to her finish of 29.55, while Torie Whitbeck's time of 30.50 earned her third place.
· Rae Ann Dressel finished third in the 100 Breast (1:06.77), where .62s separated the top three finishers
· Debora Xavier grabbed third (24.87) in a 50 Free (24.87) and 100 Free (54.27).
· Melissa Zucco's 2:08.76 time in the 200 Back was good for third place.
· Abby Briggs took second in the 500 Free (5:21.72) and third in the 200 IM (2:15.58).
· The 100 Fly saw a second-place finish for Miranda Olhasso (1:00.65) and third for Ramirez (1:00.66).
· Tech earned second in the 200 Medley Relay with the team of Zucco, Dressel, Ramirez, and Xavier, putting together a time of 1:47.89.
· The Panthers' top team in the 400 Free Relay saw the quartet of Zucco, Helminiak, Olhasso, and Xavier taking third place with a 3:40.63 finish.
MEN'S STANDOUTS
· Akos Hajagos recorded his first individual win of the season, taking the 1000 Free (9:51.17) by over 23 seconds.
· Jay Jay Fonnotto was victorious in the 200 Back thanks to a time of 1:54.04 that gave him his third individual victory of the season and 17th of his Florida Tech career.
· Nathan Scott earned his first career individual victory by taking the 100 Fly with a time of 51.15, which was .79s ahead of the closest competitor.
· The Crimson and Gray closed the meet with a win in the 400 Free relay thanks to the group of Dylan Ostolaza, Adam Szczerba, Hajagos, and Efe Ongoren putting together a time of 3:06.23 that was three seconds ahead of the closest competitor.
· Tech's top finishing team in the 200 Medley relay was the squad of Connor Bryant, Matthew Heaphy, Scott, and Josh McLean, combining for a 1:35.01 time that was good for second place.
COACH'S CORNER
"I am happy with the way we raced today. It was a great opportunity for us to compete one more time before our conference Championship in 2 weeks. We are training hard, and I like where we stand in preparation for that." – Head Coach Tony Marleneanu.
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will begin postseason competition with the Sunshine State Conference Championship meet, which will be held between Wednesday February 12th and Sunday February 16th at Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training in Ocala.
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