PENSACOLA, Fla. – After over a year of anticipation the University of West Florida women's swimming and diving team finally competed in its first meet, as the Argonauts hosted Division I opponents Florida State and Tulane at the UWF Aquatic Center on Friday. UWF finished the day with two losses, 241-59 to Florida State and 197-101 to Tulane, but the larger impact of the day was felt by the team, the athletic department, the university staff and the crowd on hand.
"This will be something that myself and our team will remember forever," said head coach Andrew Hancock. "We wanted to make sure we didn't lose sight of that today. Obviously we wanted to compete, and I think we did that very well. We also wanted to find that balance between competition and enjoying the moment."
UWF President Judith Bense blew the opening whistle, and the Argonauts entered the pool for the first time. By the end of the meet, after 14 swimming events and two diving competitions, 23 Argonauts had made their debut for UWF.
"It's exciting to be a part of a first," added UWF athletic director Dave Scott. "It's not very often one gets to be a part of a first for anything. To be able to stand in the UWF Aquatic Center and see our student-athletes representing the University of West Florida alongside Florida State and Tulane, it was a very exciting to be a part of that experience."
One of the highlights of the day for UWF was sophomore Peggy de Villiers' (Somerset West, South Africa/Drury) second place finish in the 50 yard freestyle. The transfer finished with a time of 24.30, just two hundredths of a second behind Lydia Ware from Florida State (24.28).
The Argos also had top five finishes from junior Anna-Marie Macht (Markkleeberg, Germany/Darton State) finishing third in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.34) and fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:10.16), de Villiers finishing fifth in the 100 free (52.95) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (59.03), and freshman Savannah Antonetz (Lake Charles, La./Barbe HS) finishing fifth in the 100 backstroke (59.00).
UWF's relay team of Emily Mitchell (Allen Park, Mich./Darton State), Macht, Cheryl Corvo (Fort Walton Beach, Fla./Florida Gulf Coast) and Carla Robles (Miami, Fla./Coral Reef HS) finished fifth in the 200 medley with a time of 1:48.35. The Argos came close to a win in the 200 free relay, finishing second (1:38.52) with the team of de Villiers, Mitchell, Robles and Corvo.
"Our relays on both sides were good," explained Hancock. "We hung tough with Tulane in the 200 medley relay. In the 200 free relay we beat Tulane and hung a little better with Florida State, so that's a really encouraging sign this early in the season."
In the diving events, sophomore Josie McKee (Canton, Ohio/Malone) and Meghan Zets (Grovetown, Ga./Grovetown HS) made their debuts in the 1 and 3 meter competitions. McKee was the highlight for UWF, finishing sixth in the 3 meter dive with a score of 207.90.
Friday's home meet is one of three currently scheduled for the Argonauts in their debut season in 2013-14, with the next coming on Jan. 2 against Carson-Newman, Darton State and Queens (N.C.).
"Having the fans here made us feel really special," said Hancock. "I've appreciated the support since day one, and I had a feeling we'd have a great turnout and a great crowd. The spirit of the group and our supporters was really good today."
The Argos will compete in their first meet on the road on Oct. 18, facing Birmingham-Southern and Centre in Birmingham, Ala. The following day on Oct. 19 the Argos will compete in the Birmingham-Southern Relays. For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
