PENSACOLA, Fla.- The No. 6 West Florida Swimming & Diving team kicks off 2023 with a road trip to Fort Pierce, Fla. to face off against Indian River State College and Rochester Institute of Technology. The meet is slated to begin at 12 p.m. (CST)/ 1 p.m. (EST) and will take place at the Anne Wilder Aquatic Center.

Fans can follow along on the Meet Mobile app.

ABOUT UWF
The Argonauts enter this meet with a No. 6 ranking in the CSCAA Top-25 poll. Right before the holiday break, UWF had 34 NCAA B Cuts and two school records broken at the Spartan Invitational. Head coach Phil Kraus has his squad pointing in the right direction as the team is hitting their times in preparation for the NCAA Championships in March.

Freshmen Nina Imboden and Shannah Dillman put up impressive times as both athletes broke school records. Imboden broke the 200 back record with a time of 1:59.07 as Dillman finished first in the 400 IM and set the new record in 4:22.24. The Argonauts finished the Spartan Invitational in second place behind No. 4 Tampa.  

Stefanie Markwardt leads this team as the senior from Niceville, Fla. has been named two-time NSISC swimmer of the month for October and November. She is tied for seventh with Danica Burnett in program history for most CSCAA All-America finishes with seven.

ABOUT IRSC
This will be the second time UWF and IRSC have met this season as both squads competed in the Spartan Invitational before the holiday break. The Pioneers concluded the invitational with a third place finish and 610 points. IRSC is one and one in dual meets on the season with a defeat to Florida Atlantic (154-144) and victory against St. Thomas (149-56).

Head coach Sion Brinn is in his fourth season at the helm of the IRSC Swimming and Diving program. Brinn has led both teams to another NJCAA National Championship in the 2021-22 season.

ABOUT RIT
The Tigers are 5-1 on dual meets with their only loss to Ithaca (181-118). Earlier in December, RIT came in first in the Don Richards Invitational with 1017 points. Kimberly Dobie and Anna Peshenko have been the key factors to this Tiger team. At the conclusion of the invitational, Peshenko had six first-place finishes and Dobie had three first-place finishes including relays. Dobie came in second in the 50 free (24.73) and third in the 100 back (1:00.76). In her first season with the Tigers, Peshenko qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship and was named the Liberty League Swimmer of the Year last season.

Phil Baretela is in his fifth season as head coach of the Tigers. At the helm, he led RIT to their first Liberty League title in program history with the women finishing 6-2 in dual meets for the season in 2021-22.

For the latest information on UWF athletics, visit goargos.com or follow UWF Swimming and Diving on social media on Instagram @uwfswimdive or twitter @UWFSwimDive.