COMPOSITE RESULTS (pdf)

PENSACOLA, Fla.- On senior day, the No. 6 West Florida swimming and diving team took the win over Birmingham-Southern (212-113), Montevallo (210-96), and Texas Permian Basin (212-12) at the UWF Aquatic center on Saturday.

Before the meet, five seniors were recognized for their time at UWF, Katelyn Balent, Anna Jaworski, Stefanie Markwardt, Kathryn Mipro, and Brooke Simila with each senior winning at least one event on the day.

"It was awesome to celebrate our seniors today and we look for great things from them as we finish out the season," stated head coach Phil Kraus.

The Argos had an impressive start to the meet placing top-three in the 100 fly. Senior Balent took first with a time of 59.81. Freshman Ellie Rothfuss came in second in 1:00.72 and freshman Laci Herron claimed third with 1:01.14. Balent won her second individual event of the meet in the 200 fly (2:10.96).

Another senior Jaworski championed the 100 back with a time of 1:00.81. Sophomore Keely Stevenson touched the wall second (1:01.69), and graduate Yael Danieli in third (1:01.90). Standout Markwardt placed first in the 100 breast (1:06.09) and graduate Morgan Despres finished third (1:08.00). Junior Rylee Woelk crushed the 1000 distance free event with a time of 10:46.78. In the 200 free, UWF had three athletes finish in the top-three spots with senior Mipro in first (1:54.56), Tori Johnston in second (2:00.16), and Sydney Hartis rounding out the last spot (2:00.34). Mipro won her second event in the 100 free with a time of 53.54. Once again, the Argos had three top place finishers in the 50 free with Brooke Dorr (24.61), Markwardt (24.66), and Sofia Kendzior (25.21).

Shannah Dillman claimed first in the 200 IM in 2:09.35 followed by Simila in third (2:15.95). Newcomer Nina Imboden highlighted the 200 back as she won the event with a time of 2:06.40. Kendzior earned another top-three finish in the 500 free as she won the event with 5:10.90. Simila had another first-place finish in the 200 breast with 2:24.81.

West Florida finished the meet with another win in the 400 free relay (3:41.10) with four seniors Mipro, Jaworski, Markwardt, and Balent.

"I thought we competed well today against some quality programs," said Kraus. "Our graduating seniors lead the way, each of them winning at least one event and finishing the meet with a senior relay win. The four relay athletes were the first class I recruited to UWF, so they will always be a special group. Those four along with our third year graduate, Brooke Simila, will be missed not only for their athletic contributions, but for their personalities and the intangibles they bring to the table."

In the diving well, the Argos won both the 1- and 3- meter boards with Michelle Mejia coming in first on both boards. In the 1-meter, Mejia won with a score of 406.20 and earned a national qualifying score. Freshman Jade Fontenelle came in second (405.82) and Olivia Nelson in third (402.29). Mejia won the 3-meter with 251.47 points and Fontenelle came in third (233.33). West Florida has five athletes already make NCAA qualifying scores for the NCAA diving qualifier in March.

"Our ladies had a fabulous day today," said head diving coach Barbara Parker. "They are certainly showing that they are ready to continue with our successful season. We now have five divers invited to attend for the National Qualification meet and I couldn't be prouder of them!"

Next up, the Argonauts will travel to Atlanta, Ga. for two days of competition from January 20-21. UWF will face Division I schools Georgia Tech and Queens on Jan. 20 and Emory and Delta State on Jan. 21.

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.