Spartan Men Fourth Overall as Marisa Barton Records National Runner-Up Performance
UT sits near the top thanks to a well-rounded team effort.
INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Tampa men's and women's swimming teams each enjoyed a spectacular start at the 2016 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium.
Tampa's men tallied 61 total points on Wednesday, good for fourth place. UT trails Queens, N.C. (88), Lindenwood (77.5), and Nova Southeastern (65).
The Spartan women are also in contention, having tallied 17 total points to sit in 15th place. Queens also leads on the women's side, scoring 127 points on the first day, ahead of second-place Drury by 41 points.
Marisa Barton highlighted the evening for the Spartans, as the junior raced to a national runner-up finish in the 50 Free. Her time was clocked at 22.89.
Makayla Ayers began the finals with a 23rd-place finish in the 1,000 Free after being timed at 10:18.81. Brittany Bayes also competed in the 1,000, finishing 30th at 10:30.26.
In the men's 50 Free, Martin Hammer scored a fourth-place finish of 19.72. Also racing in the 50 consolation finals and earning points for UT was Jeremy Parker (10th, 19.97), Runar Borgen (12th, 20.03) and Khalid Aldaboos(13th, 20.09).
UT's men concluded the night in the 200 Medley Relay, placing fourth overall with a time of 1:27.68. The Spartan quartet included Jordan Augier, Wayne Denswil, Borgen and Hammer.
Tampa will return to the pool on Thursday at 10:30 a.m., for the prelims, followed by the finals at 6 p.m. Thursday's action will feature the 200 Free Relay, 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free and 400 Medley Relay races. The NCAA Championships will last through Saturday evening.