SSC Champs X2: Tampa Completes Swimming Sweep in Ocala
OCALA, Fla. – The 2025 Sunshine State Conference Swimming Championships have come to an end after an exciting weekend. On the women's side, Tampa won their fifth SSC Championship with 948 points. On the men's side, Tampa has been crowned SSC champions for the third year In a row and earned its fourth SSC Championship in program history, scoring 833.5 points. This marks the first year since Nova Southeastern in 2017-18 that a school has won both the men's and women's SSC championship in the same year.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Top Performances:
Two NCAA Division II, eight meet records and five overall conference records were set on the women's side during the 2024-25 championship. On the men's side, nine meet records and three overall conference records were beaten. [See More: SSC Records & Top Times]
Lynn's Luna Mertins was named the Swimmer of the Meet. Overall, Mertins scored 80 points as an individual swimmer during the event. She set the NCAA Division II record in the 100 Fly and the 100 Free as well as setting the SSC and Meet records in the 50 Free and 100 Back. Mertins is the third Lynn swimmer to earn the title while being the first to represent the Fighting Knights since 2016.
In the final night of the women's competition, Hailey Williams started out the evening by claiming a gold medal for Nova Southeastern in the 1650 Free with a time of 16:38.09. Mertins recorded her second NCAA Division II record of the meet in the 100 Free at 48.33. Nova Southeastern's May Lowy secured the top spot on the podium for the 200 Back with 1:58.29. Emilia Ronningdal of Nova Southeastern was the final individual medalist of the championships, winning the 200 Breast at 2:14.63. The final event of the championships, the 400 Free Relay, concluded with Nova Southeastern' team of Emilia Ronningdal, Zsofia Kurdi, Maria Goncalves, and Maya Esparza winning gold with an SSC record-setting time of 3:19.77.
In men's swimming, Lynn's Maurice Grabowski was named Swimmer of the Meet after scoring 71 points as an individual swimmer. He posted wins in the with a meet-record in the 50 Free while he finished second in the 100 Fly, 100 Back and 100 Free. Grabowski earns the honor as Lynn's first male representative to be named Swimmer of the Meet in conference history.
Luca Alessandrini of Nova Southeastern recorded the first-place finish in the 1650 Free for the second year in a row with a meet-record of 15:11.36. Gavin Lindley of Nova Southeastern managed to win the 100 Free with a meet-record setting 43.26. In the 200 Back, Tampa's Parker Knollman put together a time of 1:44.68 to take home the gold. In the final individual event of the evening, Nova Southeastern's Inigo Marina recorded a first place time of 1:56.57 in the 200 Breast. In relays, Tampa earned the victory in the 400 Free Relay as the team of Tibor Tistan, Caleb Brandon, Rafael Ponce De Leon and Jacob Hamlin secured a time of 2:55.19 for the win.
Day 5 Medalists (Indicates SSC Record / ** Indicates NCAA Record)
Women's 1650 Free:
1. Hailey Williams, Nova Southeastern (16:38.09)
2. Laura Hodgson, Tampa (16:48.14)
3. Burlingtyn Bokos, Tampa (16:48.33)
Men's 1650 Free:
1. Luca Alessandrini, Nova Southeastern (15:11.36) (Meet Record)
2. Diego Dulieu, Tampa (15:12.95)
3. Efe Ongoren, Florida Tech (15:42.91)
Women's 100 Free:
1. Luna Mertins, Lynn (48.33)**
2. Kristina Orban, Nova Southeastern (48.86)
3. Maya Esparza, Nova Southeastern (50:18)
Men's 100 Free:
1. Gavin Lindley, Nova Southeastern (43.26) (Meet Record)
2. Maurice Grabowski, Lynn (43.52)
3. William Slowey, Rollins (43.55)
Women's 200 Back:
1. May Lowy, Nova Southeastern (1:58.29)
2. Sierra Gillan, Tampa (1:58.42)
3. Carlie Tyler, Tampa (1:58.51)
Men's 200 Back:
1. Parker Knollman, Tampa (1:44.68)
2. Roland Nagy, Barry (1:44.80)
3. Kamil Geisner, Lynn (1:45.04)
Women's 200 Breast:
1. Emilia Ronningdal, Nova Southeastern (2:14.63)
2. Lexi Lundell, Lynn (2:14.69)
3. Diana Suprun, Barry (2:16.21)
Men's 200 Breast:
1. Inigo Marina, Nova Southeastern (1:56.57)
2. Javier Colmenares, Nova Southeastern (1:58.66)
3. Balazs Ament, Barry (1:59.00)
Women's 400 Free Relay:
1. Nova Southeastern, (Emilia Ronningdal, Zsofia Kurdi, Maria Goncalves, Maya Esparza) (3:19.77)*
2. Lynn (Lexi Lundell, Luz Tapia Sahagun, Malaika Schneider, Luna Mertins) (3:21.76)
3. Florida Southern (Sam Hunter, Vanda Voroshazy, Elizabeth Sikes, Phoebe Reid) (3:28.86)
Men's 400 Free Relay:
1. Tampa, (Tibor Tistan, Caleb Brandon, Rafael Ponce De Leon, Jacob Hamlin) (2:55.19)
2. Lynn, (Maxim Tsyfarov, Vitaly Kostin, Spencer Hobbs, Maurice Grabowski) (2:55.95)
3. Florida Southern, (Brandon Wilson, Matheus Da Rocha, Michael Tretyakov, Nino Viallon) (2:56.28)