Spartans Begin Season With Pair Of Victories Over Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's and women's swimming teams opened the 2009-10 campaign with a pair of victories over Florida Southern College. The UT men were victorious by a 172-82 score while the women notched a 158-101 triumph.

The men's 200 Medley Relay team of Andrew Johnson, Kevin Kelley, John Proctor and Felipe Manzo began competition with a first-place time of 1:38.51. The Spartans claimed a total of nine top finishes in the men's races.

Manzo also won the 50 Free with a time of 21.67 while Tyler Furrer captured the 200 Free in 1:46.91. Chris O'Linger won both the 500 and 1,000 Free races with respective times of 4:52.06 and 10:12.14

The Spartans also received victories in the 100 Breast from Kelley (1:02.58), 200 Breast from Paul Patterson (2:20.87), 100 Fly from Paul LaPorta (52.76) and the 200 IM from Hunter Lineback (1:59.75).

Tampa's women also enjoyed success as it also won nine races. The 200 Medley Relay team of Ellie Eshleman, Allison Vetter, Lindsay Calimer and Stephanie Branham captured the first event in 1:50.59.

Freshman Amy O'Brien took a pair of races, including the 50 Free (24.91) and 100 Free (55.56). Eshleman finished the day with a first-place relay performance and two individual top finishes after winning the 100 Back and 200 Back in 59.17 and 2:08.59.

Tampa also received a pair of first-place finishes from Jillian Palmer in the 200 Free (1:57.65) and 200 IM (2:14.25). Calimer also registered two titles, winning the 100 and 200 Fly races in 58.50 and 2:10.99.

The Spartans return to the pool on Friday, Oct. 30 when it travels to Fort Myers for a meet with Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida Atlantic University. The meet is slated for 6 p.m. at FGCU.

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