Swimming/Diving Edged by Georgia Southern

Saturday, January 14

Jacksonville, Fla.

1 p.m.

University of North Florida

118.00

125.00

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Todd Drexler

1/14/2012 4:01:00 PM | Women's Swimming

By: North Florida Athletics

Meet Results

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It came down to the last race of the day as Georgia Southern pulled out a slim 125-118 victory over the University of North Florida on Saturday afternoon in a dual meet at the UNF Aquatic Center.

The Ospreys and Eagle were back and forth throughout the entire meet. Georgia Southern jumped out to an early lead after the first few events, but North Florida battled back and pulled to within two points, 57-55, after the first diving event. The Ospreys used a solid performance in the 200 butterfly to take their first lead of the afternoon, 68-63. The two teams traded the lead and the meet came down to the final race of the afternoon.

Junior Sara Evans posted a trio of first place finishes on the afternoon to help pace the Ospreys. Evans won the 200-yard individual medley, 200 butterfly and the 200 breaststroke for UNF. The junior recorded a season-best times in the butterfly and 200 breaststroke to claim each event.

North Florida opened the meet with a second place finish in the 200 medley relay. The quartet of Ellice Mae Sanchez, Bridget Woods, Lissa Janowicz and Natalie McCallum posted a combined time of 1:51.38 for runner-up accolades in the event.

Freshman Christine Kemp posted a season-best time of 10:46.58 in the 1,000 freestyle to finish as the top Osprey in the event in second place.

The Ospreys finished 1-2 in the 200 freestyle as twin sister Rebeca Bernard and Maria Bernard finished in order. R. Bernard's season-best time of 1:57.39 was good enough for first place, while her sister M. Bernard's season-best mark of 1:57.80 placed her in second.

McCallum (25.04) and Sanchez (25.55) finished back-to-back in the 50 freestyle. The freshman tandem each posted season-best times in the event.

UNF claimed the top two spots in the next event, the 200 IM. Evans won the event with a time of 2:10.66, besting teammate Woods who recorded a time of 2:12.10.

In one-meter diving, freshman Monica Rice earned first place accolades with a score of 238.80. Junior Julia Moomaw posted a score of 228.37 for a third place finish.

Evans' season-best time of 2:09.07 gave the junior a victory in the 200 butterfly. She finished just ahead of Janowicz who recorded a time of 2:09.13.

The Ospreys registered a second and third place finish in the 100 freestyle, as McCallum notched a season-best time of 54.15 to take second and R. Bernard's season-best, 54.48, was good enough for third.

North Florida's Kristina Alexiou (2:10.10) and Sanchez (2:11.30) finished in order – 2nd and 3rd – in the 200 backstroke as the top finishers for UNF in the event. Kemp (5:15.47) and M. Bernard (5:18.77) also finished second and third, respectively, in the 500 freestyle.

In the final diving event of the afternoon, Moomaw earned first place honors in the three-meter board. The junior posted a combined score of 241.20 to win the event, just ahead of teammate Rice (238.70).

Evans' first place finish in the 200 breaststroke gave the Ospreys a slim two point advantage, 114-112, heading into the final event of the afternoon. Evans posted a season-best time of 2:25.89 in the 200 breaststroke to set up the dramatic finish.

In the final event of the day, Georgia Southern's top 200 freestyle relay team edged to the Ospreys' team of R. Bernard, Alexiou, M. Bernard and Kemp by 83-hundredths of a second to edge North Florida in the meet. The foursome posted a time of 1:41.96 in the event – the third fastest time of the year by any UNF 200 freestyle relay team.

North Florida returns to action on Friday, Jan. 20, as the Ospreys compete in their final home meet of the year. UNF welcomes Florida Gulf Coast to the UNF Aquatic Center for a dual meet slated for 3 p.m. The meet will serve as Senior Day and prior to the meet, UNF will honor its lone senior, Gala Poon.