Gator Country

Minneapolis, Minn. – Redshirt sophomore Marco Loughran (London, England) and senior Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) made the “A” finals in two separate events as the No. 5 University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team had an impressive showing Friday afternoon on day two of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

“We had a great team session this afternoon,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “Our guys really stepped up. We had some unexpected races where we did really well and I’m excited about tonight.”

Florida’s foursome of Loughran, sophomore Rodion Davelaar (Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles), freshman Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland) and Fraser started off the day by qualifying for the “A” finals of the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet’s time of 1:25.53 placed them seventh overall (second in heat two of three) and gave them the seventh-fastest time in school history.

Senior captain Mike Joyce (Voorhees, N.J.) made his first career NCAA “A” finals, finishing seventh overall in the 400-yard individual medley (third in heat three) with a time of 3:44.71. Fellow senior captain Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.), along with freshman Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.), qualified for the “B” finals, guaranteeing the Orange and Blue more points in the evening session. Dwyer took third in heat four with a time of 3:45.29 to take ninth overall, while Signorin placed sixth in the fourth heat with a time of 3:46.05 to place 13th overall. Southeastern Conference Community Service Team member junior Brian Howell (Cincinnati, Ohio) also competed in the event, touching the wall in 3:47.88 to take 22nd overall (seventh in heat three).

Cieslak continued his impressive prelim session by qualifying for the “B” finals of the 100-yard butterfly. The Poland native touched the wall in 46.32, placing him 13th overall (second in heat two). Sophomore Cameron Martin (Clearwater, Fla.) made his NCAA debut in the event, swimming a personal-best 46.73 to finish 22nd overall (second in heat one).

Fraser qualified for his second “A” finals of the afternoon with a sixth-place finish in the prelims of the 200-yard freestyle. The 2008 Olympian for the Cayman Islands took second in heat five by touching the wall in 1:34.13. Right behind him in seventh place overall was sophomore Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa), who took seventh overall (third in heat seven) in the event with a time of 1:34.22. Making the “B” finals of the event for the second consecutive season was junior Jeffrey Raymond (Davie, Fla.), who swam a personal-best 1:34.96, topping his previous personal-best time of 1:35.03 at last year’s NCAA Championships. Also competing in the event were senior Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) and sophomore Scott Sommer (Ocala, Fla.), who finished 23rd (1:36.13) and 46th (1:39.36), respectively.

In the last individual event of the day two prelim session, Loughran qualified for another “A” final, finishing eighth overall in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 46.13.

Finals for the second day of the NCAA Championships begin tonight at 8 p.m. ET, and can be viewed at ESPN3.com.

UF Men Qualifying for “A” Finals
Marco Loughran – 100 Back
Mike Joyce – 400 IM
Brett Fraser – 200 Free
Sebastien Rousseau – 200 Free
TEAM – 200 Medley Relay

UF Men Qualifying for “B” Finals
Conor Dwyer – 400 IM
Connor Signorin – 400 IM
Marcin Cieslak – 100 Fly
Jeffrey Raymond – 200 Free

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