OCALA, Fla.- The Lynn swim teams put together a string of phenomenal performances at the Sunshine State Championships in Ocala this week as the women's team finished third with 602.5 points while the men finished in fourth with 509 points. Following the conclusion of the championships on Sunday night, it was announced that both
Luna Mertins and
Maurice Grabowski were named the SSC Swimmers of the Meet.
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Mertins was named the Women's Swimmer of the Meet, scoring 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.
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Grabowski was named Men's 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.
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Overall, the Fighting Knights accumulated six gold medals, 14 silver medals and five bronze medals for a total of 17 top three finishes in individual competition and eight top three finishes in relays.
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HOW IT HAPPENED (Women):
Day 1:
Day 2:
- Mertins broke the 50 free SSC record in the prelims with a time of 22.52, besting the previous record by just .01 (22:53) before smashing the record in the finals with an SSC-record setting A-cut time of 22.39.
- The team of Laura Dekoninck, Malaika Schneider, Mertins and Lexi Lundell placed second in the 200 medley relay at 1:40.13.
Day 3:
- Mertins shattered the NCAA Division II record for first place in the 100 fly on Friday evening with an A-cut time of 51.85. (previous record: 52.06)
- Lydia Douthit rounded out the top three in the 100 fly with a B-cut time of 55.28, tying for second.
- Tapia locked up her second medal of the event, recording a B-cut time of 1:49.25 in the 200 free for third place.
- De Santis, Lundell, Douthit and Tapia claimed third place in the 400 medley relay at 3:47.77.
Day 4:
- Mertins continued to make conference history on Saturday, claiming her third gold medal of the event in the 100 back with a meet-record of 52.75 (A-cut).
- Lundell recorded a B-cut time of 1:01.92 in the 100 breast, finishing in fourth.
- De Dantis earned third place in the 200 fly with a B-cut time of 2:02.25
- The team of Laura Dekoninck, Malaika Schneider, Lundell and Mertins took home second place in the 200 Free Relay with a provisional time of 1:31.29.
Day 5:
- Mertins smashed another record in the 100 free prelims with a SSC record-setting time of 48.72 before breaking her second NCAA Division II record of the meet with a final A-cut time of 48.33.
- De Santis took fourth in the 200 back with a B-cut time of 1:59.45.
- Lundell racked up the final individual medal for the Lynn women, earning a silver medal in the 200 breast (2:14.69).
- The team of Lundell, Tapia, Schneider and Mertins closed out the event, claiming second in the 400 free relay with an impressive time of 3:21.76.
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HOW IT HAPPENED (Men):
Day 2:
- Maxim Tsyfarov claimed second place in the 200 individual medley with a B-cut time of 1:46.47 on Thursday night.
- Grabowski set an SSC meet record with a prelim time of 19.53 in the 50 free before taking the gold in the finals with a B-cut time of 19.64.
- Paul Melcer, Kamil Piotrowicz, Vitaly Kostin and Grabowski claimed the silver medal in the 200 medley relay with a 1:27.23 final time.
Day 3:
- Grabowski took second in the 100 fly with a B-cut time of 47.07, just .13 off from first place.
- Kostin claimed the second individual gold medal for the Blue and White men, finishing the 200 free at 1:35.26 (B-Cut).
- The collective of Melcer, Tsyfarov, Kostin and Grabowski earned second place in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:10.33 to cap off day three of the event.
Day 4:
- Grabowski came in second in the 100 back with a B-cut time of 47.24 for his fifth medal of the event.
- Tsyfarov claimed his third medal of the championships in the 100 breast, coming in second by just .01 with a B-cut time of 53.47.
- Kostin set a Sunshine State Conference record in the 200 fly, earning his second gold medal of the championship with an A-cut time of 1:44.06.
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Day 5:
- Grabowski wrapped up his individual event appearances, earning a silver medal in the 100 free with a B-cut time of 43.52.
- Kamil Geisner claimed third place in the 200 back at 1:45.04.
- The men of Lynn (Tsyfarov, Kostin, Hobbs, Grabowski) closed out the meet with a second place time of 2:55.95 in the 400 free relay.
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UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights have their sights set on the top prize at the NCAA Division II Championships which are set to kick off on Mar. 11.
