FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After a long week of training, both in and out of the pool, the UIndy swimming team ended its trip to South Florida with a tri-meet at Nova Southeastern University Wednesday. Both Greyhound squads bested Rollins University but fell to the host Sharks.
The lead-up to the meet was a demanding one. The Hounds spent much of the previous six days training at the scenic Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center on the campus of Florida International University, putting in multiple training sessions per day. Their reward was facing some of the top competition in Division II, especially from Nova Southeastern, whose men and women placed fourth and 11th, respectively, at last year's NCAA DII Championships.
Freshman Sotia Neophytou earned the team's only win on the women's side, taking the 100 butterfly in 57.81. The Olympian from Cyprus also took second in the 100 back (1:01.06). Other runners-up included sophomore Stefanie Haholiades (50 free), freshman Athina Konstantinidi (100 & 200 breast) and freshman Darian Murray (200 fly).
Meanwhile, the UIndy men racked up six event wins, capped by a victory in the meet's final race, the 200 free relay. Guilherme Zavaneli, Demetrakis Haholiades, Chris Gurski and Bucky Coonradt combined to out touch NSU by 62 hundredths, finishing with a time of 1:24.82.
Zavaneli, who is a recent addition and was racing in his first meet as a Hound, also excelled in the individual sprints, taking the 100 free (46.27) while placing second in the 50 (21.14).
Coonradt won the 100 fly (52.35), sophomore Rodrigo Codo Berti took the 100 back (50.51), sophomore George Oancea won the 200 breast (2:09.3) and sophomore Lucian Conner touched first in the 100 breast (59.55).
"We got a solid effort from both the women and men today," said head coach Jason Hite. "It was a tough time to compete for us; we've been training for five hours a day at a high level, and we've had a lot of illness on the team of late. But I felt like the group did a nice job and put their best effort out there today.
"Overall I'm very happy with what we accomplished this week."
The Greyhounds return home to face GLVC foes Bellarmine and William Jewell in Louisville, Ky., Jan. 13.
Note: The UIndy divers did not make the trip.
