NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt swimming travels to Jacksonville, Florida, for the third scheduled competition of the season when the Commodores take on North Florida and Georgia Southern in a dual meet Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at the UNF Aquatic Center.
“It was a short week with school on fall break so we had a chance to get to Jacksonville early and train outdoors, which will be good because the outdoor pool will be a new experience for some of our student-athletes,” Vandy head coach Jeremy Organ said. “We will look to have the same focus on the details, doing things correctly and having good race strategies on Saturday.”
The Dores last competed Oct. 7 against Auburn in their first home meet of the season at the Centennial Sportsplex. Vandy had several individuals record season-best marks in their respective events, although they fell to the visiting Tigers.
Mercedes Traba set a new school record in the 1,000 freestyle while also gaining points for Vandy for her second-place performances in the event and the 500 freestyle. Traba enters the weekend ranked among the top 10 in the nation in the 1,000 freestyle. Additionally, Faith Knelson and Kailia Utley posted top-five performances in the meet in the 100 breaststroke and 200 butterfly, respectively, while Ellie Taliaferro recorded the fastest time by a Dore this fall in the 50 freestyle and Maddie Smith clocked Vandy’s best mark in the 200 backstroke at the competition.
Vanderbilt has won each of the last four meetings with North Florida including a 209-53 victory in the most recent match-up between the two programs Jan. 3, 2020, in Gainesville, Florida. In the only previous meeting in the series with the Eagles, the Dores dropped a 120-89 decision to Georgia Southern on Oct. 20, 2007, in Vandy’s second season of competition after restarting the program.
