NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A total of six Vanderbilt swimmers, highlighted by a trio of freshmen making their collegiate debuts, posted top-three results as the Commodores began the campaign with a dual meet against No. 10 Florida at Centennial Sportsplex Saturday.
Upperclassmen Melissa Cowen and Kate Heintz accomplished the feat along with sophomore transfer Sophie Pham and freshmen Sydney Green, Amanda Vileikis and Matilda White in a contest the Gators eventually claimed by a 206-55 margin.
“I think there’s a lot we can take from today. I think we saw some things that are going to give us a lot of positive energy moving forward,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “It’s the first meet, and sometimes it’s a little bit of a struggle and a little bit ugly, but there’s some beauty behind it. We’re looking forward to getting back into the pool over the next couple of weeks and preparing for the next meet in a month.
“Now that we’ve had that test to see where we’re at, we’ve got more specific things to look at and work on. It’s really about grinding it out for the next couple of weeks and building off the things we’ve done today.”
The Commodores are off until Oct. 23-24 when they take part in the Dual-A-Pool-Ooza Invitational co-hosted by Miami (Fla.) and Florida International.
Meet Highlights
-The Dores opened the meet by placing third in the 200 medley relay.
-Green followed with a third-place result in the 1,000 freestyle.
-Beginning with Vileikis touching the wall third in the 100 breaststroke, Vandy followed with third-place finishes from Heintz (200 butterfly) and White (50 freestyle).
-Cowen placed third in the 200 breaststroke, with Pham turning the trick in the 100 butterfly.
Notes
-Pham’s time of 55.75 in the 100 fly missed making the Dores’ all-time performer list by just under a third of a second.
-This marked the sixth-ever meeting between the Commodores and Gators.
-Vandy also opened the 2023-24 campaign against Florida at the Centennial Sportsplex.