INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The No. 18 Florida Southern College women's swimming team finished the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships in 32
nd place overall Saturday evening at the IU Natatorium.
The Mocs placed 32
nd in the national championship after sending five athletes to Indiana for the NCAA finals. Sunshine State Conference opponent Nova Southeastern was named the National Championship team with 536.5 points over five days of competition.
FSC finished the last day of competition by competing in the 400 free relay as the last event. Mocs team of
Erin McCann,
Elizabeth Sikes,
Olivia Miles, and
Allie Brinton finished with a time of 3:32.59, good for 18
th in the finals.
The highlight of the day was an overall 16th-place finish for Miles in the 1650 free after finishing with a time of 17:05.67 after dropping her time by 14 seconds from her seeded time (the finals time was eighth best in the morning heats). Earlier in the day, McCann finished the 1650 in 17:23.63, which was 18
th in the morning heats. In the 200 breast for the women,
Emily Peck finished with a time of 2:23.13, which was 31
st in prelims Saturday morning.
Florida Southern finished with eight points in the team scoring in the 32
nd place overall team spot. During the week's events, FSC women finished with two individual Honorable Mention All-America awards, most recently with Miles's 16th-place finish in the 1650 today. Yesterday, McCann finished 16
th during the 500 free consolation final with a time of 4:59.15 for an Honorable Mention All-America nod. In relays, FSC had Honorable Mention All-America finish in the opening 800 free relay event behind a team of McCann, Miles, Sikes, and Brinton. For a total, Miles and McCann finished a two-time All-American, and Sikes and Brinton each with one. In addition to All-America awards, Florida Southern had one program record broken as Brinton broke her 200 fly school record with a time of 2:03.91 (0.07 seconds faster than her SSC Championship meet time) during the Friday prelims. A total of five swimmers from the women's team traveled with Brinton, McCann, Sikes, Miles, and
Emily Peck taking part in the NCAA Championships.
Mocs had a great season this year capped with their placement at the NCAA stage. Last month, the Mocs finished fourth overall in team scoring at the SSC Championships. At the SSC meet, Mocs had one podium finish in the 2023 championship, being
Alizee Pelletier's second-place finish in the 200 breast. In addition to great individual performances, FSC broke two school records. Brinton broke her own school record in the 200 fly in a time of 2:03.98 (which she broke at NCAA's yesterday) and Pelletier's 200 breast in a time of 2:15.36. McCann was later named an All-SSC Second Team selection.
The Mocs have competed in the NCAA Championships 12 times now, dating back to 2009-10, when the team finished in a tie for 34th place. Last year, the Mocs finished 26th overall at the 2021-22 national championships, the best finish for head coach
Andy Robins and the best overall finish for the women's team since the 2018 finals. Florida Southern women have placed in the top 10 four times with a sixth-place finish in 2012-13 their best NCAA finish to date. Mary O'Sullivan won two NCAA championships in her FSC career, finishing first in the 200 free and 200 back at the 2011 NCAA Finals. Alli Crenshaw, the SSC Swimmer of the Decade, won three total NCAA Championships, defending her 1000 free in 2013 and 2014, with a 2013 title in the 1650.
