Individual Results - Final
Team Results - Final

Gainesville, Fla. -- The Nova Southeastern men’s and women’s swim teams concluded their invitational meet at the All-Florida Invitational on Sunday afternoon hosted by the University of Florida. The Sharks women finished seventh of seven with 121 team points, while NSU’s men finished fourth out of six with 444 points. Host Florida won both the men’s (1,139 pts.) and women’s (1,032 pts.) invitational events.

“Our entire team faced many challenges in their events over the weekend and each of these student-athletes met those challenges with determination and passion to succeed,” head coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron said. “I’m very proud of this team because they showed what it means to have Shark Pride everytime they stepped on the pool deck.”

The Sharks opened the final day of the All-Florida Invitational with the men’s and women’s 1,650-yard free. Two NSU women’s advanced out of the prelims and finished 21st and 22nd respectively in the finals. Kelley Yakymiw (Fr., Hollywood, Fla.) finished at 18:43.69, while Kristen Ghandour (Fr., South Neptune Beach, Fla.) finished at 20:53.04). Jonas Grundstrom (Jr., Fagersta, Sweden) was tops for the Shark men finishing 13th with a time of 16:34.16. Chris Norris (Fr., Tallahassee, Fla.) finished 17th (16:28.31), while Alex Tarr (Jr., Everett, Wash.) finished 20th (16:56.61). Jonathan Key (Fr., Biltmore Lake, N.C.) rounded out the Shark competitors in 21st (16:59..26).

In the women’s 200-yard back, Ashley Aranda (Jr., Kenner, La.) finished 13th overall with a time of 2:11.26. In the men’s race, NSU’s Josh Davis (Fr., Huron, S.D.) finished 12th (1:58.92), while Darren Reubenchik (Fr., Ontario, Canada) finished 13th (2:01.29) and Eric Brothman (Fr., Laurel, Md.) finished 15th (2:06.59).

Nicole Gaynor (So., Orlando, Fla.) was the lone Shark to compete in the women’s 100-yard free finished 16th at 0:55.17. Ash Dougan (Jr., Tewkesbury, England) was tops for NSU on the men’s side finished ninth overall at 0:47.52. Jorge Ospina (Jr., Lazumillos, Venezuela) finished 11th (0:48.52) and Armin Hornikel (Jr., Goose Creek, S.C.) finished 12th (0:48.52).

Both Ewa Jamborksa (Jr., Katowice, Poland) and Ashley Bransford (Fr., Santa Cruz, Aruba) competed in the women’s 200-yard breast for the women. Jamborska (2:26.82) finished 14th overall, while Bransford (2:31.34) finished 16th. Cameron Pfahler (So., Neptune Beach, Fla.) finished at 2:15.99 in ninth place to lead pace the NSU men in the 200-yard breast. Key followed in 10th with a time of 2:19.57 and Hornikel finished 11th (2:21.54).

In the finals of the men’s 200-yard fly, NSU posted their highest finish for the entire competition. Ospina turned in a time of 1:55.05 to finish sixth overall. John Michael Hayes (Fr., Jacksonville, Fla.) finished ninth (1:59.10) and Grundstrom (2:01.35) finished 12th.

The Sharks concluded their first competition of their inaugural season with the men’s and women’s 400-yard free relay. Gaynor teamed with Aranda, Marissa Leonard (Fr., Overland Park, Fla.) and Bransford for an 11th-place finish at 3:47.00, while the Jamborska, Courtney Wilson (Fr., Ft. Myers, Fla.), Ghandour, and Yakymiw tandem finished 13th overall at 4:01.53. Hornikel, Ospina, William Bunge (Jr., Springfield, Mo.), and Dougan teamed up for a sixth-place finish in the men’s race finishing with a time of 3:13.02. Davis, Caldwell, Grunstrom and Jim Shelley (Fr., Charlottesville, Va.) finished ninth for NSU at 3:18.19.

With the season’s first competition under their belt, it’s back to the NSU Aquatic Center on NSU’s main campus to work on the a few specifics before heading into Sunshine State Conference competition. It was a long time coming, but the Sharks are finally in the water with high hopes becoming one of the elite programs in Division II.

“Although this team is still in its infancy, they are eager to work on the little things to get better,” Bonewit-Cron said. “We will work on those things each day in practice in the coming weeks and months. I have waited for 13 months to see this team evolve into a competitive program and they are focused on finding a way to be a great program.”

The Sharks dive head first into Sunshine State Conference competition on Saturday, Oct. 16th hosting Florida Southern at the NSU Aquatic Center at 2 pm.