Florida State University Athletics

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State swimming and diving team began the 2024-25 season with victories at the All Florida Invite on Friday afternoon at the Morcom Aquatics Center.

The Seminole women defeated North Florida 239-54 and defeated West Florida 226-73. West Florida defeated North Florida 214-79. The FSU men did not compete and will make their season debut when the men and women host ACC opponent Georgia Tech tomorrow starting at 11 a.m. ET.

On a warm and sunny Friday afternoon, Florida State won 15 of 16 events. The Seminoles recorded four 1-2-3-4 results, another 1-2-3 result and five additional 1-2 results. Four of the team’s victories were by newcomers.

senior Maddy Huggins led the team with two individual victories, in the 200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley. Juniors Mabry Bishop And Julia Mansson Both won individual and relay victories as newcomers Maryn McDade And Alice Velden swam on both of Florida State’s winning relay teams.

“Today was a good start to the season for our women’s team,” said FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “This is a nice start as our freshmen have had their first experience of collegiate competition and our returners have started their season well. I look forward to seeing everyone compete tomorrow and building on today’s performance.”

In the third event of the day, Huggins won the 200 freestyle in 1:49.17. She won by more than 3.50 seconds early in her senior season, leading a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Seminoles. Huggins also won the penultimate race of the afternoon, the 400m individual medley. Her time of 4:16.94 helped FSU take first, second and third place in the event, and Huggins won by nearly 10 seconds.

The day began and ended with Florida State winning relay events. First up was the 200-meter medley relay, where Velden, Mansson, Bishop and McDade won in 1:42.25, edging out their Seminole teammates for second place. The day ended as it began, with an FSU win in the 200 freestyle relay and a one-two finish at Florida State. senior Gloria MuzitoMcDade, graduate student Jenny Halden and Velden was the first to touch the wall in 1:34.34.

Bishop and Mansson opened their season with relay victories and were also victorious individually. Mansson won the 200 breaststroke by nearly five seconds with a time of 2:18.79, while FSU won 1-2. Two events later, Bishop won the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.91. She beat second-place finisher West Florida by just under a second.

As Mansson and Bishop recorded their victories, Junior Kayleigh Clark won the 3-meter diving competition, capping a strong day for Florida State divers. Bishop’s 3-meter score of 298.88 helped the Seminoles earn a top-four finish in the event.

Earlier this afternoon, freshmen divers Evelyn Hall made her collegiate debut and won the 1-meter dash. Her score of 277.65 resulted in a 1-2 FSU result as Clark placed second.

Two more 1-2-3-4 results took place in the pool while the 1 meter diving competition took place. First there was the 50 m freestyle, in which the juniors competed Sarah Evans won in 23.73. This race was a close one at the front as all four Seminoles finished within 0.48 seconds of each other.

The next event saw senior Edith Jernstedt opened her final season with a win in the 100 freestyle. Her time of 51.13 helped Florida State to the top four spots, all within less than 1.50 seconds. Jernstedt was also part of the FSU 200 freestyle relay team that finished the day in second place.

Freshmen Isabelle Barger opened her career with a victory in the 100m backstroke in the fourth event of the afternoon. Her time of 57.60 was part of a one-two finish for FSU, winning by 0.54 seconds.

At the very next event, another newcomer won, this time Evlin Riederer in the 100 breaststroke. Riederer won in 1:05.36, touching the wall just 0.06 seconds ahead of UNF’s second-place swimmer.

senior Jenny Bird won the next race, the 200 butterfly. She finished with a time of 2:06.82 and won by more than a second. Bird started her day by helping her team to a second-place finish in the 200-meter medley relay.

Another freshman win was achieved Karlee Marusik in the 200 backstroke. She won by 1.60 seconds with a time of 2:05.30.

The 500m freestyle was decided by just 0.66 seconds, and it was a junior Julia Brzozowski who won the victory. She finished in 5:03.08.

The season continues tomorrow when Florida State hosts ACC opponent Georgia Tech at the Morcom Aquatics Center. The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets men’s and women’s teams will compete at 11 a.m. ET. Entry is free for all fans. The team’s annual Paint it Pink Meet will take place on Saturday. There will be a pink ribbon and koozie gift for fans who arrive early.

Live results will be available on Meet Mobile. For direct links and live updates from the pool, follow and connect with the Seminoles on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook.

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