Within seconds, fans and swimmers alike were on their feet during the last event of the first home meet of the season, screaming and shouting for their team. It was the last leg of the women’s 400 relay and both teams were neck and neck – it only mattered who tapped the board first.
Relay team A took the stand and dove into a challenging lineup. By the time the last swimmer dove in, Alabama had a narrow window to take first place against Florida State. Fortunately, Alabama made that window count and finalized the women’s victory.
“We weren’t even picked to win that relay,” junior Kaylin Burchell said. “Heck, the guys came pretty close. But, I mean, we were all so excited. I know I always drown [the noise] out but when we see the team on the side screaming, that’s what motivates me. Some of those girls went crazy fast.”
Alabama swam against Florida State at the Don Gambril Aquatic Center Saturday. The Crimson Tide women won 144-120, while the men faltered 151-113.
“It was exactly what I was hoping for, especially on the women’s side,” coach Denis Pursley said. “On the men’s side, on paper, they were a whole lot stronger, double our score going into the meet based on us leading up to the meet. But we gave them a run for their money. We made a close meet out of it and fought hard and that’s what I was hoping to see.”
The women started off strong, winning the first event of the day. For the rest of the meet, the women continued to gain more ground and never letting FSU lead. The events that FSU did win were far fewer than Alabama.
Being a primarily younger team, Pursley said it has vastly improved and continues to make great strides at a fast pace.
“From this time last year, our meet performances today are light-years ahead of where they were last year,” Pursley said. “We’re moving in the right direction, which is a good step for us. You can feel the confidence build within the team, feel the spirit build.”
Though the men didn’t win against FSU, they have shown they can swim long distances and keep up when against fast competition. Sophomore Brian Westlake won the 1,650 freestyle event with a time of 15:45.61.
“The whole distance group trains together every day and at every practice,” Westlake said. “We prepared and when it comes down to it, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Burchell won all three of her events: 100 and 200 breaststroke and 200 IM. Westlake won two of his events, coming away victorious in the 1,650 and 500 freestyles.
“We kind of just game planned and worked on the little things unlike last year,” Westlake said. “[We’ve worked on] better turns and efficient strokes. We’re doing a lot more work at practice now and it’s starting to pay off. We look a lot better this year than we did last year.”
