Razorbacks earn split in home opener

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas senior Yi-Ting Siow picked up victories in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200y breaststroke and 400y individual medley to lead the Razorbacks to a split in their double-dual meet against Florida and Kansas on Saturday at Arkansas Natatorium.

10 first-place finishes carried the Hogs to a 196-112 victory over Kansas but six first-place finishes against Florida was not enough as the Gators defeated Arkansas 175-133.

“We do not have the type of talent that will allow for us to make mistakes and still be successful,” Arkansas swimming coach Jeff Poppell said. “We have to do this little things right, we have to outwork those that we compete against and we have to compete error free in order to have success as a team.

“We had some great performances today but we also had some performances that could have been better had we not made mistakes. That is what is so disappointing. The meet against Florida was much closer than the score indicated as there were four or five events that could have gone our way. The margin of victory in those events was very small.”

Siow touched in at 1 minute, 1.63 seconds to finish first in the 100y breaststroke, improving on her time from last weekend by one-tenth of a second. The time continues to lead the nation. Siow swept the breaststroke events by winning the 200y breaststroke in 2:13.93. The current Southeastern Conference Swimmer of the Week clinched her third event of the meet when she turned in a time of 4:21.63 in the 400y IM.

Sophomore Katie Whitbeck took first place in the 100y butterfly for the second-straight meet with a time of 56.88.

Arkansas’ distance freestyle swimmers also performed well. Returning All-America Jamie Marks finished second in the 1,650y freestyle at 16:43.98, which represents the third fastest time in the nation. The Hogs claimed three of the top six position in that event.

“There were a lot of races that were very close and we wish we could have come out on top, but we are looking forward to the rest of the season,” Poppell said.

In diving, sophomore Liana Bugslag had a strong day with a third-place finish in one-meter diving and a second-place finish in three-meter diving. Fellow sophomore Alex Roman set a new-career mark in three-meter diving with a 246.30.

“I am very proud of the performance from the divers today,” Arkansas diving coach Dale Schultz said. “They dove extremely well, especially Liana Bugslag. She has been training very hard, which was evident in what she did today.

Florida swept the meet with a 205-103 defeat of Kansas. The Jayhawks picked up five event wins including both the diving events.

“Today, Florida demonstrated why they are the defending Southeastern Conference champions and one of the top five teams in the country," Poppell said."Even without some of their top athletes, they are strong enough to win this dual meet. Full credit goes to the team and the Florida coaching staff.

“Kansas also did a very good job today. They are a young squad with a lot of freshman and sophomores, but coach Clark Campbell is a good coach who will have them performing at a high level very soon.”

The Razorbacks return to action Nov. 6 when they host another SEC opponent in Vanderbilt at Arkansas Natatorium at 4 p.m.