The men’s and women’s swimming teams traveled to Orlando to face Rollins College and the University of Tampa in a dual meet on Nov. 3.
Rollins College edged by the Rattlers 47-39 while defeating the Rattlerettes 74-11. The University of Tampa also managed to swim by both FAMU teams, defeating the men 55-26 and the women 49-24.
Although the meet did not result in a victory for either team, a number of Rattler and Rattlerette swimmers were able to capture reasonable finishes.
The only first place finish by a FAMU swimmer was by Albert Lowe in the 500-yard freestyle (5:16.19). The Rattlerettes also gained a respectable finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Talia Hicks took second in the event with a time of 6:00.53. Onike Archer (1:08.96) managed to grab a second place spot for the women’s team while Jonathan Smith (57.41) took second for the men in the 100-yard butterfly. The men’s 200-yard freestyle medley team also earned a second place finish at 1:33.09.
Freshman swimmers have proven their ability this season- first year Rattlerettes have dominated the best times in eight out of 12 events. Brandon Little has even managed to swim a team best for the men in three events- the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle as well as the 200-yard butterfly.
“We’re doing really good this season,” Little said on the overall team performance. “We broke a lot of team records and have a lot of swimmers that are focused. We’ve made a drastic improvement from last year. We have better attitudes and overall spirit.
“We came in with some new talent,” Little said in reference to the ability of the first year swimmers. He agreed that the freshmen have been key to the team’s performance this season.
The Rattler and Rattlerettes travel to Jacksonville to take on the University of North Florida Dec. 1.