2017 NSU Shark Invitation Information
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman swim team returns to action less than a week later when they travel to Florida for the 2017 NSU Shark Invitational this weekend. It is the 8th annual NSU Sharks All-Florida Invitational.
The Eagles come off victories in both the men's and women's dual meet at Limestone last weekend.
"We worked on a few things but have been getting back after it in practice," said Coach Jordan Taylor. "Really, I was pleased with how the athletes performed in practice on Monday. We were swimming fast and pushing each other, and we've had good quality after working hard the past few weeks."
Teams competing in the invitational include: Wingate, Nova Southeastern, University of Indianapolis, Florida Southern, West Florida, and Keiser University, who are some of the top teams in all of Division II.
Marcelo Figueiredo, a native of Porto Alegre, Brazil, posted the third fastest time in all of D2 so far this year, with a time of 9:51.43 in the 1000-yard freestyle. All four of the top times in the event in 2017 will race this weekend in Fort Lauderdale.
"It'll be very competitive in that event particularly," added Taylor. "Exposing our athletes to the fastest and top competition in the nation is what this trip is all about, in both the individual and relay events."
The seven-team invitational will span over a two-day period, with three timed finals sessions.
The events will take place in an outdoor pool which creates many challenges for swimmers, according to Taylor.
"It's a really fun environment and it's something the swimmers really enjoy but it brings with it some things people might not expect. Weather conditions always play a big factor, wind is something you never thing about in a swim meet, even the temperature can affect the athletes. Some swimmers have never raced in that environment, and there are swimmers from Florida who do that on a daily basis."
The first session is slated for Friday, Oct. 13 at 5:30 p.m. with five different events.
The morning of Saturday, Oct. 14 at 9:30 p.m. includes a nine-event session, then the final third session returns at 2:00 p.m. with another seven events.
You can follow along live, or view the results throughout the weekend here.