SSC Swimming Championship Prepares to Take the Blocks on Wednesday

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The 2012 Sunshine State Conference Swimming Championship is set to kick off Wednesday evening at the Long Center in Clearwater, Fla. Competition will continue through Saturday.

Six SSC member institutions will field teams in the swimming championship. Florida Southern, Florida Tech, Nova Southeastern, Rollins, Saint Leo, and Tampa will vie for the league titles.

The 2012 meet will mark the first for Florida Tech, which is in the midst of its inaugural year of NCAA Division II swimming. The other five institutions competed in the first ever SSC Swimming Championship a year ago. Tampa won the inaugural SSC women's swimming title, while Nova Southeastern took home the men's crown.

Competition at the Long Center will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, with timed finals in the 1,000 freestyle and the 800 freestyle relay.

On Thursday, preliminaries will be conducted in the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, and the 50 freestyle. At 6 p.m., finals will be held for each of those events. The 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay will also be contested Thursday evening.

Friday will feature a busy morning of preliminary races at 10 a.m. The 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 100 backstroke will hit the pool, with finals for all events taking place at 6 p.m. on Friday. Additionally, the 200 medley relay will be held in Friday's final session.

Saturday's final day of competition will begin with 10 a.m. preliminaries in the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, and the 1,650 freestyle. The fastest swimmers in those events will advance to Saturday's finals at 5 p.m., which will also feature the 400 freestyle relay.

Prior to Saturday's final session at 5 p.m., each team's senior student-athletes will be recognized.

The inaugural SSC Swimming Championship in 2011 was an exciting event with 15 individual NCAA Division II automatic qualifying times being posted. Additionally, seven relay teams turned in DII automatic qualifying times.

The 2012 meet also promises to be a competitive one. Three SSC women's teams are ranked in the latest College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll. Tampa is ranked seventh, while Nova Southeastern is 11th, and Florida Southern is 12th. In the men's CSCAA poll, Tampa is slated 10th, followed by Florida Southern at No. 11 and Nova Southeastern at No. 13. Saint Leo is also ranked at No. 22.

Heading into the conference championship, four SSC swimmers have already qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship. Florida Southern's Jeb Halfacre has secured a spot in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, as well as the 200 individual medley. Tampa's Norbert Kovacs has qualified to compete in the 1,000 freestyle and the 200 butterfly. FSC's Stephen Swan has locked in a slot in the 200 freestyle, while Nova Southeastern's Erin Black has notched an automatic qualifying time in the 500 freestyle.

The Long Center is located at 1501 N. Belcher Road in Clearwater, Fla. Admission is $8 per session, with an all-session pass that includes a championship program and all heat sheets available for $45. SSC students are admitted free of charge with a valid institutional ID.

Daily recaps and results will be posted on the SSC website's "Swimming Championship Central" page at www.sunshinestateconference.com.