The men’s squad of eight swimmers and one diver representing the Gators at the 2010 SMU Classic returned home today with a fourth-place finish following the two-day meet in Dallas, Texas.
In Dallas, the Gators turned in a total of 13 NCAA qualifying marks and several season-best swims, finishing with 286 points overall. The University of Michigan took home their second consecutive SMU Classic team title (307.5) while Swim MAC Carolina placed second (289), host SMU finished third (287.5) and Southern California (260) and Purdue (214) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Throughout the meet, the Gators faced competition from several internationally renowned athletes, including Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones, who was representing Swim MAC Carolina.
Senior Shaune Fraser swam a winning swim in the 200 free (1:36.55), while finishing second in the 100 fly (47.57) and 200 fly (1:45.37), and fifth overall in the 500 free (4:28.23). All four of Fraser’s swims were NCAA provisional-qualifying times.
Likewise, senior Omar Pinzon had several standout performances, particularly in the IM events, as he claimed the 200 IM victory in 1:47.61 and finished second in the 400 IM with a time of 3:51.04. Pinzon additionally placed fourth in the 100-yard back in 48.51.
Other notable performances came from junior Conor Dwyer who swam an NCAA provisional time in the 200-yard free, finishing first in the consolation heat. Dwyer additionally also swam in the 100 breast and clocked a sixth-place 56.26.
Florida’s Brett Fraser swam a second-place 100-yard free performance and a third-place swim in the 50-yard free, finishing behind the U.S. Olympian Jones in both races. Fraser clocked a 44.88 behind Jones’ 44.70 in the 100, while clocking a 20.74 50-yard free swim.
Senior captain Roberto Gomez swam a 20.91 in the 50-yard free, a 50.36 in the 100-yard fly and a 45.05 in the men’s 100-yard freestyle race. Redshirt freshman John Lehtonen swam both breaststroke events for the Gators, as well as the 400 IM, finishing sixth in the 200-yard breast event (2:04.88) and sixth in the 400-yard IM (4:05.53).
In just his second meet as a Gator, Marco Loughran clocked a 49.29 in the men’s 100-yard back consolation final and finished third overall in the 200-yard back race with an NCAA provisional mark (1:45.36).
Junior Balazs Gercsak ended with ninth-place finishes in both the 500-yard free (4:30.21) and 200-yard free (1:49.81) races.
In the diving competitions, sophomore Anthony Lewark rounded out UF’s nine competitors, placing fourth in both the one-meter competition (314.40) and on the three-meter board (296.35).
