All week long, the Gators dealt with multiple obstacles. The No. 6 women’s team struggled with sickness, while the No. 5 men’s team lacked depth as coach Gregg Troy and nine of team’s best left for the SMU Classic.
Troy’s squad finished short of expectations this weekend in Dallas, taking fourth place as Florida scored 272 points — 46 behind first-place Michigan, ranked No. 13.
While UF posted a pair of 60-point victories over visiting Florida Atlantic, the Gators also failed to match their previous output in NCAA qualifying times and speed in the pool Saturday in the O’Connell Center Natatorium.
“We were hit the hardest with the flu, so we really just had to go wherever they needed us to go,” said junior Shara Stafford, who managed one of her best performances at home with a win in the 200-yard freestyle — an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 1:48.76.
Along with Stafford, Florida (4-3, 0-1 SEC) received a strong effort from junior Sarah Bateman, who won two events individually and contributed to both of the Gators’ relay wins. Bateman’s participation in four events was a rarity in the meet, as many of the women’s swimmers were pulled after one event to help them further recover from the team’s flu spell.
Another issue surrounding the meet was the team’s response to missing Troy.
“Everybody is a little bit at ease when coach Troy is not here, just because he’s the head coach and you never know what he’s going to do,” Stafford said.
In Troy’s place was associate head coach Martyn Wilby, who said something was missing from both teams, though UF only lost one event the entire meet.
“The focus was OK. It wasn’t great,” Wilby said. “Over the next two weeks, they’re going to really be under the gun.”
For the men (4-2, 2-0 SEC), freshman Michael Lewark posted career-highs in the 1- and 3-meter dives. Coming into the meet, Lewark said his focus was on replacing the output of his brother, Andrew.
“[Andrew] just came out and told me to let my body do the work, and everything else would fall in place,” Lewark said. “I just went out and tried to win both boards like he would.”
