Though the UF men’s and women’s swimming teams won convincingly against LSU on Saturday, coach Gregg Troy made sure the dual meet was anything but comfortable for his swimmers.
In an effort to explore Florida’s depth and provide a challenge his team, Troy ripped up his traditional lineup and placed some of his top athletes in events they had little to no experience in.
Despite the changes, the UF men defeated LSU 185-115, while the Gators’ women’s squad also won its meet against the Tigers 171-122 in the O'Connell Center Natatorium.
The lineup changes forced some of the younger, less experienced Florida women to largely determine the outcome of the meet. Some standout performances were turned in by a trio of sophomores: Alicia Mathieu, who won the 1,000-yard freestyle, Alana Pazevic in the 100 back and Hilda Luthersdottir in the 200 breast.
Junior Jaime Bohunicky continued her hot start to the season, notching a pair of individual victories in the 50 and 100 free. Bohunicky, a Gainesville native, is one of the swimmers who Troy is expecting to provide leadership for his young squad.
“I need to step up and perform in my own races and help the freshman adapt to the program,” Bohunicky said. “The training and schoolwork are a lot for the freshmen to handle.”
She also talked about the way that those freshman and younger swimmers have helped the team.
“We’ve had a really strong freshman class come in, which has pushed everyone to try harder if they want to keep their position,” Bohunicky said.
Of the six individual wins earned by the Florida men, freshman swimmers accounted for four of them.
First-year swimmers Eduardo Solaeche, Dan Wallace, Carlos Omana, and reigning Southeastern Conference Male Freshman of the Week Matt Elliott were the newcomers to earn victories for the Gators.
Sophomore Marcin Cieslak, who recorded second-place and third-place individual finishes on Saturday, lauded the strength of his freshman teammates.
“I race against them all the time in practice,” Cieslak said, “and they’ll definitely be a force for this team by the end of the season.”
