Marcin Cieslak swam at a new level on the first night of the NCAA finals on Thursday.
Cieslak took second place in the 200 IM finals at a new best of 1:41.45.
The junior’s time was more than a minute faster than his preliminary time on Thursday morning.
Cieslak was leading up until the last turn, where he fell behind Stanford’s David Nolan. His second place finish helped the Gators move to sixth place after day one of the championships.
Cieslak wasn’t the only Gator to make strides in the day-one finals.
Junior Brad deBorde forged through the water to take fifth place in the 50 free, finishing at 19.40. DeBorde was the only Florida swimmer in the 50-free finals.
Underclassmen also stepped up to give Florida an edge.
Sophomores Dan Wallace and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez finished in the top 10 in the 200 IM consolation finals. Wallace grabbed third place with a best time of 1:43261, and Solaeche-Gomez finished in sixth place with a consistent 1:44.30.
While some Gators forged ahead in the rankings, one fell behind.
Junior Sebastien Rousseau placed fifth in the 500-free preliminary, but came out of the finals behind at eighth place and with a 4:15.32 time – .01 seconds slower than his preliminary time.
For relays, Florida placed among the top 10 yet again.
In the 200 free relay, deBorde, Corey Main, Pawel Werner and Matthew Curby finished in 1:18.29 to earn the eighth-place spot.
In the 400-medley relay, Main, Cieslak, deBorde and Matt Elliot finished seventh in 3:08.40.
Florida holds a total of 97 points, only two shy of fifth-place Texas A&M and three shy of fourth-place Southern California. Michigan leads the championship with 153 points, followed by California with 123.5 and Auburn with 112.5.
Florida’s men will compete in today’s second round of preliminaries and finals, competing in eight events starting at 11 a.m.
Sophomore Matt Elliott competes in the 100-yard breaststroke against Tennessee on Feb. 1 at the O'Connell Center.
