Two new recruits have joined the Gators men’s swimming and diving team. Sophomore Nick Alexiou, a transfer from Virginia, and Enzo Martinez, a freshman from Uruguay, both enrolled for the spring semester and have been cleared by the NCAA to compete.
However, Florida’s coaching staff is still deciding whether it wants to use a year of eligibility or have the two swimmers redshirt this season.
“Both of them come in, and we’re not quite as sure what their backgrounds are because the first semester for Nick was in transition,” said coach Gregg Troy.
“Enzo is coming from another country, so we haven’t decided in fact whether they’ll swim or whether they’ll redshirt. It depends a little bit on what we see.”
Alexiou — a 2013 All-American in the 800-yard freestyle relay his freshman year — is a familiar face for Troy.
The Gators scouted the backstroke and freestyle specialist from Clearwater High.
Troy said he is thinking about the future of the program and what Alexiou brings to the table.
With Alexiou having three years of his eligibility remaining, keeping him out this year looks to benefit the program down the road.
UF’s class is already strong. Florida landed the top sprinter in the 2014 recruiting class, Caeleb Dressel, and now it bolsters its sprinting group with Martinez, a 50- and 100-yard freestyler who swam the latter at the 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona in the summer.
His only real chance at competing this year hinges on his ability to make an impact in the 200-yard freestyle relay, but his role has not been determined yet.
With only three dual meets remaining on the schedule, the Gators’ main focus at this point in the season is on the conference and national championship meets.
“They’re kind of like dress rehearsals,” Troy said, “so we’re going to go through the same sort of routine that we would at the end of the year.”
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Florida swimmers line up to begin the men’s open 400-meter individual medley during the Pinch A Penny All Florida Invitational on Sept. 28 in the O’Connell Center.
