With their last regular meet of the season, the UF men and women’s swimming and diving teams will compete against Tennessee at home in the O’Connell Center Natatorium on Saturday. It will also be the final regular season meet for the 10 men and three women seniors on the teams, celebrated as "senior day."
Coach Gregg Troy said the meet will have a lot of emotional energy, because for some of the seniors, it’s their last meet at home.
"It’s always big for the entire team," he said. "Everyone wants the seniors to go out on a good foot."
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Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez is a nine-time All-American, eight-time All-Southeastern Conference selection and three-time SEC All-Freshman honoree.
The Madrid, Spain, native said when he started swimming at UF, there wasn’t a strong unity.
"We were all really fast swimmers but we weren’t a team, but we found good leadership in older guys and those guys put every one together," he said.
"That’s when we won SEC (championship) for the first time, second time and now that I’m a senior, I’m just trying to do that with the younger guys, put everyone together and look for the same goal."
The intermedley and freestyle swimmer said he will remember Troy and the coaches not for their words but their actions.
"I went through a few surgeries here with my eye. All the coaches really took care of me," he said. "That was really meaningful for me, because I’m the only person in my family in the country. I was about to go blind and they really helped me a lot."
Solaeche-Gomez will apply for UF’s Master’s program in International Business upon graduation while training for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in Gainesville with Troy.
As for Saturday, "I would like to achieve a victory as a team and perform my best in the season. That would be a great way to finish," he said.
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Shelby McLean just wants to take it all in on Saturday.
"Of course I want to swim fast," she said. "I want to swim fast at every meet, but it’s my last meet at home... I just kind of want to enjoy the entire meet and not just focus on my times."
The freestyle and butterfly swimmer will graduate with a health education degree. McLean applied to nursing school and hopes to get accepted into the UF program.
Her favorite event is the 50-yard freestyle.
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Dan Wallace from North Berwick, Scotland, is a seven-time All-American, six-time All-SEC selection and was a three-time All-Freshman honoree.
"It’s been a great four years," he said. "I’ve been fortunate enough to win the majority of my dual meets. It would be great to finish on a high and beat Tennessee as a team."
Wallace said his main goal this season is to win the 500-yard freestyle in the NCAA Championships.
The intermedley and butterfly swimmer said his favorite memory on the team is when they beat Auburn at the SEC championship his sophomore year.
"After losing to them my freshman year and the past 20 years, it was great to break their streak and start our own streak of winning it," he said.
Wallace will graduate with a degree in Anthropology. He plans to stay in Gainesville and train for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics with Troy.
"When I committed here four years ago, I knew I would train here and swim with Scotland," he said. "It’s obviously a great place to train."
As for how the Scottish swimmer kept his drive over the four years, he said his constant motivator is to be the best he possibly can.
"Until I’m best in the world, there’s always more I can do," Wallace said.
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Summer Stephens said her last year has been nerve-racking.
"You feel like you still have so much to accomplish," she said.
Stephens swam her first event at 8 years old, which she said is a little late for someone who’s stuck with the sport so long.
As this year’s captain, Stephens said she sometimes feels like the mom of the team.
"If anyone needs anything, they know they can come to me," she said.
The Louisville, Kentucky, native said her favorite memory was when the women’s team competed in California for two days and spent the rest of the week together bonding and touring San Francisco.
Stephens said she will remember the determination Troy and the other coaches instilled in her.
"It been very difficult and we’re expected to achieve at a high level," she said.
"He’s taught us to be very highly motivated in everything we do. They want us to be the best all-around person."
The butterfly and inter-medley swimmer will graduate with a degree in zoology in December. She plans to attend medical school one day. Her favorite event is the 200-yard butterfly.
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Matt Elliott is a nine-time All-American, 2013 SEC Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke and 2012 SEC All-Freshman honoree.
"This summer I trained somewhere else to try to improve some of my technique in breaststroke," he said.
"I’ve just been trying to implement those changes that I’ve learned and trying to get a better feel for my stroke," Elliott said.
The Peoria, Illinois, native will graduate with a degree in geology and is still deciding whether to stay in Gainesville and train for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics with Troy.
"I finaled in the olympic trials in 2012," he said. "I need to see if I want to make that push for another year and a half."
His favorite memory is the first time they won the SEC championships .
"It was a rush and pulled together as a team to accomplish something pretty cool," he said.
Follow Mary Francis on Twitter @Bymaryfrancis
Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez competes in the men's open 400 IM at the Pinch a Penny All-Florida Invitation at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Sept. 28, 2013.
