The last time the Gators didn’t win the All-Florida Invitational, the majority of their current team was probably in middle school.
The tournament is set to take place again this weekend in Fort Lauderdale starting today.
And if Florida looks a little too confident, it’s because they have reason to be.
Both the men’s side and women’s side have won the tournament every year dating back to the 2011-2012 season. The year before that it was called the State of Florida Invite, and the Gators won that, too.
However, according to coach Gregg Troy, the competition is as stiff as ever. There are five teams on the women’s side and three teams on the men’s side.
The Women will have an especially tough path as they’re young squad will have to face ACC power Miami and an up-and-coming team in Florida Gulf Coast.
“The competition will be pretty good,” Troy said.
And while the men don’t have quite as strenuous of a lineup, Troy is still wary of the competition.
But with history on their side, the Gators head to Fort Lauderdale with confidence as they enter their first meet of the season.
Troy, more than anything, is just excited to get things going.
“Always exciting to open the season and actually have a chance to compete a little bit,” Troy said.
“It’ll be entirely different to see everyone in an actually competitive setting.”
Contact Drew Kozlin at dkozlin@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DrewKoz2.
UF coach Gregg Troy encourages his swimmers during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
