Florida swimming and diving coach Gregg Troy gushed over Maxime Rooney ahead of UF’s fall season. He said he was excited to see what Rooney would do in his first meet.
And when the freshman got in the water this weekend at the All-Florida Invitational in Ft. Lauderdale, he showed why Troy had hyped him up.
Led by Rooney’s 101 points, which earned him the meet’s most outstanding swimmer award, the Florida men’s team cruised to an easy victory, finishing more than 100 points ahead of its closest challenger. The women’s team also coasted, finishing more than 300 points ahead of runner-up Miami. It was the seventh-consecutive victory for both teams in this competition.
"There was lots of good racing today,” Troy said in a release. “We're really excited about how well the entire group focused and raced. Obviously, it is still early season, and we have much to work on."
The Gators got major contributions from their freshman class in the win.
Aside from Rooney, freshman Kay Sargent was equally impressive on the women’s side, scoring 102 points on her way to the most outstanding swimmer award as well.
The freshman weren’t the only ones to find success this weekend, though. With the absence of several swimmers who competed in the Rio Olympics, who were held out to give them some time away from competition, there were several opportunities for other swimmers to step up.
Senior Alyssa Yambor-Maul won two individual titles — the women’s 200 fly and 200 back — on Sunday. Junior Ben Lawless also posted an individual victory for the men in the 1650 free.
Additionally, the diving team concluded the tournament on Saturday with a victory. However, diving coach Bryan Gillooly was more interested in gauging the team’s strengths and weaknesses rather than concerning himself with the outcome.
“There’s nothing like a competition setting, no matter who’s in it, to really spotlight areas that we can improve on,” Gillooly said in a release.
“We have time now to do that. Go back to the drawing board on what we learned here and be ready for our first dual-meet.”
The diving team won’t be alone in seeking improvements. Despite the swimming team’s commanding performance, it will have lots to work on as well.
And with an away matchup with in-state rival Florida State looming on Oct. 13 and a tough schedule following it, no member of the team can afford to become complacent.
“We’re really excited about how well the entire group focused and raced,” Troy said. “But obviously, it is still early in the season, and we have much to work on.”
Contact Drew Kozlin at dkozlin@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DrewKoz2.
Alyssa Yambor-Maul races in the 200 meter butterfly during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
