The No. 3 Florida Gators swim and dive team opened its season with a tall task of taking on the No. 1 women’s and No. 14 men’s squads in the nation after having its first two meets of the season canceled.
While Florida’s men’s team (1-0) emerged victorious by a score of 231-69 against Virginia (0-1), the UVA women’s team (1-0) showed why they have won four-straight national championships, defeating UF (0-1) 181-119 at the Virginia Aquatic and Fitness Center in Charlottesville on Friday.
In the diving portion, Florida junior Peyton Donald took the lead in the fourth set of his 1-meter dives. From there, he did not look back, finishing with an impressive 353.70 score for the Gators. School sophomore Conor Gesing held steady throughout his dives, finishing second with a 342.38 score.
In the women’s 3-meter, Florida sophomore Camyla Monroy held the lead after each set of her dives, eventually tallying a first-place finish with a 346.28 score. Florida junior Casey Greenberg finished in third with a 303.00 for the Gators.
The next rotation of dives yielded similar results.
In the women’s 1-meter dives, Monroy maintained her first-place lead en route to another victory, while Kaye and Greenburg claimed second and third, respectively.
The final tally for the Gators 1-meter divers saw Donald in first, Gesing in second, junior Elisha Dees in fourth and senior Brandon Wegner in sixth.
For the women’s 3-meter dives, Monroy continued her dominant performance on the boards, claiming another first place finish. Greenberg finished third and Chloe Bishop finished sixth for the Gators in the event.
Meanwhile, in the swimming lanes, the Virginia’s women’s squad won the 200 meter medley relay. For the men, junior Josh Liendo helped the Gators take a lead in the men’s 200 medley relay and later win it.
The UVA women’s team had a first-place finisher in the 800-Meter freestyle. However, Florida freshman Luke Whitlock won the men’s 800-meter freestyle, registering a 7.47.76 time in his first collegiate race.
In the 200-meter freestyle, Virginia second-season athlete Aimee Canny claimed victory on the women’s side. Florida junior Eric Brown won the first heat of the men’s race and UF fifth-year Jake Mitchell was victorious in the second heat with a time of 1:43.52.
UF sophomore Jonny Marshall was victorious in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 50.26. The men’s 100-meter breaststroke was won by Florida senior Julian Smith with a time of 57.27 as the Gators began to separate themselves.
Walsh went on to win the women’s 50-meter freestyle with a time of 23.10 seconds for Virginia, and the men’s race was won by Liendo with a time of 20.88 seconds. Smith followed up Liendo’s performance with a victory in the men’s 100-meter freestyle for the Gators with a time of 47.60 seconds.
Another strong spot for UF’s men’s team was the 200-meter backstroke. UF freshman Aiden Norman was dominant in his victory, securing a time of 1:51.02.
The UF men’s 400-meter freestyle was claimed by Mitchell with a 3:45.05 first-place finish for a first place finish.
Liendo continued his success with a 49.37-second victory in the 100-meter butterfly while Walsh went on to set the women’s world record in the 100 IM with a time of 55.98 seconds for the Gators.
The men’s second heat of the 200-meter IM finished in a tie between Florida year Joaqin Gonzalez Pinero and UVA year Mason Laur, allowing the Florida men’s team to firmly seal its victory.
Florida’s next meet will be a tri-meet in Tampa against Rollins College and the University of Tampa at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
Contact Jackson Colding at jcolding@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Colding_Jackson.
Jackson Colding is a junior sports journalism major and The Alligator's Fall 2024 Swim and Dive Reporter. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym and playing hockey. He cannot wait to be as involved with The Alligator as possible.
