The UF swimming and diving season is here. From now until March 28, both the men’s and women’s squads will glide through the water in the attempt to improve upon the success of last season.
The women’s squad had it’s best season since 2011 during the 2018-2019 campaign. It finished second in the SEC and eighth in the NCAA rankings under first-year coach Jeff Poppell, who took over for coach Gregg Troy after serving two years as an assistant coach.
The men were lead by another first-year coach in Anthony Nesty. A 22-year member of UF’s coaching staff, Nesty was given control of the men’s team after Troy’s retirement following the 2017-2018 season. The team continued its recent dominance by securing a seventh-consecutive SEC title and finishing sixth in the NCAA Championships.
Here’s a look at both teams as they begin the 2019-20 season.
Women’s Squad
The women began their season on Thursday against FIU in a dual-meet.
It’s the first time the teams have competed against one another.
They will then travel to compete against the University of Miami on Friday and meet the men to compete against FAU on Saturday.
Coach Poppell has high hopes for his athletes, and believes the team has a great core of leadership.
He said the senior leadership on this year’s team is the best he’s been around at UF.
Men’s Squad
The men begin their season on Friday in UF’s first-ever tri-meet against Nova Southeastern University and Indian River State College.
Then they will travel to meet the women in Boca Raton, Florida, to face FAU on Saturday.
Coach Nesty stressed these meets are all about fundamentals and not swimming times to start the season.
“In the pool, we focus more on technical things,” he said. “The focus is on preparing these guys to do things correctly, and once we have that down we can kinda get into a regular routine.”
Because of this philosophy, and because the Gators are playing in out-of-conference matchups, every member of the team will be in the water.
Follow Dylan O'Shea on Twitter @dylanoshea24. Contact him at doshea@alligator.org.
