The UF men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will travel to Auburn, Alabama, on Sunday and relax, per coach Gregg Troy’s orders.
The Southeastern Conference Championships begin Tuesday and last five days, but Troy said the teams will need time to adjust for the "very closely-contested meet."
"On paper, Georgia is probably the best team — the team to beat on both the men and women’s side," Troy said.
Last season, the Georgia men’s placed third at the SEC Championships, while the women took the crown.
However, Florida’s No. 1 men’s team should also be wary of Auburn, where the teams will be on home territory. The No. 5 Auburn men’s team finished second last year and the year before, both to Florida.
In 2013, Florida broke Auburn’s streak of 16-straight SEC Championships, which was the third longest streak of all sports in the conference’s history.
Seniors Matt Elliott, Dan Wallace and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez each said their favorite memory as a swimmer at Florida was the team’s first time winning SEC Championships in 2013.
"It’s why you come to Florida," Troy said. "You want to be competing for this type of situation, and it’s double-important because we have a lot of guys qualified for the NCAA meets so it carries a bigger weight for them."
The No. 7 women’s swimming and diving has finished third place two years in a row, both seasons behind No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Texas A&M.
"Women’s team has had a lot of adversity this year, but that’s kind of been their trademark of coming back really well in those situations," Troy said.
As for the length of the tournament, Troy said the swimmers were trained the entire season to build their endurance for next week.
"To have days where you have to go to the well twice a day for five days is pretty big," Troy said.
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Junior Matt Elliott competes in the men's open 100 breast at the Pinch a Penny All-Florida Invitation at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Sept. 28.
