At UF’s Last Chance Meet over the weekend, coach Gregg Troy and the rest of the Gators coaching staff wanted to see how the men’s and women’s teams would respond after the SEC meet last month in Knoxville, Tennessee.
They couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.
“It was fantastic from our standpoint,” Troy said. “Probably three of the best days we could have possibly had.”
During the three-day event over the weekend, the Gators had 37 swimmers — 24 men and 13 women — post B-standard times, which gives the swimmers a chance to either qualify or pick up optional events for the NCAA Championship next month in Indianapolis.
“It was a highly successful meet for us,” Troy said. “We’ll find out the definite qualifiers on Wednesday for the women this week. The men still have one week.”
The Last Chance Meet, which was one of nine in the country, provided the women’s team a much-needed spark, especially considering it ended the regular season losing two consecutive meets and finished seventh at the SEC Championships.
“The main thing is we got a little more confidence on the women’s side,” Troy said. “They raced so well, even though they’re a little inexperienced. I think the extra week of them feeling confident about themselves, being at home in a little more comfortable environment showed.”
Judging by its performance this past weekend, Troy is happy with the improvements the women’s team has made throughout the year and believes it could have performed better at the SEC Championship.
“Had we had some of the performances we had at this weekend and put together relays — and it looks like we could — we probably would’ve been more like certainly fourth, maybe a little hunt for third,” Troy said. “I think that gives us a little sense of confidence moving forward because they are so young.”
For both the Gators men’s and women’s teams, the NCAA Championships pose a number of challenges, including competing on the road.
This year — because of the renovations made to the O’Connell Center — the Gators were forced to compete on the road for every competition this season except for their regular-season finale on Jan. 28 against Tennessee.
“I think swimming on the road helped everyone get some exposure to unique dynamics, which helped us at the conference meet,” Troy said. “We went to places that were either unenthusiastic or little bit of a hostile crowd.”
If anything, the Gators won’t make excuses for the long trip to Indianapolis. Instead, the athletes and coaching staff look forward to the challenge.
“We have the opportunity to go and compete,” Troy said. “It’s not really about obstacles but taking advantage of the opportunities you have.”
Contact Sean Denison at sdenison@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @seandenison.
UF coach Gregg Troy encourages his swimmers during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
