After reeling off four straight wins this season with an inexperienced lineup, coach Gregg Troy knew the Gators’ youth would eventually catch up to them.
The Florida men’s team’s deficiencies finally came to the forefront on Saturday, as UF lost its grasp on first place after a disappointing performance.
The No. 7 Gators now sit in second place with 820 points, 33.5 behind No. 22 Virginia Tech at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
While the team took a step back on the second day of competition, the Florida men did manage to notch two event victories. The Gators claimed their first relay win of the weekend in the 800 yard freestyle relay, as freshman Matt Elliott also secured an individual title in the 100 breaststroke.
Following the successes in the free and breast strokes, Florida showed a glaring weakness in its team depth for the backstroke. Troy has in the past pointed to the discipline as a soft spot for the Gators, and their struggles continued Saturday as not a single UF swimmer cracked a top-10 finish in the event.
While the Florida men were experiencing their first real difficulty of the season, the fourth-ranked women cruised once again to expand their lead over Florida State to 60.5 points.
Junior Jamie Bohunicky and sophomore Elizabeth Beisel were the stars for the Gators, each earning one individual race win while also teaming up to help the Florida win the 800 freestyle relay.
