On Wednesday, UF senior Jan Switkowski showed why he’s already earning awards just weeks into the season.
After being named SEC Male Swimmer of the Week, Switkowski reached the podium in three separate events as both the Gators men’s and women’s swimming teams beat the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Switkowski won the men’s 100-yard butterfly and placed third in both the men’s 100 freestyle and the men’s 200 fly as the Gators men’s team beat the Crimson Tide, 158-140. The men’s team, now ranked No. 3 in the nation, found plenty of success on Wednesday, with senior standout Caeleb Dressel placing first in the men’s 50 free, senior Ben Lawless winning the men’s 1650 and 500 free, sophomore Khader Baqlah winning the men’s 200 freestyle, sophomore Marco Guarente in the men’s 200 breaststroke and Mark Szaranek winning the men’s 400 individual medley.
The No. 20 women’s team won decisively with a score of 166-134. UF’s performance included a complete sweep in the women’s 500 freestyle, with sophomore Savanna Faulconer taking first and freshman Nikki Miller, freshman Taylor Ault, and junior Kahra Williams placing second, third, and fourth respectively. Other Gators victories included Ault in the women’s 1650 free, sophomore Kelsey Dambacher in the women’s 200 free, junior Hannah Burns in the women’s 200 fly, junior Sydney Sell in the women’s 200 backstroke and sophomore Kelly Fertel in the women’s 400 IM.
"We did a great job racing on both sides,” UF coach Gregg Troy said in a release. “Very good team effort, despite not winning any relays. The divers did an especially good job today."
The diving team thrived on the back of sophomore Brooke Madden, who won in the women’s 1-meter with a score of 285.60 as well as the women’s 3-meter with a score of 296.40. Sophomore Alex Farrow emerged victorious in the men’s 3-meter with a score of 322.20.
"The divers did well today. Not their best diving today, but at this point in the season that is expected,” diving coach Brian Gillooly said. “The great thing is that we competed much better. Coming off of the Indiana/Texas meet, that was our main focus and they did just that."
"If you can miss a dive and not let it take you out of the competition, you can still earn some valuable team points,” he added. “Going 1-2 in three events is a testament to that. Now let's see if we can maintain that focus against Georgia."
UF doesn’t get to celebrate its victory for long, as it’ll be back in Gainesville competing in yet another SEC meet as it hosts Georgia at the O’Connell Center on Thursday for the diving team, starting at 6 p.m, and Friday for the swimming team, starting at 10 a.m.
You can follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells, and contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
After being named SEC Male Swimmer of the Week, Switkowski reached the podium in three separate events during the Gators swimming and diving teams' win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
