The reigning four-time Southeastern Conference swimming and diving champions begin their toughest four days of competition today.
The No. 3-ranked Gators will start their quest for a national championship in Atlanta as part of the men’s NCAA Championships.
Florida is looking to claim the program’s third national championship and its first in more than 30 years.
“We have a good group of a guys here that are looking forward to competition,” coach Gregg Troy said.
The Gators will enter Atlanta as one of the favorites to win the title.
In their last meet — the SEC Championships in Columbia, Missouri, in February — the Gators competed against what Troy referred to as their toughest conference competition in his 19-year tenure at Florida.
Six of the other nine competing SEC teams were ranked in the top 25.
Despite the stiff competition, the Gators found their stride and won their fourth straight consecutive SEC Championship.
Part of the formula to Florida’s success was its ability to win the relays. Unlike typical individual races, points awarded in relay events are worth double.
In the five relay events at the SEC meet, the Gators were victorious in four of them.
One of their four relay victories came in the 800-yard freestyle relay, which will be the first and only event today in Atlanta.
Florida’s SEC-winning time of 6:13.64 in the 800 was the second fastest in the nation this season.
The Gators’ quartet for that victory included senior Pawel Warner, junior Mitch D’Arrigo and sophomores Mark Szaranek and Jan Switkowski.
While it is unclear if Troy will stick to this lineup for today’s relay, all four swimmers did qualify for the NCAA meet.
But regardless of who qualified, the Gators will need to match, if not beat, their season-best time in the 800 if they want to make an early championship statement.
“We’ll see where we’re at and see what we can do,” Troy said.
Contact Sean Doty at sdoty@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @TheRealSeanDoty
Mitch D’Arrigo races in the 400 meter freestyle during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
