Entering the South Carolina meet, Florida’s swimming and diving teams had a lot to prove.
The No. 2 ranked men were on a two-meet losing streak after being defeated by both Texas and Indiana on October 16 and by Georgia on October 30. The No. 12 ranked women were coming off three straight losses against Minnesota, Texas and Indiana, and Georgia.
“The men haven’t lost back to back meets in maybe 8 or 9 years, so it’s kind of a wake up call for them,” coach Gregg Troy said prior to the meet.
South Carolina proved to be the wake up call that both teams desperately needed, as both the men and women topped the Gamecocks with scores of 178-115 165.5-126.5, respectively.
On both the men’s and women’s team, the Gators placed first in nearly every competition they competed in. The women’s 200 Medley Relay team of senior Ashlee Linn, sophomore Paige Scheriger, Alyssa Yambor-Maul and senior Natalie Hinds set the tone early, placing first with a time of 1:43.74, narrowly edging out South Carolina who placed second with a time of 1:45.96 in the first race of the meet.
Juniors Jack Blyzinskyj, sophomore Mark Szaranek, freshman Jan Switkowski and sophomoreCaeleb Dressel edged past South Carolina with a time of 1:27.46 to the Gamecocks’ 1:30.23 in the men’s 200 Medley Relay.
Florida also swept races in both the men’s and women’s 200 Free, and the women’s 1000 free. In the men’s 200 Free, freshman Jan Switkowski claimed first with a time of 1:34.81, followed in close second and third by senior Pawel Werner and junior Mitch D’Arrigo, respectively.
In the women's 200 Free, Natalie Hinds came in first, touching out with a time of 1:49.29, followed by teammates freshman Mollie Pulte’s 1:50.15 and Georgia Marris’s 1:52.22.
On the diving team, senior Khalia Warner and freshman Sam Smith placed first in the 1-meter board for Florida. Warner also placed first in the 3-meter board later in the competition.
The Gators will now have two weeks off to train for the Buckeye Invitational In Columbus, Ohio on November 20-22.
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Florida swimmers line up to begin the men’s open 400-meter individual medley during the Pinch A Penny All Florida Invitational on Sept. 28 in the O’Connell Center.
