Gators finish strong on first day of NCAA Championships
By MICHELLE PROVENZANO< | Mar. 28, 2013Marcin Cieslak swam at a new level on the first night of the NCAA finals on Thursday.
Marcin Cieslak swam at a new level on the first night of the NCAA finals on Thursday.
Marcin Cieslak paced Florida at the 2012 NCAA Championships.
After Florida’s men were crowned as kings of swimming and diving in the Southeastern Conference last week, the Gators will now head to Georgia for the Bulldog Last Chance Meet. The meet will be a final opportunity for swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championships toward the end of March.
On the fifth and final day of the 2013 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, the men started the day in the lead while the women sat in third.
Florida’s men began day for of the Southeastern Conference championships ahead of Auburn for the fist time in the five-day event. The women, after surpassing Texas A&M on day three, set out to overtake Georgia for first place.
The Gators are trying to get over the hump.
Sometimes the good has to come with the bad. And that was the case for the Florida swimming and diving teams Saturday afternoon.
One of Sarra Lajnef’s most challenging obstacles was herself.
Elizabeth Beisel tried to swim her way into history against FAU.
The Gators capped off the SMU Classic in Dallas with a third-place showing. Florida tallied 289 points, which trailed first place USC’s 366 and North Carolina’s 292.5.
The No. 10 Florida swimming and diving team is coming off a first place showing in the third-annual All Florida Invitational.
On the second day of the All Florida Invitational, the Gators used 15 victories in the pool to maintain its first place position.
Although she had already won five Southeastern Conference titles, an NCAA title and a world title, junior Elizabeth Beisel was shocked when she won two Olympic medals in London.
At the 2012 London Olympics, coach Gregg Troy led the U.S. men’s swimming team to 16 medals, six of which came from athletes Troy coached at Florida.
When it comes to Michael Phelps, the answer seems obvious with just a cursory glance of the medals table. The guy has won 15 golds — “insane,” says Serena Williams, who certainly knows a thing or two about winning — and now he’s got more total Olympic medals than anyone, with a few more races to extend the record into almost unfathomable territory before he’s done in London.
In the 200 IM, the winner’s circle was only big enough for one Marcin.
Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel did not swim her personal best in the 400 IM at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, but she nearly won a national title anyway.
Entering the Southeastern Conference Championship
Florida coach Gregg Troy is tired of second place.
The Gators relied on their depth to pull out a