Following a win at the first-ever All-Florida Invitational and a dual-meet split against Virginia at home to open the season, the Florida swimming and diving program will travel to the University of Georgia Friday morning in its SEC and road opener. Meet time at the Gabrielsen Natatorium is scheduled for 11 a.m.
“They’re deep and talented everywhere,” head coach Gregg Troy said. ”It’s a great way to start your first traveling meet, because you’re going to see a lot of what you’ll see at the end of the year. It’s going to be a good experience. The men’s side we evaluated where we were weak. We’ve had the good fortune of getting three athletes back (Brett Fraser, Marco Loughran and Sebastien Rousseau) that we didn’t have for that (Virginia) meet because they were swimming at the Commonwealth Games. On the women’s side, we’re real pleased with where everything is. We’re trying to just move forward and get better as the year goes on.”
The last time out, the University of Florida women’s swimming and diving team edged out the University of Virginia women’s squad for a 150-148 win on Oct. 11 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natatorium, while the Gators fell short against the Cavaliers on the men’s side, 153-145. The two-point victory for the Lady Gators marked the closest finish on the women’s side since Florida squeaked by UCLA for a 150-149 victory during the 1997-98 season, while the loss by the men marked only the second time in the last decade the Gator men fell in their dual-meet opener.
Georgia enters the rivalry meet much like the Gators do, splitting its season-opening dual meet against a strong Atlantic Coast Conference team. The Lady Bulldogs defeated North Carolina on the road Oct. 22 with a 168-132 victory, while the men’s team dropped a 183-117 decision. It’s the second-straight year that the Bulldogs have opened the season with a dual-meet split against North Carolina before taking on Florida the following week.
In the all-time series between the Gators and Bulldogs, Florida holds a commanding 58-15-2 mark on the men’s side, while sporting a 13-11 record on the women’s side. In both teams’ SEC opener in Gainesville last season on Oct. 30,
2009, the Gator men picked up a 139-104 win over the Bulldogs, while UF’s 2010 NCAA Women’s Championship squad suffered their only conference loss of the 2009-10 campaign, 137-104. The Gator men have won nine-straight SEC openers, while the women’s squad has won nine of its last 10.
“We wrapped up two weeks of pretty good training since the Virginia meet,” Troy said. “It finished a great training cycle for us, and we get to finish it with a great competition versus Georgia this week. It’s always good to swim on the Florida-Georgia football weekend. It’s a little added intensity. It’s their first home meet. It presents some unique challenges. It’s the first time we’ve traveled with a lot of freshmen. The last couple of weeks have been a little bit of a challenge. We have a great group with great resiliency. We’re seeing probably the best women’s team in the country in Georgia. It’s always a good competition and it’s hard fought. We’re looking forward to a great competition this weekend.”
Senior captain Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) has led the way for the Gator men this season with seven individual event victories and four relay wins. The reigning 2010 NCAA and SEC Male Swimmer of the Year has already recorded a NCAA provisional mark in the 200-yard freestyle, swimming a national-best time of 1:36.53 against Virginia. For his efforts against the Cavaliers, the 2010-11 U.S. National Team member was named the SEC Male Swimmer of the Week for the first time in his career.
On the women’s side, freshman Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) has already recorded NCAA provisional marks in a staggering seven events (six individual, one relay), while winning a team-high eight individual events so far this season (10 total victories). After leading the women in points scored against Virginia, the 2008 Olympian became the first Gator freshman to be named SEC Female Swimmer of the Week since Feb. 3, 2009.
Senior diver Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) has anchored the diving squads, being awarded SEC Female Diver of the Week for the first time in her career after setting the school record in the women’s three-meter diving competition against Virginia with a score of 362.11. The lone senior on the women’s swimming and diving team also placed first in the one-meter diving competition with a score of 296.93. Dodson has yet to lose on the three-meter boards this season, while winning three of the four events she has competed in so far during the 2010-11 campaign.
