GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving stayed put at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the latest national poll released Wednesday by the College Swimming Coaches’ Association of America (CSCAA). The women’s squad remains the only team in the country to compete in five dual meets against Top-25 opponents.
The Florida men are off to a 3-2 start, but boast an undefeated record in Southeastern Conference dual-meet competition (2-0). The men opened up the season winning the first-ever All-Florida Invitational, Oct. 1-3 in Gainesville, which included rival No. 18 Florida State. Missing four All-Americans, the Gators suffered a 153-145 loss to No. 13 Virginia at home on Oct. 11, before rebounding with a 170-130 victory at No. 11 Georgia on Oct. 29. On Nov. 4, the Orange and Blue improved to a perfect 2-0 in conference meets with a 160-136 triumph on the road at No. 22 LSU, extending its SEC dual-meet consecutive winning streak to seven. In the last dual meet of the fall season on Nov. 23, the Gators dropped a 184-116 decision at Florida State. The dual meet was sandwiched in between second-place finishes at the 2010 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational (Nov. 19-21) and the 2010 Big Al Open (Dec. 3-5), which combined to feature ranked schools Auburn (No. 6), Florida State, Texas A&M (No. 20) and Princeton (No. 25). After the men’s diving team placed in the finals of each event Jan. 3-5 at the Tennessee Diving Invitational, the swimming and diving team defeated Georgia Tech this past Friday by a 164.5-128.5 margin.
The Gator men currently hold the fastest SEC times in the 200-yard freestyle (1:34.70), 1,000 free (9:00.48), 200-yard individual medley (1:45.52), 400 IM (3:45.21) and 800-yard freestyle relay (6:31.74). All five times are in the top 10 nationally, while senior captain Conor Dwyer’s (Winnetka, Ill.) times in the 1,000 free and 400 IM rank as the fastest in the NCAA this season. The men are led by Dwyer, who on Tuesday became the only swimmer in SEC history to be named SEC Male Swimmer of the Week four times in the same season. On Nov. 3, the reigning 2010 NCAA and SEC Male Swimmer of the Year was named CollegeSwimming.com’s Counsilman-Hunsaker National Collegiate Male Swimmer of the Week for the second time in his career.
The Florida women’s team owns a 3-3 record (0-1 SEC) with one of the toughest schedules in the country. After winning the inaugural All-Florida Invitational at home featuring No. 25 Florida State, UF defeated No. 9 Virginia by a 150-148 margin, the closest finish on the women’s side since Florida squeaked by UCLA for a 150-149 victory during the 1997-98 season. Two weeks later on Oct. 29, the women suffered a 180-120 setback to No. 2 Georgia in Athens, Ga. On Nov. 5-6, the Gators traveled to Palo Alto, Calif., to compete against No. 1 Stanford and No. 15 Michigan. In the double-dual meet, the Gators fell to the No. 1 Cardinal, 227-175, while defeating the No. 15 Wolverines, 286-124. In the last dual meet of the fall season on Nov. 23, the Gators dropped a 187-113 decision at Florida State. The dual meet was wedged in between a third-place finish at the 2010 Georgia Tech Fall Invitational and a second-place finish at the 2010 Big Al Open. The Georgia Tech Invite featured ranked teams Texas A&M (No. 8), Auburn (No. 12) and Florida State. After the women’s diving team placed in the finals of each event Jan. 3-5 at the Tennessee Diving Invitational, the Gator women’s swimming and diving team defeated Georgia Tech this past Friday by a 169-106 margin.
The Gator women presently own the fastest SEC times in the 200-yard backstroke (1:54.27) and 400 IM (4:06.84), as well as having the highest scores in the one meter and platform diving competitions. Along with the Gators’ top times in the 50 free (22.41), 1,650 free (16:10.41) and 800 free relay (7:11.99), both the 200 back and 400 IM are in the top 10 nationally. The women are anchored by freshman swimmer Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.), who on Nov. 23, 2010, became the first female freshman in SEC history to be named SEC Female Swimmer of the Week three times in the same season. Two weeks earlier on Nov. 10, the 2010-11 U.S. National Team member was named CollegeSwimming.com’s Counsilman-Hunsaker National Collegiate Female Swimmer of the Week for the first time in her career.
The rankings were voted on by members of the CSCAA, with the next poll released Feb. 17, 2010.
