Florida’s Swim and Dive Team Triumphs Over Texas A&M in SEC Showdown

The Florida men’s and women’s swim and dive squads journeyed to College Station, Texas, to compete against No. 23/21 Texas A&M on Friday and to further their SEC campaign.

The No. 4 men’s team enhanced its record to 4-3 after leading in Friday’s competition. UF was coming off a 163-137 defeat at home to Indiana. The No. 4 women’s team improved to 5-1, with its sole loss occurring against Virginia earlier in the season.

Senior Julian Smith and junior Josh Liendo were the standout performers for the men’s team, each securing 18 points. Redshirt freshman Micayla Mattes was the top scorer for the women, also with 18 points.

The meet commenced with the 200-yard medley relay, in which the UF men’s and women’s teams secured the leading positions.

The UF men’s A team, which included sophomore Jonny Marshall, Smith, Liendo, and freshman Alexander Painter, finished first with a time of 1:25.53. The men’s B team took third place, while the C team came in fifth.

The women’s A team comprising sophomore Catie Choate, freshman Anita Bottazzo, senior Olivia Peoples, and freshman Addison Reese achieved first place with a time of 1:39.13. The women’s B and C teams placed third and fifth, respectively.

In the men’s 1,000-yard freestyle, the Gators dominated the rankings. Fifth-year Jake Mitchell claimed first, freshman Luke Corey took second, sophomore Andrew Taylor came in third, and sophomore Josh Parent finished fourth.

Mattes won the women’s 1000-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 9:48.37, while junior Camille Deboer finished third with a time of 10:03.29.

Freshman Julie Brosseau, the SwimCloud 2024 No. 1 recruit, secured first in the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.03. Painter and senior Oskar Lindholm took second and third, respectively, in the men’s 200-yard freestyle.

In the women’s 100 backstroke, junior Zoe Dixon placed third with a time of 55.10.

Marshall, the 2024 SEC champion in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, won the men’s 100-yard backstroke with a time of 47.10. Freshman Aiden Norman finished third with 48.68.

Bottazzo and sophomore Molly Mayne achieved first and second positions in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke. In the men’s event, Smith finished first with a time of 53.04, while junior Aleksas Savickas took third with a time of 54.81.

Senior Mason Laur secured first in the men’s 200-yard butterfly, finishing with a time of 1:45.67. In the women’s event, seniors Emma Weyant and Reese placed second and third.

Senior Micayla Cronk took first in the women’s 50-yard freestyle at 23.20, with Liendo finishing first in the men’s event at 19.29.

In the women’s 100-yard freestyle, Peoples and fifth-year Julia Heimstead took second and third. Painter finished second in the men’s 100-yard freestyle.

Weyant and Dixon placed second and third in the women’s 200-yard backstroke. Norman finished first in the men’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:44.14, followed closely by Marshall who took second.

In the men’s 200-yard backstroke, Savickas claimed first with a time of 1:57.49, while senior Raphael Rached Windmuller took second. Mayne achieved first in the women’s event, swimming a time of 2:13.51, with Bottazzo coming in second.

In the men’s 500-yard freestyle, the Gators swept the podium as junior Eric Brown, Corey, and Parent claimed the top three spots. Brown clocked a 4:28.03, Corey a 4:30.32, and Parent a 4:31.56.

Mattes finished in first place for the women’s 500-yard freestyle, recording a time of 4:50.11. Senior Mabel Zavaros secured third place with a time of 4:53.01.

Peoples achieved her first individual victory of the meet in the women’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.87. Liendo bagged his third win in the men’s 100-yard butterfly clocking in at 45.95.

Dixon and Smith earned victories in the women’s and men’s 200-yard individual medleys, respectively, marking both swimmers’ first wins of the meet. Dixon finished with a time of 2:02.33 and Smith at 1:46.00.

The swimming competitions concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relay.

In the women’s relay, Florida’s A team of Choate, sophomore Lainy Kruger, Reese, and Cronk secured first place with a cumulative time of 3:20.80. The B team ended up in fourth.

The men’s A team also finished first, including Painter, Liendo, freshman Devin Dilger, and Lindholm, with a time of 2:53.98. The B team placed third and the C team fifth.

Florida excelled in nearly every diving event.

Sophomore Camyla Monroy topped the women’s 3-meter and 1-meter events with scores of 346.28 and 315.98, respectively.

Junior Peyton Donald triumphed in the men’s 1-meter, achieving a score of 373.35, while also placing second in the 3-meter event.

The Gators will next host Florida State on January 31 at home.

Contact Isabella Sanin at isanin@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @BellaaSanin

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