Florida Swim Sweeps Georgia in Rivalry Dual
The Gators looked right at home Friday afternoon, powerful off the walls, sharp in the turns and relentless in the relays. After finishing Thursday leading Georgia, the Gators were able to bring the heat once again on Day 2. Florida swim & dive outlasted and outpaced Georgia on both sides, with the women earning a 194-145 win and the men cruising to a 191-154 finish.
Florida wasted no time setting the tone. In the 200-yard medley relay, both Gator squads jumped ahead early. Catie Choate, Anita Bottazzo, Beatriz Bezerra and Addison Reese flew to a 1:37.09 finish to grab the win, while Carly Meeting, Molly Mayne, Zoe Dixon and Grace Rabb touched second in 1:39.26. Moments later, the men matched the intensity as Jonny Marshall, Aleksas Savickas, Josh Liendo and Alexander Painter combined for a blazing 1:24.23.
The meet belonged to the orange and blue from there. Lainy Kruger commanded the 200-yard freestyle, taking first in 1:44.05, while Aiden Norman led the men with a runner-up in the same event before storming back to win the 200-yard backstroke in 1:42.70.
Choate was unstoppable in the backstroke. She swept both the 100 and 200, setting the pace for a Gator sweep in the pool. Bottazzo was equally untouchable in the breaststroke, dominating the 100 (57.05) and 200 (2:07.89).
The Gator men kept the pressure on with strong performances across the board. Nil Cadevall, Aleksas Savickas and Jordan Willis delivered a two-three-four finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, then returned to do it again for the 200-yard. Devin Dilger fueled the sprint group, placing first in the 100-yard freestyle in 43.02, followed closely by Painter in 43.37.
Florida’s depth was on full display. Michaela Mattes finished first in the 200-yard butterfly. On the men’s side, Matt Cairns and Eric Brown finished third and fourth, keeping Florida’s momentum steady through the middle of the meet.
The Gators also made a splash in the individual medley. In the women’s 400-yard race, Julie Brousseau led a dominant Gator showing, taking first in 4:08.69. On the men’s side, Brown claimed second in 3:46.28, capping off another strong performance in the distance events.
The Gators also delivered late in the distance and sprint-fly events. Ahmed Jaouadi powered to a win in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:15.82. For the women, Camille Deboer took second in 4:45.74.
Fresh off breaking the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, Josh Liendo showed no signs of slowing down, flying to victory in the 100-yard version. Reese led the women with a third-place finish in 54.59, just ahead of Bezerra (54.81) and Mattes (56.11).
The Gators will next face Georgia again on Nov. 19 for the three-day Georgia Fall Invitational.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Swimming and Diving
