This Weekend in Gators Sports: Tennis Wins Big, Swim and Dive Stays Perfect

Florida swimming and diving and men’s tennis posted strong results on the road over the weekend. 

Gators men’s tennis returned to Gainesville stamping 15 wins on the weekend at the three-day Bedford Cup hosted by UCF, while Florida men’s and women’s swim and dive remained undefeated against Kentucky 31-0 all time.

Men’s Tennis: Doubles Title Leads Bedford Cup Run

Florida redshirt freshman Roman Sancilio made his season debut at the Bedford Cup, which featured eight of the top teams from schools across the state.

Alaa Trifi and Sancilio earned the champion title in the men’s doubles Draw 2 flight. 

They went 3-0 in their first outing as partners, defeating USF’s James Newton and Artem Lyapshin in the final. 

Sancilio finished strong in singles play as well. He went undefeated  in the red flight draw until the final. He earned a first-round bye as top-seed before defeating Mark Neyelov and Samuel Vidales from University of West Florida in the following two rounds. He battled to a semifinal win against USF’s Artem Lyapshin (7-6, 6-2) before falling in the final to FGCU’s Stefan Correa (6-4, 3-6, 4-6). 

Trifi competed in the blue flight, coasting through the first three matches. He defeated two FAU foes and USF’s Timeo Gaillard before his singles run ended in the semifinals. He fell to Clement Lemire from UCF in the semifinals (6-7, 6-4, [10-7]). Lemire went on to win the championship.

Both Trifi and Sancilio went 6-1 overall at the UTSA National Campus.

Another new pairing of sophomore Andreas Timini and freshman Ty Host took on doubles play. They competed in the Draw 1 bracket and fell in the first round to the pair of Mark Havlicek and Marek Pazdera from FAU (6-7).

Both Timini and Host also competed in the blue flight of the singles tournament. 

Host advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was knocked out by Lemire. Timini had a slow start, facing a loss in the opening round (4-6, 7-6, [10-5]). He went on to sweep all four of his opponents in the consolation draw, defeating USF’s James Newton in the final (6-1, 6-1). He finished the tournament 4-2.

Florida men’s tennis will hit the court again Oct. 14-19 at the ITA Regional Championships in Atlanta.

Swim and Dive: Perfect Against Kentucky

The visiting Florida men’s and women’s swim and dive teams maintained their perfect record against the Wildcats.

The No. 3 men’s team saw nine athletes combine for 12 of the Gators’ 23 wins. Sophomore Jesus Agundez Mora swept the men’s diving events with a score of 352.58 in the 1-meter dive and a 377.33 in the 3-meter. As a freshman, Mora earned the Gators’ highest finish in 39 years, placing second in the NCAA Championship. 

Freshman Miguel Tovar and seniors Conor Gesing and Jesus Gonzalez wrapped up the top four, providing Florida with a sweep in the 3-meter. 

“At this point in the season, we aren’t focused as much on scores and results but progression,” diving coach Bryan Gillooly said. “It’s a long season and we are just getting started.”

Junior Devin Dilger provided strong performances for his 200 Medley Relay and 400 Free Medley teams. The Gators won both events after Dilger closed the gap in the 400 Free Medley to finish  the meet with a win. 

He also captured two more individual wins in the 50 and 100 Free events. 

On the women’s side, nine Gators combined for the final 11 wins of the meet. Florida made an early statement by winning each of its first five events, including the 200 Medley Relay, 1,000 Free, 200 Free, 100 Back and 100 Breast. 

SEC Freshman of the Week Maddie Moreth found success in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke before combining with sophomores Grace Rabb and Sylvia Statkevicius and senior Catie Choate for an additional win in the 200 Medley Relay. 

“It was a great experience having both teams compete together for the first time this season, with our captains leading by example and helping the freshman grow and improve week after week,” UF coach Anthony Nesty said.

Senior Camyla Monroy led the way on the springboards, finishing first in the 3-meter and second in the 1-meter. 

Gators diving opens the home schedule Oct. 16 against  the Miami Hurricanes. The swimmers travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to face the Cavaliers on Oct. 17.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Swimming and Diving, Gators Tennis