Photo courtesy of @GatorsSwimDv.

Florida Men’s Swimming and Diving Sits Fourth After Opening Night at NCAAs

Following the opening night of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, the Florida Gators sit in fourth place. The Gators also earned All-American honors in the 200-medley relay and 800-freestyle relay.

200 Medley

Florida’s third-place finish in the 200-medley anchors their stay at the NCAAs through day one. Clocking in at 1:21.14, second-fastest in school history, Adam Chaney, Aleksas Savickas, Eric Friese, and Joshua Liendo got the championships off to a blazing start. Florida moved up to the top three thanks to Liendo’s event-leading 18.03 50 free split. During the regular season, Liendo clocked an 18.83 time in the 50 free at the UGA Fall Invitational, the third-fastest in program history.

800 Freestyle

Florida finished fifth in the 800 free relay after clocking in at 6:08.79. Macguire McDuff‘s leadoff split of 1:31.56 and Julian Smith‘s anchor split of 1:31.92 gave the Gators 28 points, propelling Florida’s effort with 28 points. Smith had personal-best swims of 52.73 in the 100 breast to finish 12th and 1:44.58 in the 200 IM for 18th, and 1:55.82 in the 200 breast to finish 19th during the 2022-23 season.

Day One Rankings

2023 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships Standings:

1. Arizona State – 68 points
2. NC State – 66 points
3. California – 62 points
4. Florida – 60 points
5. Indiana – 58 points
6. Texas – 50 points
7. Louisville – 42 points
8. Auburn – 40 points
9. Stanford – 38 points
10. Alabama – 26 points

Next Up

Florida Men’s swimming and diving will look to continue its hot start at NCAAs less than a week after Florida Women’s swimming and diving finished ninth at their tournament.Β 

Thursday – Prelims at 11 a.m. | Finals at 7 p.m.
500 Free
200 IM
50 Free
1-Meter Diving
200 Free Relay

Friday – Prelims at 11 a.m. | Finals at 7 p.m.
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay

Saturday – Prelims at 11 a.m. | Finals at 7 p.m.
1650 Free
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
Platform Diving
400 Free Relay

About Rafael De Los Santos

Junior studying Journalism - Sports & Media at the University of Florida

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