Gators Make a Splash: Florida Takes Lead Over Georgia in Dual Meet
Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving hosted Georgia Thursday in their second dual meet of the season, and Florida finished day one of the event with a strong advantage in dive and select swim events.
The men’s team leads 93-36 and the women’s team holds strong at 99-25 going into Friday’s full day of swim events.
The meet marks the SEC opener for both the Gators and the Bulldogs. The Gators women’s team has gone undefeated in their last two meetings with the Bulldogs and look to do it again this year as the two-day event wraps up Friday.
The night began with six rounds of one-meter dives and ended with three-meter dives and platform events. Seven Gators divers competed against Georgia diver Mathew Bray. Both Florida men’s and women’s dive teams scored 57 points.
With an impressive combination of difficulty and execution, junior Conor Gesing secured first place on the one-meter event (373.73) and sophomore Jesus Agundez took the winning seat on the three-meter event (369.38). The stands were filled with anticipation during Agundez’s slow approach and erupted every time the Mexican native hit the water.
Florida freshman Maria Garcia was the clear leader on the springboard, earning first place on both the one-meter (325.20) and three-meter events (361.95). Diving coach Bryan Gillooly was visibly impressed with the level of her performance.
Freshman Ava Brinkman had a strong start on the one-meter dives but faced challenges on her platform performances. In rounds two and three, Brinkman executed a series of poor entries, flopping once on her back, then on her stomach to earn scores of 3.5 and 4.0, respectively. However, she regained her footing after a brief pep talk with Gillooly and went on to receive scores of 6.0 and above for the final three rounds.
Florida claimed victories in all nine events, except the men’s 50-yard breast stroke. The women won all five events. Bia Bezerra took first place in the 50-yard butterfly, Anita Bottazo won the 50-yard breaststroke, Catie Choate topped the 50-yard backstroke, and Sylvia Statkevicius claimed the 50-yard freestyle. Taking the title by only 0.09 seconds in the 1,000-yard freestyle was Julie Brousseau.
The Gator men also dominated, with two-time Olympian Josh Liendo taking both the 50-yard butterfly and freestyle events. Ahmed Jaouadi finished in first place on the 1,000-yard freestyle and Jonny Marshall won on the 50-yard back stroke.
The two-day meet continues Friday at 11 a.m., as the Gators look to maintain their lead.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Swimming and Diving, Uncategorized
