Florida Men, Women Roll Past Auburn Ahead of SEC Championships
Florida traveled to No. 15/13 Auburn on Friday afternoon to compete in their final SEC Dual Meet test of the regular season before gearing up for SEC Championships.
The last time these teams met for a traditional dual meet was in 2022, when the Gators swept the Tigers, with the men taking control 201-99 and the women claiming the win 184-116. Currently No. 5/8 and undefeated in conference play, Florida made sure to keep it that way.
Florida men triumphed over Auburn 193.5-105.5, and the women followed suit, 179 – 119. It was a true Gator takeover in the pool, with several sweeps in events ranging between short and long distance.
Ahmed Jaouadi and Julie Brousseau took wins in the men’s and women’s 500-yard and 1,000-yard free, respectively. With large gaps between the other swimmers, at times their leads made it look as though they were the only ones in the pool. Florida swimmers Luke Corey and Camille DeBoer secured runner-up in the 1,000-yard free and third place in the 500.
Catie Choate had her way with the backstroke events, touching the wall first in both the 100-yard and 200-yard back (50.95 and 1:50.66). On the men’s side of things, Aiden Norman finished in the same fashion, sweeping the two events in times of 45.69 and 1:41.76, respectively.
Continuing his dominant senior season, Josh Liendo came out flying in the men’s 100y butterfly, where the world-record holder finished in a time of 44.31. He was a core contributor to both the men’s sweep of the relay events, competing in both the 200y medley and 400y free. Alongside his other individual win in the 50y free (19.28), he tallied 19 points on the day, tied with Aleksas Savickas and Jaouadi.
Lainy Kruger led the women in points, with 22 on the day following first-place finishes in both the 100y and 200y free (49.08 & 1:45.45). She was also part of the winning women’s relays in the 200y medley and 400y free.
Florida finished on top in all breaststroke events, with Anita Bottazzo and Grace Rainey winning the 100y and 200y races with times of 58.13 and 2:09.46, respectively. Savickas, the school-record holder in the 200-yard breast, swept both swims for the men.
With their winning times in the men’s and women’s 200y IM, Nil Cadevall and Grace Rabb completed yet another event sweep for Florida. The Gators rounded out a strong day of swimming, providing a great deal of confidence as the regular season winds down.
As for the divers, Florida showed up and showed out, claiming victories in three out of the four events. Camyla Monroy came out on top in the women’s one-meter dive, with a final score of 294.60. Conor Gesing’s score of 358.65 earned himself a top finish in the one-meter dive while Jesus Agundez completed the men’s sweep in the three-meter dive (410.33).
The Gators will return home to host Florida State on Jan. 30. The in-state rivals will battle it out for their final dual meet of the regular season.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Swimming and Diving, NCAA
