The No. 2/3 ranked men’s and women’s programs will finally make their 2024-25 season debut.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After having back-to-back dual meets cancelled due to hurricane season, the No. 2/3 men’s and women’s swim and dive teams will finally make their 2024-25 season debut on Friday.
Both programs travel to Charlottesville, VA this Friday, Oct. 18 to compete against Virginia (Women ranked No. 1 and Men ranked No. 14). Diving begins at 10 a.m., with swim events starting at 1 p.m. The events will be swam in short course meters instead of yards.
Both swimming and diving will be streamed on ACCNX through the ESPN app. It is available through participating TV providers that carry ACC Network. Live results can also be found through the Meet Mobile app or @GatorsSwimDV on Twitter and Instagram.
The men are coming off an 12th straight SEC Championship and third-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships where the Gators won two relay national titles – 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay -and three individual titles from Josh Liendo: 50 Free and 100 Free, while defending his title in the 100 Fly.
The Gator women concluded their 2023-24 NCAA Championship run in third place, marking Florida’s best finish in 14 years. The 800 Free Relay team of Bella Sims, Isabel Ivey, Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk won the program’s first National Title in the event since 1989. Their 6:48.59 is a program record as well.
Preseason Gator Splashes
* Anthony Nesty opens up his seventh season as the men’s head coach and fourth season leading the women’s program.
* The Florida swimming and diving program was the only program who had both teams finish in the top-five at NCAA Championships in the 2023-24 season.
* In the CSCAA’s preseason rankings released on Sept. 26, the men’s team landed No. 2, while the women’s team secured No. 3.
* Florida returns 14 All-Americans on the men’s side, including Adam Chaney, Josh Liendo, Julian Smith and Jonny Marshall. The Gators return 10 All-Americans on the women’s side, including Emma Weyant, Bella Sims and Camyla Monroy.
* Florida adds a combined 14 newcomers (eight on the men’s and six on the women), including two 2024 Paris Olympians. Freshman Luke Whitlock became the youngest male to make U.S. Olympic Swimming roster since Michael Phelps in 2000 after earning a silver medal in the 800 freestyle at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. On the women’s side, freshman Julie Brousseau represented Team Canada in the 4×200 free relay
* Overall, 15 swimmers and divers represented Florida at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with six currently still competing for the Gators. Representing Team Canada, Josh Liendo won his first Olympic medal in Paris, earning silver in the 100m fly after clocking 49.99. Emma Weyant collected her second Olympic medal in July, adding a bronze medal in the 400m IM. She won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the event.
On Virginia:
* Coach Nesty Anthony Nesty worked alongside UVA head coach Todd DeSorbo at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nesty led the men’s squad, while DeSorbo led the women.
* The women enter the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason CSCAA poll with the men coming in at No. 14
* The women’s team has won the last four NCAA team titles, taking 25 individual titles and14 relays (including four of five last years and all five relays in 2023) in that span
* The women’s team returns 10 individual event All-Americans from last year’s NCAA Champion squad including three coming back as fifth-year graduate students: Anna Keating, Maxine Parker and Alex Walsh
* Of the six Cavaliers who competed at the Paris Olympics, four return to compete for UVA this season: Aimee Canny, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh and Emma Weber. The returning Cavaliers collected five medals in Paris with Gretchen Walsh winning two golds and two silvers and Emma Weber taking home a gold
* Gretchen Walsh was the 2023-24 Mary Garber Award Winner by the Atlantic Coast Conference as the top female athlete across all sports. She was the 2024 Honda Sport Award winner for swimming & diving, the CSCAA Swimmer of the Year, the ACC Swimmer of the Year and ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
* The men’s team returns two All-Americans, including grad student Noah Nichols who finished top-six in both the 100 and 200 breast at the NCAA Championships
* Jack Aikins returns to action after taking last year off to focus on international competition. Aikins collected four medals at the 2024 World Championships including two relay golds
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