Gators Post School Records in 100y Breaststroke to Stretch Both Leads in Day Two of Georgia Invite
Julian Smith and Anita Bottazzo scratched their names in school history after recording program bests in the 100y breaststroke.
Thursday’s Results<https://floridagators.com/common/controls/doc_handler.aspx?doc=37897>
ATHENS, Ga. – Men’s senior Julian Smith and women’s freshman Anita Bottazzo continued the No. 4/6 Florida swimming & diving team’s momentum in day two of the Georgia Fall Invitational, as the pair scratched their names into the record books after swimming program bests in the 100y breaststroke.
Both teams remain at the top of the leaderboard following the second day of events. The men stay steady with 793.5 points, while the women hold firm with their 733.5.
Scores – Men
1. Florida – 793.5
2. Georgia – 581
3. Alabama – 438.5
4. LSU – 389
5. Missouri – 343
6. Wisconsin – 9
Scores – Women
1. Florida – 733.5
2. Georgia- 559.5
3. Alabama- 476.5
4. LSU – 390.5
5. Missouri – 347
6. South Carolina – 49
7. Georgia Southern University – 6
Smith became the first Gator ever to go sub-50 in the 100y breast, as the All-American went 49.98 to break former Gator Caeleb Dressel’s previous school and SEC record of 50.03 set in 2018, which was also the American record at the time. He nearly dropped a full second off his previous best 50.94 to now hold the nation’s leading time and take first place.
Making her first collegiate appearance of her career, Bottazzo took down the women’s 100y breast record after crusing to a 57.49. Her time marks the third-fastest freshman time ever, sitting behind Olympic champions Lilly King and Lydia Jacoby. The Imola, Italy native recorded close to a full second faster than the previous record of 58.68 that was set by current sophomore Molly Mayne at last year’s Fall Invitational.
Overall, the program had 55 Gators advance to the final’s session on Tuesday. The women had three swimmers earn an NCAA A-cut times, while six Lady Gators recorded an NCAA B-cut time. Smith’s record time was the only A-cut time on the men’s side, with 15 B standards being tallied.
Bottazzo’s record was one of three women’s top-ten times recorded on Thursday, as Catie Choate posted Florida women’s 100y backstroke seventh-best time after recording a 49.98. Additionally, the women’s 800y free relay A team of Bella Sims, Julie Broussaeu, Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk earned the school’s third-best time with 6:56.63.
Smith again was the only Gator on the men’s side to earn an individual top-time, marking his senior’s third individual top-ten time set this week.
Women Top-Ten Times
Event
Swimmer
Time
Top-10 Spot
100y Breaststroke
* Anita Bottazzo
* 57.49
* No. 1
100y Backstroke
* Catie Choate
* 49.98
* No. 7
Women’s 800y Free Relay
* Bella Sims, Julie Broussaeu, Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk
* 6:56.63
* Ties No. 3
Men Top-Time Times
Event
Swimmer
Time
Top-10 Spot
100y Breaststroke
* Julian Smith
* 49.98
* No. 1
Both teams tallied top-two finishes in six of the seven swimming events. The men remain undefeated in relay events after grabbing the top spot in both of Thursday’s finals.
Men’s Top-Three Finishes
Event
Swimmer
Time
Place
200 Medley Relay
* Jonny Marshall, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo and Alexander Painter
* 1:21.49
* 1st
400 IM
* Gio Linscheer
* 3:39.56
* 2nd
100 Butterfly
* Josh Liendo
* Scotty Buff
* 44.60
* 45.69
* 1st
* 2nd
100 Breaststroke
* Julian Smith
* Aleksas Savickas
* 49.98
* 51.36
* 1st
* 2nd
100 Backstroke
* Jonny Marshall
* 45.02
* 1st
800 Freestyle Relay
* Alexander Painter, Josh Liendo, Julian Smith and Jake Mitchell
* 6:12.85
* 1st
Women’s Top-Three Finishes
Event
Swimmer
Time
Place
200 Medley Relay
* Catie Choate, Anita Bottazzo, Olivia Peoples and Bella Sims
* 1:35.16
* 2nd
400 IM
* Bella Sims
* Emma Weyant
* Zoe Dixon
* 4:01.01
* 4:01.01
* 4:03.99
* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
100 Butterfly
* Olivia Peoples
* 51.56
* 1st
100 Breaststroke
* Anita Bottazzo
* Molly Mayne
* 57.49
* 58.97
* 1st
* 2nd
100 Backstroke
* Catie Choate
* 51.69
* 3rd
800 Freestyle Relay
* Bella Sims, Julie Brousseau, Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk
* 6:56.63
* 1st
Diving
Camyla Monroy was the only women diver to advance to the 1-meter finals, where the sophomore tallied her second-place No. 2 of the week after she improved her prelims score to 303.35. Men diver’s Conor Gesing and Peyton Donald advanced to finals in both springboard events, as Donald earned third place in the 3-meter with a 371.45 score.
Men’s 3-Meter Results
Diver
Prelim Score
Total Score
Place
Conor Gesing
* 333.55
* 371.45
* 3rd
Peyton Donald
* 322.25
* 327.40
* 7th
Elisha Dees
* 262.20
* NA
* 20th
Women’s 1-Meter Results
Diver
Prelim Score
Finals Score
Place
Camyla Monroy
* 283.70
* 303.35
* 2nd
Chloe Bishop
* 228.75
* NA
* 20th
Casey Greenberg
* 218.30
* NA
* 24th
Up Next
Friday marks the final day of the Georgia Invite. At 9:30 a.m. the 1,650 freestyle kicks off morning prelims, with the 200y backstroke, 100y freestyle,200y breaststroke and 200y butterfly events following. Both men’s and women’s diving squads head up the tower for platform at 11:00 a.m. Finals begin at 5:00 p.m. with the 400y free relays being the closer.
How to Watch
Prelims and finals will be streamed on SECN+ for authenticated subscribers of the network. Links for the live stream are available on the swim & dive schedule pages on Floridagators.com. Fans can follow Meet Mobile for updated results.
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