UF S&D: Gators Host Virginia in First Home Dual Meet

Gators Host Virginia in First Home Dual Meet
Virginia is the three-time defending women’s national champions and ranked No. 1, Men ranked No. 15.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida men’s and women’s swim and dive continues the 2023-24 campaign on Friday, October 13 when the Gators host Virginia to take on the highly ranked Cavaliers. Competition is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET, with diving events beginning at 6 p.m. ET Thursday evening.

The men are ranked No. 3 and the women are ranked No. 7 in CSCAA rankings, which was released Thursday afternoon.

The Gators last competed on Sept. 29 in two different locations<https://floridagators.com/news/2023/9/29/womens-swimming-diving-women-secure-sec-win-over-vanderbilt-diving-debuts-in-miami.aspx>. The Florida women secured their first conference win of the season after beating Vanderbilt, 175-80. The Gators finished first in every event. The men’s diving squad started their season out in Miami, as two Gators made their diving season debut.

Florida’s newcomers impressed during the season opener, behind freshman Bella Sims, who won all three of her events on the way to SEC Women’s Freshman Swimmer of the Week honors on Oct. 3. The Nevada native finished in the top spot in the 100 backstroke, freestyle and butterfly, with times of 52.64, 49.20 and 53.06, respectfully. On top of that, she was the lead off in the 200-medley relay as Sims, Molly Mayne, Olivia Peoples, and Lilly Daly placed first with a 1:41.1. Isabel Ivey earned three first place finishes of her own in her Gator debut, taking the top spot in the 200 free with 1:47.44. The California transfer swam a 23.34 in the 50 free and a 2:01.64 in the 200 IM.

Freshman Connor Gesing was named Co-SEC Men’s Diver of the Week along with Allen Bottego from Texas A&M on Oct. 3. He earned his first collegiate honor after winning at the 1-meter with a score of 354.90 and the 3-meter with 412.13 last Friday at Miami.

The Virginia women are coming off three-straight national championships, and are ranked No. 1 in the most recent CSCAA poll, while the men are ranked No. 15. Friday’s meet is the season opener for the Cavaliers, who have eight swimmers on the USA National Roster.

Both program head coaches, Anthony Nesty and Todd DeSorbo were announced to be the head coaches of the U.S. men’s and women’s swim teams, respectively, at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Nesty and DeSorbo served as assistant coaches with the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, leading the team to 30 total medals. Together they served as head coaches for the U.S. team at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where American swimmers earned 45 medals in the pool – good for the most medals ever awarded at a world championship, surpassing the previous U.S. record of 38.

Live results can be followed on the MeetMobile app or at https://bit.ly/3rNxgkX.

Order of Events:

Thursday, Oct. 12th – 6 p.m.
#1 Women 1 mtr Diving
#2 Men 3 mtr Diving

Friday, Oct. 13th – 11 a.m.

#3 Women 200 Medley Relay
#4 Men 200 Medley Relay
#5 Women 1000 Free
#6 Men 1000 Free
#7 Women 200 Free
#8 Men 200 Free
#9 Women 100 Back
#10 Men 100 Back
#11 Women 100 Breast
#12 Men 100 Breast
#13 Women 200 Fly
#14 Men 200 Fly
#15 Women 50 Free
#16 Men 50 Free
#17 Men 1 mtr Diving
#18 Women 100 Free
#19 Men 100 Free
#20 Women 200 Back
#21 Men 200 Back
#22 Women 200 Breast
#23 Men 200 Breast
#24 Women 500 Free
#25 Men 500 Free
#26 Women 100 Fly
#27 Men 100 Fly
#28 Women 3 mtr Diving
#29 Women 400 IM
#30 Women 400 Free Relay
#31 Men 400 Free Relay