UF S&D: Liendo Takes Home Second National Title; Chaney Reclaims Program’s 100 Back Top Spot

osh Liendo becomes the first Gator since 2018 to win the 100-yard Butterfly after going 43.07, while Adam Chaney goes sub 14 in the 100-yard Backstroke to regain the program’s best time.

Friday Time Trial Results<https://floridagators.com/common/controls/doc_handler.aspx?doc=36148> | Friday Finals Results<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/3/29/Friday_Finals_Results.pdf>

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After advancing 12 Gators to Day 3 Finals session, the Florida men scored 112 points to position themselves in third following Friday’s events at the 2024 NCAA Championships inside the IU Natatorium.

Josh Liendo improved on his 100-yard butterfly for the second time today to capture his second Individual Title of the week. His 43.07 sits second in history, trailing behind Caeleb Dressel’s 42.80. He becomes the fourth Gator to win the 100 fly, behind his Head Coach Anthony Nesty, who won three-consecutive titles from 1990-92, Marcin Cieslak and Dressel’s back-to-back run from 2017-18. He has now claimed the 50 Free and 100 Fly this week as well as a member on the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay winning teams. Liendo captured the 100 free Title at last year’s Championships in Minneapolis and looks to defend his title tomorrow.

In addition, Florida had big performances from Adam Chaney in the 100-yard backstroke. The senior slashed his two-year personal best time of 44.34 during morning prelims with 44.24. The 11-time All-American cruised to a 43.99 in the Finals to score 16 points for Florida, while reclaiming the school record that was broken by freshman Jonny Marshall at SEC Championships about a month ago. Marshall also qualified for the Championship Final after just sneaking into the top-eight with a 44.52 during morning prelims. He finished eighth in the Nation after registering a 44.86 in his first NCAA event.

Scotty Buff had a big day himself, being the lone Gator to compete in two individual events. The freshman qualified for the consolation final in both of his events, while posting the fifth-best time in program history in the 100 back (45.20). He went on to finish the 100 fly in 44.88 for 12th place. About an hour later, he went 45.33 in the 100 back for 16th.

Mason Laur and Giovanni Linscheer headlined the 400 IM, as the duo recorded the fifth and ninth-top times in the record books. Laur improved from his 2023 11th-place time of 3:40.77 to touch the wall in 3:37.98, good for sixth. His fellow Gator, Gio, put together a personal-best 3:39.36 during morning prelims where he advanced to his first Championships Final. The sophomore took seventh at 3:39.90. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero represented Florida in the Consolation Final, where he placed 16th with 3:43.01.

Julian Smith made some noise in the 100-yard breaststroke prelims, dropping 0.32 seconds off his seed time to go 50.94. It marks the second-best time in Florida history, following another one of Dressel’s impressive times (50.03). The junior claimed seventh in the Championship Final with 51.18 to tally his highest individual All-American honor. Florida saw a first-place finish from Aleksas Savickas in the Consolation Final, as the sophomore swam a 51.06 to take the top spot in the opening Final heat. His ninth place finished is an improvement from 13th at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Macguire McDuff and Jake Mitchell teamed up in the 200-yard free consolation final, with McDuff going 1:31.88 for 10th. Mitchell went for 1:31.92 (13th place) after swimming a personal best time of 1:31.55 during prelims. It marks the third-best time of all-time for Florida.

In the final event of the night, the 400 Medley Relay Team was disqualified after an early takeoff.

Diving
Brother duo Skip and Peyton Donald competing in the 3-Meter this afternoon. After qualifying for the second-consecutive year, Skip showed his Championship experience by recording two 60+ scores in his opening two dives. He went on to place in the top 16 with a score of 358.65. The fifth year advanced to the consolation final, where he ended 16th overall with a 355.30 score. He is set to compete in platform tomorrow.

Following his 14th-place finish in the 1-Meter yesterday, Peyton made his 3-Meter Championship debut. The sophomore finished 21st with a 348.25 to conclude his NCAA contest.

Hear From Winning Gator Josh Liendo

On Swimming the second-fastest 100 Fly…
“This morning was all about details and I think I hit those really well this morning. Not so much tonight, but I was just getting after it a little more. Swam my best time, which means I am improving and I couldn’t be happier than that.”

Up Next
The 2024 Men’s NCAA Championships concludes on Saturday, as morning prelims start at 10 a.m. with the 100 Free, 200 Free, 200 Breast and 200 Fly. Diving will climb the tower for platform prelims starting at noon, while the first five mile heats will begin at 3:45 p.m. The last 1650-yard free heat kicks off Finals at 6 p.m. and the 400 Free Relay Team will close out Championship competition.

Top 10 Standings
1. Arizona – 343
2. California – 286.5
3. Florida – 273
4. Indiana – 247
5. NC State – 206
6. Texas – 165
7. Tennessee – 147
8. Stanford – 144
9. Virginia Tech – 116
10. Georgia 88

All-American Tracker
200 Medley Relay – Adam Chaney, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo, Macguire McDuff
800 Freestyle Relay – Macguire McDuff, Julian Smith, Oskar Lindholm, Jake Mitchell
200 Freestyle Relay – Josh Liendo, Adam Chaney, Julian Smith, Macguire McDuff
50 Freestyle: Josh Liendo
400 IM – Mason Laur and Giovanni Linscheer
100 Butterfly: Josh Liendo
100 Breaststroke: Julian Smith
100 Backstroke: Adam Chaney and Jonny Marshall

Honorable Mention All-American Tracker
500 Freestyle: Jake Mitchell and Giovanni Linscheer
200 IM: Julian Smith
50 Free: Adam Chaney and Ed Fullum-Huot
400 IM – Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero
100 Butterfly: Scotty Buff
200 Freestyle: Jake Mitchell and Macguire McDuff
100 Breaststroke: Aleksas Savickas
100 Backstroke: Scotty Buff

Friday’s Complete Results
Results from Friday’s Finals and Prelims can be found below as well as Saturday’s schedule can be found below.
Friday, March 29
Prelims Results – Top 16 advance to Finals

Men’s 400 Yard IM Yard

3. Mason Laur – 3:38.41(Dropped -1.34)
7. Giovanni Linscheer – 3:39.36 (Dropped -0.25)
13. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero – 3:41.22(Dropped -3.35)
27. Eric Brown – 3:43.67 (Added +1.00)

Men’s 100 Yard Fly

1. Josh Liendo – 43.30 (Dropped -0.59)
13. Scotty Buff – 44.88 (Added +0.50)

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle

9. Jake Mitchell – 1:31.55 (Dropped -0.29)
11.Macguire McDuff – 1:31.70 (Added +1.06)
34. Oskar Lindholm – 1:33.53 (Added +0.37)

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke

4. Julian Smith – 50.94 (Dropped -0.32)
9. Aleksas Savickas – 51.35 (Added +0.34)
32. Peter Bretzmann – 52.75 (Dropped -0.62)

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke

4. Adam Chaney – 44.24 (Dropped -0.63)
8. Jonny Marshall – 44.52 (Added +0.40)
16. Scotty Buff – 45.20 (Dropped -0.09)

Men’s 3-Meter Diving

Peyton Donald | 21st Place

* Round 1 – 64.50
* Round 2 – 65.10 / 129.60
* Round 3 – 45.00 / 174.60
* Round 4 – 57.75 / 232.35
* Round 5 – 61.60 / 293.85
* Round 6 – 54.40 / 348.25
Skip Donald | 14th Place

* Round 1 – 60.45
* Round 2 – 61.20 / 121.65
* Round 3 – 60.00 / 181.65
* Round 4 – 58.50 / 240.15
* Round 5 – 55.50 / 295.65
* Round 6 – 63.00 / 358.65

Friday, March 29
Finals Results

Men’s 3-Meter Diving

Skip Donald | 16th Place

* Round 1 – 49.60
* Round 2 – 61.20 / 110.80
* Round 3 – 60.00 / 170.80
* Round 4 – 58.50 / 229.30
* Round 5 – 67.50 / 296.80
* Round 6 – 58.50 / 355.30

Men’s 400 Yard IM Yard

6. Mason Laur – 3:37.98
7. Gio Linsheer – 3:39.90
16. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero – 3:43.01

Men’s 100 Yard Fly

1. Josh Liendo – 43.07
12. Scotty Buff – 44.88

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle

10. Macguire McDuff – 1:31.83
13. Jake Mitchell – 1:31.92

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke

7. Julian Smith – 51.18
9. Aleksas Savickas – 51.06

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke

3. Adam Chaney – 43.99
8. Jonny Marshall – 44.86
16. Scotty Buff – 45.33

2024 NCAA DI men’s swimming and diving championships remaining schedule | All times ET.

Saturday, March 30:
10:00 a.m. – Trials: 100-yard freestyle
Trials: 200-yard backstroke
Trials: 200-yard breaststroke
Trials: 200-yard butterfly
Trials: Platform diving
3:45 p.m. – Trials: 1,650-yard freestyle — All but heat of time finals
5:15 p.m. – Consolation Finals: Platform diving
6:00 p.m. – Finals: 1,650-yard freestyle (last heat of timed finals)
Consolation Finals: 200-yard backstroke
Finals: 200-yard backstroke
Consolation Finals: 100-yard freestyle
Finals: 100-yard freestyle
Consolation Finals: 200-yard breaststroke
Finals: 200-yard breaststroke
Consolation Finals: 200-yard butterfly
Finals: 200-yard butterfly
Finals: Platform diving
Finals: 400-yard freestyle relay