COLLEGE STATION, Texas – SEC Champions. X2.
For the ninth time in program history, and the first time since 1992-93, the Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams won SEC Championships during the same season.
The No. 5 Florida men grabbed their 11th consecutive SEC Championship Saturday night, scoring 1488.5 points. This title marks the 44th SEC Championship in program history, the second-most by any SEC team across all sports. The Gators are only the third team in the history of the SEC Championships to reach 11 consecutive titles (Florida – 13 from 1955-1968; Auburn – 16 from 1996-2012).
For the first time since 2009, the No. 6 Florida women are SEC Champions. The Gators racked up 1255 points en route to the 18th conference title in school history.
These titles give Florida its 257th and 258th SEC Championships, a league high. Florida has won at least one SEC team title for 45 consecutive season – the league’s longest current streak.
For head coach Anthony Nesty, Saturday marked his fifth-straight men’s title, and his first women’s title at the helm of Florida swimming. Nesty, who is in his second season as both the men’s and women’s head coach, is the second coach in UF history to win a men’s title and women’s title in the same season, joining Randy Reese, who did it five times (1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1990).
Florida is the first SEC school to win both the men’s and women’s title in the same season in 15 years (Auburn, 2008).
11 or More Consecutive SEC Championships
18
Florida
Volleyball
1991-2008
17
Arkansas
Men’s Cross Country
1991-2007
16
Auburn
Men’s Swimming & Diving
1997-2012
15
Tennessee
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
1964-1978
13
Florida
Men’s Swimming & Diving
1956-1968
11
Florida
Women’s Swimming & Diving
1986-1996
11
Florida
Men’s Swimming & Diving
2013-2023
Saturday Night Recap
Freshman Aleksas Savickas etched his name in SEC and Florida history, swimming a blistering 1:50.08 time in the 200 breast, smashing the SEC, Meet, Pool and School Record. Dillon Hillis snatched silver, swimming a career-best 1:51.14. Savickas broke Hillis’ meet record that stood for eight hours. In the B-final, Kevin Vargas placed 11th with a 1:54.91 time.
Florida women’s 400 free relay team of Ekaterina Nikonova, Talia Bates, Katie Mack, and Micayla Cronk set a school record 3:10.83 to add to the list of records set by the Gators this week. On the men’s side, Macguire McDuff, Joshua Liendo, Adam Chaney, and Julian Smith’s late push fell just short of gold, securing a silver medal for the Gators.
One of the most anticipated races of the week, the 100 free didn’t disappoint. With four Gators in the event, standout freshman Joshua Liendo snatched yet another silver medal, swimming a 41.24 after posting a 41.22 in the prelims. Macguire McDuff went 41.59 for fourth, with Julian Smith (42.30) finishing seventh and Adam Chaney (42.82) placing eighth.
Leonardo Garcia shined on the platform, giving Florida its first men’s diving medal of the meet, and second overall. Garcia scored an absurd second dive of 96.00, including five tens from the judges, and a final dive of 88.40 to vault him to the bronze medal at 418.65.
With the field half Gators, Ekaterina Nikonova won bronze in the 100 free, swimming the fourth-fastest time in school history. Micayla Cronk just missed the podium at 48.36 in fourth. Talia Bates finished sixth at 48.42, in front of Katie Mack at 48.89. The Gators earned 99 team points in the event.
Florida placed six of the top 13 times in the men’s 1650 free. Tyler Watson snatched bronze in the 1650 free, swimming a 14:38.50, the fourth-fastest time in school history. Eric Brown was fifth at 14:44.06, while Jake Mitchell continued his strong SEC Championships debut, swimming his timed final at 14:46.91 to drop 17.59 seconds off his previous time. Oskar Lindholm shaved 25.99 seconds off his time, finishing with a 14:52.71 and a tenth-place finish. Alfonso Mestre touched the wall in 14:52.88 for 12th, while Giovanni Linscheer went 14:53.65 to finish 13th.
In the women’s 1650 finals, freshman phenom Hayden Miller paced Florida, tallying a top-five finish at 15:59.21, moving into eighth all-time in Florida history. Tylor Mathieu finished eighth, touching the wall in 16:03.99, while Anna Auld, swimming in the final heat, swam a 16:09.52 for 13th. Camille DeBoer’s 16:11.63 put her in 15th, earning 12 points towards the team score. Elise Bauer placed 22nd, while Leah DeGeorge finished 33rd.
Gators registered seventh and eighth place finishes from Emma Weyant (1:54.06) and Mabel Zavaros (1:54.35) in the women’s 200 back final. Freshman Zoe Dixon finished fourth in the B-final, 12th overall at 1:54.15.
Olivia Peoples, the lone Florida representative in the women’s 200 breast finals, swam a 2:13.55 for 23rd.
Medals, Records
The Gators earned 30 medals during the week, including ten gold, eleven silvers and ten bronzes.
Joshua Liendo racked up six medals in his first ever SEC Championships, while Emma Weyant and Ekaterina Nikonova paced the women’s side with three each.
Florida set 14 records during the week; two SEC records, six school records. four meet records and two pool records.
The 400 Medley Relay team of Adam Chaney, Dillon Hillis, set a SEC, meet, and school record 2:59.48 during Friday night’s finals’ session, flirting with the NCAA all-time record of 2:59.22. They’ll get one more crack at it during the NCAA Championships next month in Minneapolis.
Freshman Aleksas Savickas smashed the SEC, Meet, Pool, and School record in the 200 breast, cruising to a 1:50.08. With that time, he now has the second-fastest in the country.
2023 SEC Gold Medalists
* 800 Free Relay – McDuff, Smith, Mestre, Mitchell – 6:08.64
* Pool Record
* 800 Free Relay – Nikonova, Bates, Weyant, Cronk – 6:57.11
* 200 Free Relay – McDuff, Liendo, Chaney, Mestre – 1:14.19
* Meet Record
* 500 Free – Jake Mitchell – 4:09.85
* 400 IM – Emma Weyant – 4:01.18
* 2nd-fastest in school history
* 100 Fly – Joshua Liendo – 44.11
* 2nd-fastest in school history
* 100 Back – Adam Chaney – 44.18
* Lowered his school record
* Fastest time in the nation
* 100 Breast – Dillon Hillis – 51.02
* 400 Medley Relay – Chaney, Hillis, Liendo, McDuff – 2:59.48
* SEC, Meet, School Record
* 200 Breast – Aleksas Savickas – 1:50.08
* SEC, Meet, Pool, School Record
* 2nd-fastest time in the nation
2023 SEC Silver Medalists
* 200 Medley Relay – Runnels, Kucheran, Peoples, Mack – 1:34.76
* School Record
* 200 Medley Relay – Chaney, Savickas, Friese, Liendo – 1:21.73
* 2nd-fastest in school history
* 50 Free – Joshua Liendo – 18.39
* 1-Meter – Maha Amer – 337.85
* 200 Fly – Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero – 1:41.37
* 100 Breast – Aleksas Savickas – 51.07
* 100 Free – Josh Liendo – 41.24
* 200 Breast – Dillon Hillis – 1:51.14
* 2nd-fastest in school history
* 400 Free Relay – Nikonova, Bates, Mack, Cronk – 3:10.83
* School Record
* 400 Free Relay – McDuff, Liendo, Chaney, Smith – 2:46.42
* 3rd-fastest in school history
2023 SEC Bronze Medalist
* 200 Free Relay – Nikonova, Mack, Bates, Cronk – 1:27.28
* 500 Free – Emma Weyant – 4:37.96
* 500 Free – Alfonso Mestre – 4:10.15
* 50 Free – Adam Chaney – 18.71
* 200 Free – Micayla Cronk – 1:43.77
* 200 Free – Macguire McDuff – 1:32.34
* 400 Medley Relay – Runnels, Kucheran, Peoples, Cronk – 3:29.98
* 2nd-fastest in school history
* 1650 Free – Tyler Watson – 14:38.50
* 100 Free – Ekaterina Nikonova – 47.97
* Platform – Leonardo Garcia – 418.65
Miscellaneous
* Grad transfer Nina Kucheran set the school record in the 100 breast at 59.12, barely missing the podium.
* Dillon Hillis clocked the meet record in the 200 breast during the prelims Saturday at 1:51.53. Hillis, who exercised his extra year of eligibility, broke a nearly eight-year record before Savickas broke it in the finals.
What they’re saying
Head Coach Anthony Nesty
On winning a women’s title…
“It’s rewarding for the entire program. We started in August with everyone getting here. Change is never easy, but our women raced well. We swam relays well. Now we just have to get ready for NCAA’s and have a great summer after that.”
On what’s going to stick out the most following two SEC Championships…
“Of course, the women, but have to give the men a lot of credit, doing it again for 11 years in a row. It’s just credit to these guys and credit to the program and all the Gators out there.”
Renowned swimming announcer and former Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines
On Florida’s chances at a NCAA men’s title…
“I really think Florida has a realistic shot at winning the national title when we get to Minneapolis… I think it definitely can happen.”
On why Florida can win a NCAA men’s title…
“It’s the depth and the superstars. They have all the mixes to put together a championship run. It takes great coaching. They have that obviously in Anthony Nesty. It takes great stars. They have that, we saw that earlier with so many swimmers step up and win and break SEC records. It takes relay strength. They have had great relays here. We saw that in the 400 medley when they almost broke the NCAA record. They have all the ingredients to make a championship run.”
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