Florida men remain in first place, women sit third after three days of competition
Results</documents/2022/2/17/results_thursday_with_team_scores.pdf?id=32697> | Day 3 Prelim Recap<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2022_2_17_mens-2Dswimming-2Ddiving-2Dgators-2Dsend-2D26-2Dto-2Dfinals-2Don-2Dday-2D3-2Dof-2Dsec-2Dchampionships.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=Q-qP3iXS9coLgVQOUdajxJXIKLyJsqmBPB8fEWdphUo&e= > | Meet Notes<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2022_2_15_SEC-5FChampionships-5FNotes.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=sogK-0iHxn5BDVbCVyQoUso_Wp4p4ewD1_dH4fo7BPY&e= > | Championship Central<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__utsports.com_sports_2022_1_25_2022-2Dsec-2Dswimming-2Ddiving-2Dchampionships-2Dcentral.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=ESWf26I1NIrB-CEBljQcdHGLs7WeMmANCzGTI3G3F-M&e= >
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 5 Florida men and No. 17 Florida women continued to impress on Day 3 of the SEC Championships, with the men sitting first with 744 points and the women jumping up to third with 520 points.
The Gators collected three medals on Thursday night – one gold (Kieran Smith), one silver (Eric Friese) and one bronze (Trey Freeman).
The women started off the night with an incredibly strong overall performance in the 400 IM, collecting 83 points in the process. Mabel Zavaros led the way with a fifth-place finish (4:09.16 – B-cut), followed closely behind by Kathleen Golding, who cut over a second off her prelim time with a showing of 4:11.14.
Anna Auld (4:11.02) and Rosie Zavaros (4:13.04) each put up solid swims in the B-Final, finishing 11th and 13th overall for the Gators. Amanda Ray posted a 22nd-place finish with a B-cut swim of 4:15.23 to round out the 400 IM point scorers for the Gators.
Kieran Smith – the No. 1 seed in the 400 IM – swam a blistering 3:39.33 to claim his first individual gold of the meet. Smith, who already owns the third-fastest time in the nation this season, bettered that mark by close to a second. Mason Laur followed just behind Smith, posting a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:43.84.
Kevin Vargas cut just under three seconds off his prelim time to lead the way in the B-Final, touching the wall first with a 3:43.87. Jack VanDeusen finished second in the consolation heat with a time of 3:44.42, while Peter Bretzmann rounded out the B-Final with a 3:48.91.
The C-Final provided solid points on the men’s side, with the Gators claiming first, third and fourth in the consolation final. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero led the pack, finishing with a time of 3:46.49, while Tyler Watson and Brennan Gravley registered swims of 3:48.29 and 3:48.94, respectively, to round out the points scorers.
Olivia Peoples – the lone Gator in the 100 fly B-Final – finished 13th overall with a B-cut time of 52.49 to garner 14 points for the women.
Eric Friese came off the blocks with a purpose in the 100 fly A-Final, recording an A-cut time of 44.86 en route to his silver medal. Jace Crawford put up a strong swim of 46.45 to finish eighth overall and rack up 22 points for the Gators.
The women racked up a total 85 points in the 200 free after massive efforts from the five swimmers competing. Talia Bates finished sixth overall with a B-cut 1:44.82, while Tylor Mathieu touched the wall first in the B-Final with a time of 1:45.89.
Ekaterina Nikonova finished third in the B-Final and 11th overall with a swim of 1:46.07, bettering her prelim time by nearly half a second. Katie Mack and Nikki Miller finished 14/15, posting times of 1:46.34 and 1:46.53, respectively, to close out the women’s swimming portion of the evening.
Over on the men’s side, Trey Freeman swam a 1:32.20 to grab bronze in the 200 free – his first individual medal of the championships. Alfonso Mestre – on his third 200 free swim of the day (prelims/swim-off) – finished eighth overall with a swim of 1:34.66 to notch 22 points for Florida. In the B-Final, Oskar Lindholm made a last 50-push to secure the top spot with a swim of 1:33.91, good for a B-cut.
Maha Amer rounded out the night for the women on the 3-meter springboard, finishing fourth overall with a Zone qualifying score of 349.00. With that performance, she earned 26 points for the Gators to push them into third place.
Results can be followed live here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__utsports.com_sports_2022_1_25_2022-2Dsec-2Dswimming-2Ddiving-2Dchampionships-2Dcentral.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=ESWf26I1NIrB-CEBljQcdHGLs7WeMmANCzGTI3G3F-M&e= > and full results will be posted at the conclusion of competition each day at FloridaGators.com.
Gators on the Podium:
* Kieran Smith – 400 IM – Gold Medal – 3:39.33
* Eric Friese – 100 fly – Silver Medal – 44.86
* Trey Freeman – 200 free – Bronze Medal – 1:32.20
Standings – Men:
1. Florida – 744
2. Georgia – 496
3. Tennessee – 483.5
4. Alabama – 481
5. Texas A&M – 457.5
6. Auburn – 414.5
7. Missouri – 344
8. Kentucky – 322
9. LSU – 305
10. South Carolina – 221.5
Standings – Women:
1. Tennessee – 758.5
2. Georgia – 537
3. Florida – 520
4. Kentucky – 496
5. Alabama – 485
6. Texas A&M – 363
7. LSU – 314
8. South Carolina – 272
9. Missouri – 271.5
10. Auburn – 258
11. Arkansas – 170
12. Vanderbilt – 90
What They’re Saying:
Kieran Smith (Florida), Men’s 400 IM
“It was great. This meet so far has been a roller coaster for me, started the first night with such a great relay, kept things going and then came up short on the 500. I didn’t swim the race how I wanted to. Then to be first tonight and have an SEC championship under my belt as a senior, it is all I could ask for.”
Broadcast Information:
* Live results will be available the entire meet through UTsports.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__sidearmstats.com_utennessee_swimming_&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=_BNBoSZ2hjm-vR7Exmi2zvnbH_b1uocMD_YVpZwCnoo&e= > or the Meet Mobile app
* Diving results can also be found here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__secure.meetcontrol.com_divemeets_system_meetresultsext.php-3Fmeetnum-3D7783&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=vuwkrVp4RlGYJj0b2o2fnG6fU0WEr_VJBRWKapUdC5A&e= >
* All prelims and finals over the course of the championship competition will be streamed on SECN+<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.espn.com_watch_catalog_904ff2f3-2D3ce3-2D3b9e-2Dbca9-2D3608ec5f616b_swimming-2Dand-2Ddiving-23bucketId-3D29774-26sourceCollection-3DBrowse-5FBy-5FSport-5FNew&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=NpiM1CFpZ6c_1RtSqdvujEK0IUozyow5IMKFK0HenU0&e= >
Next Up:
* The Gators are right back in action on Friday, with prelims beginning at 9:30 a.m.
* Prelim schedule:200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, men’s platform diving (12 p.m.)
* Finals are slated for a 5:30 p.m. start
Follow the Gators
Facebook<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_GatorsSwimDv_&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=_2jKmJrqXOcSjqN7lwdc61XbUy91SVFbvRLu0WK4uU4&e= >
Twitter<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_GatorsSwimDv&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=nZJLhzrbr7kBAUq1bqY_K5yaB7k4IeG7FhtsPVxNv7Y&e= >
Instagram<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.instagram.com_gatorsswimdv_&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=Flp-yvPPzevuoDZmw9-ZCkPhchQIVblRDU8S9L7-8EFfsE3p-mjF8WPNTmL5GXgj&s=jAKFfY2M1RNvgmMqZRuWXiBTUh31No7uxcwkqqnfLgk&e= >
