Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Friday, March 29, 2024

Sometimes the good has to come with the bad. And that was the case for the Florida swimming and diving teams Saturday afternoon.

The Gators split the dual meet with Auburn.

Auburn entered the day with its men’s and women’s teams being undefeated, but No. 5 Florida’s men (6-0) handed the Tigers first loss of the season by a score of 167-133.

The Gators improved to 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference.

Freshman Arthur Frayler led a trio of Gators in the 1,000 freestyle. Frayler was the first to touch the wall on a personal-best time of 9:02.95. Sophomore Carlos Omana and senior Jason Taylor followed him respectively.

The men’s domination did not dwindle as junior Marcin Cieslak took first in the 200 fly, finishing with a comfortable-three-second lead ahead of teammate, senior Cameron Martin, who finished second.

And it didn’t stop for the Gators.

There was an abundance of individual-event wins for the men. Sophomore Matt Elliot added the 200 breast to the win column after a close finish. His fellow sophomore, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, cruised in for third, about one second slower than Elliot.

But just as the entire season has gone, it was a different story for the No.9 Gators’ women.

The women lost 161-138 to fall to 2-4 on the season (1-3 SEC).

Junior Elizabeth Beisel and senior Jamie Bohunicky shined individually in another losing effort, finishing first and second respectively in the 200 butterfly.

Beisel later tacked on her second-individual victory in the 200 backstroke.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox

And then a season-best time of 1:58.08 gave Beisel the 200 IM, her third and final individual victory on the day, making her three for three.

A bright spot for the women was freshman Jessica Thielmann, who blew by the competition in the 1,000 freestyle. Thielmann left the Auburn swimmers, as well as three of her teammates, in her water ripples as she glided in with a time of 9:40.82, about a four-second differential over junior Alicia Mathieu, who came in second.

Before the meet, coach Gregg Troy knew what his team was getting into with Auburn, calling the SEC faceoff a “better test.”

“It will give everyone, top to bottom, something to race with,” Troy said. “The meet probably won’t be decided by the wins as much as it will be decided by the third, fourth, fifth places.”

The women tallied six individual victories — with half of them thrown in from Beisel — and capped off the day with a second-place showing in the 400-freestyle relay.

Both the men and women will host a dual meet with Tennessee Friday. 

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.