Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Florida swimming and diving preparing for SEC Championships

<p>Jan Switkowski races in the 200 meter butterfly during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.</p>

Jan Switkowski races in the 200 meter butterfly during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.

The Southeastern Conference Championships: 12 teams swimming for conference glory.

Tuesday marks the beginning of the championship meet in Columbia, Missouri. Among the 12 schools competing are Florida’s No. 5-ranked men’s and No. 9-ranked women’s swimming and diving teams.

Nineteen freshman swimmers from both teams will experience their first SEC championship meet, while 16 seniors will be competing in their final SEC competition.

Regardless, UF swimming coach Gregg Troy is expecting all hands on deck as the Gators prepare for their longest and most competitive meet of the season.

"It doesn’t matter if you are a freshman or a senior," Troy said. "It’s five days of very stressful competition.

"If you are an older athlete and you think you understand it too well and (don’t) maintain the focus, you can be just as unsuccessful as someone who has never been."

The UF women’s team will head into Columbia with momentum, having won its last four dual meets. Three of its victories came in conference competition against South Carolina, No. 11 Auburn and, most recently, against No. 13 Tennessee.

In their last regular-season meet against the Volunteers, eight different Gators on the women’s side won their individual races or diving events.

Two winners included senior Natalie Hinds, who leads both teams in total victories this season with 39, and senior Sierra Kuhn, who won her first race of the season in the 200-yard butterfly.

"I think I’m more focused than I really was the other three years just because I really don’t have another chance to come back," Hinds said. "I want to make it memorable."

Florida’s biggest threat in Columbia will be Georgia.

The Bulldogs men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, currently ranked No. 3 and No. 1, respectively, beat the Gators on Oct. 30. The women’s team will be in search of its first conference champiosnhip in seven years.

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

On the other side, the UF men’s team will be under pressure to redeem its 172.5-127.5 loss to the Bulldogs in addition to defending its conference championship crown for the third consecutive season.

Sophomore Jan Switkowski, who will be competing in his first SEC championship after transferring from Virginia Tech, is confident that his team is ready to defend its conference title.

"We are really well prepared," Switkowski said. "I think we have a good chance to win it all."

Switkowski and fellow sophomore Caeleb Dressel have been the men’s teams’ top individual-event swimmers for the men’s team this season.

Following Florida’s 185-115 win against the Volunteers, both swimmers have combined for 28 individual race victories (19 wins for Dressel, nine for Switkowski).

Two of the biggest areas of concern for the Gators heading into the conference meet are their ability to perform relay and the breaststroke races.

While Troy would not go into full detail of what his relay lineups will look like in Columbia, he believes that performances in the relays and overall consistency will be the key to Florida’s potential victory next week.

"The conference is by far better than it’s ever been in my 18 years here," Troy said.

"The five relays are key. I think the two ingredients are swimming relays well and being consistent."

Contact Sean Doty at sdoty@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @TheRealSeanDoty

Jan Switkowski races in the 200 meter butterfly during Florida’s meet against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.

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.