After Day Two of the Southeastern Conference Championships, UF swimming and diving coach Gregg Troy said, "It's a four-day swim meet."
He was absolutely right.
Despite holding a 272-230 lead against the Auburn women's team after the first two days of competition, the Tigers swam to first after the third day and held on to win the SEC Championships on both the men's and women's side.
Both UF teams captured second place, the men with a score of 712 and the women with a score of 706.
Don't let the scores fool you, however. The margin of victory for the women's team was 55.5, compared to 94 points for the men.
"We're naturally a little bit disappointed because it's never the goal to be second when you go," Troy said. "But on the same token, we're pretty pleased because we had some outstanding performances and swam very well."
The women's team set four new SEC records.
Caroline Burckle set a SEC, UF and pool record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:34.87. It was also the second-best time by a college athlete in NCAA history, as well as the fastest time in the country this season.
Gemma Spofforth set two individual SEC, UF and pool records. One was in the 100 backstroke and the other was in the 200 backstroke. Spofforth's time of 51.57 in the 100 marked only the second time in NCAA history the event had been swum in less than 52 seconds.
Her time of 1:50.56 in the 200 is the third-fastest time in NCAA history.
Spofforth and Burckle also contributed to the fourth SEC record, along with Colleen Healy and Stephanie Napier, in the 200 medley relay. The quartet finished with a record 1:37.23.
"The women's team was, across the board, outstanding," Troy said.
Freshman diver Monica Dodson qualified for finals in two of the three diving events. Dodson finished fourth in the three meter and seventh in platform diving.
The men's team, which came out of the gates in sixth place after Day One, was able to swim its way to second place. That would be the ceiling for them, as Auburn never relinquished first place.
Swimmers Clark Burckle, Shaune Fraser and Omar Pinzon all had career bests en route to winning their individual events. Burckle swam two career bests, in the 400 individual medley (3:44.86) and 200 breaststroke (1:56.00).
"The women were outstanding, the men were real good," Troy said.
Next on the Gators itinerary are the NCAA Championships for those who qualified. The women will swim first, heading to Columbus, Ohio from March 20-22. The men will follow in Federal Way, Washington beginning March 27.
