Saturday's swimming and diving meet brought a mixed bag for the Gators, something the team is used to when it heads to Auburn.
The UF women secured a 180-120 victory, but the men fell 166-132 to the Tigers at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala..
The No. 6 women (7-2) swept 11 out of the 16 events and battled past No. 5 Auburn, but the No. 6 men (6-2) could not hold up their end of the bargain.
The women also dominated the diving boards by sweeping the 1-meter competition led by senior Jeana Bartell and placing in first and second in the 3-meter board. The 500-yard freestyle was another sweep by junior Kristen Beales, freshman Melani Costa-Schmid and senior Laurabeth Guenthner. To add to the glory, they all made NCAA provisional qualifying marks with their times.
"Auburn has always been a really tough competition, but I think we stepped up," Guenthner said. "It really was a good win for us."
Junior Gemma Spofforth, who set a Sonny Werblin Recreation Center record in the 200 backstroke last week, remained on fire, winning the 100-yard and 200-yard back events.
The UF men missed many wins by narrow margins, including the 200-yard medley, where the Tigers snatched a victory with a time of 1:28.03 to the Gators' 1:28.81. The men, however, triumphed in the 100-yard back with junior Omar Pinzon setting an NCAA provisional mark. Junior Shaune Fraser also captured the 200-yard fly, and senior Bradley Ally snatched the 200-yard breaststroke.
The Gators still have four weeks until the Southeastern Conference Championships, and this split victory was another opportunity to train and improve.
"At Auburn, we were trying to see what steps we need to take for that meet," Guenthner said. "I know we still have a lot we can improve on."
The Gators have a busy weekend ahead, facing three different schools, including rival Tennessee, at the O'Connell Center on Friday and Saturday.
