The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams celebrated the careers of 15 athletes Friday against Auburn on Senior Day.
And they did it with wins.
In the final meet of the season at the O’Connell Center Natatorium, the men’s and women’s squads beat the Tigers by scores of 162-138 and 185-115, respectively. The Gators’ men’s squad (8-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) stayed undefeated with the victory while the women improved their record to 9-2, and 3-1 in the SEC.
“It was a real exciting meet for the seniors and the whole team,” UF coach Gregg Troy said. “We’ve got a close group, so when the seniors get excited with their parents here it rubs off on the rest of the team.”
Using that excitement, the Gators swam a total of 40 NCAA provisional-qualifying times. The men’s team ended the day winning nine of 16 events, while the women won 10 of 16.
With the help of the seniors, the men’s team topped defending national champion Auburn for the first time since the 1998-99 season. Senior Shaune Fraser led the way, winning the 100-yard (47.00) and 200-yard butterfly (1:44.37) and placing second in the 100-yard freestyle (43.82), all NCAA provisional-qualifying times.
“It’s always a bittersweet moment,” Fraser said. “The past four years have been the best of my life.”
Also swimming strong for the men’s team was senior Omar Pinzon. Pinzon won three individual events in NCAA provisional-qualifying times in the 100-yard backstroke (47.46), the 200-yard backstroke (1:42.80) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:47.91).
“Pinzon swam real strong today and Fraser’s just been good all season long,” Troy said.
On the women’s side, senior Gemma Spofforth placed first in the 100-yard backstroke (53.03) and second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:56.61), both NCAA provisional-qualifying times.
In fact, Spofforth’s 100-yard time was only .02 seconds away from the NCAA automatic standard. On the diving board, senior Kara Salamone took the one-meter diving title (303.97) and placed second in the three-meter diving event (292.81).
“The women’s side was real good through the whole meet,” Troy said.
One thing Fraser and Troy both mentioned is the importance of staying focused on the little things and technical issues as there is only one meet remaining for the men’s squad — Saturday at Tennessee — before the postseason starts.
“We want to carry the momentum into SECs and then the final step of our season, the NCAAs,” Fraser said.
