The UF men’s swimming team kicked off its Southeastern Conference opener with a victory Friday against Georgia.
The squad squad defeated the Bulldogs 170-130.
Key swimmers absent earlier in the season due to competition in the Commonwealth Games reunited with the Gators in Athens, Ga., to contribute to the squad’s success in the pool.
Junior Marco Loughran, who set a school record in the men’s 100-meter backstroke in the Commonwealth Games, came in first in the same event against Georgia. Senior Brett Fraser, another Commonwealth competitor, also edged out the Bulldogs by nabbing the top spot in the 100-yard freestyle. Both Fraser and Loughran collaborated with sophomore Rodion Davelaar and senior Logan Storie in their first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay.
From an individual standpoint, senior Conor Dwyer had a great meet, head coach Gregg Troy said. Dwyer’s victories Friday included his first-place finishes in both the men’s 200- and 1,000-yard freestyle events.
“It was fun to finish the intense four-week training cycle against a great SEC team like Georgia that will challenge us in the spring,” Dwyer said.
Despite the victory on the men’s side, Florida’s women fell short in a 180-120 loss.
However, Shara Stafford won the women’s 100-yard backstroke event, while Sarah Bateman took over the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.
“It was a really exciting meet,” Bateman said. “We may have fallen short, but as a whole we were able to see the areas we must improve in so that we can be reach our goals this spring.”
Freshman Elizabeth Beisel pulled out wins in the 200-yard butterfly and the 200-yard backstroke.
“Several of our young swimmers stepped up, which was encouraging to see,” Troy said.
The women’s roster was recently chopped short due to junior Jemma Lowe’s decision to leave the Gators to train with the Intensive Training Centres in England. Junior Teresa Crippen was also absent from Friday’s meet due to the recent passing of her brother and swimming great, Fran Crippen.
The Gators’ next competition will be an away dual meet versus LSU on Nov. 4.
