They train with championship finishes in mind. For some of the younger UF swimmers and divers, this weekend was their first taste of why they put in those long hours.
Florida carried a mere 30-man roster to Princeton’s Big Al Open this weekend, offering some championship exposure for 13 of the squad’s freshmen.
“It was good preparation for the end of the year to be prepared to swim fast all six sessions and leave no room for errors,” freshman swimmer Alicia Mathieu said.
The men’s and women’s squad placed second in the Open.
The Gators entered the three-day, 36-event competition rested, reducing yardage in the pool prior to competition to see how a break could translate to the pool.
The team racked up a slew of personal bests, including Mathieu’s 500-yard freestyle time of 4:47.66, an NCAA qualifying time. Other milestones include sophomore Sharla Milne’s first win of the season in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:47.53, just edging second-place Mathieu. Freshmen Trish Regan, Ellese Zalewski and Brad deBorde also clocked personal bests.
In the first event of the final day, Mathieu dominated the women’s 1650-yard freestyle, setting a promising tone for the rest of the day’s competition.
“We came back [Sunday] with a new focus and it showed with some outstanding swims,” associate head coach Martyn Wilby said.
Following Mathieu’s win were top-place nabs by sophomore Jonathan Jordan in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle, Zalewski in the women’s 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly, and junior Gabriel Huen in the men’s 200-yard butterfly.
Diving Dominates First Day: On the kickoff of the Open, the diving squad swept the competition, snagging the top two spots in the women’s three-meter and the men’s one-meter. The women’s sole senior diver, Monica Dodson, placed just ahead of junior Kaylee Doback. And junior Anthony Lewark edged fellow junior Colin Bell.
Come championship time, every point counts, something Dodson said is crucial when the Gators perform on the diving board.
“Diving has become a much bigger influence on our team than in the past, especially with tougher teams,” she said. “It’s the extra points at the other end of the pool that can make a difference.”
The diving squad also gained crucial exposure as all divers participated in each of the events the Open had to offer this weekend.
“Coming and diving in a long weekend meet like this is good practice for both SECs and NCAAs — they’re both very long weeks and very tiring and stressful,” Lewark said. “This meet is definitely going to help us as we head toward our two biggest meets of the year.”
