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After seven days of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving
Competition, the men’s title came down to the last event, the
400-yard freestyle relay.
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Unfortunately for the Gators, the Auburn Tigers were too tough,
holding Florida to a close second in both the final relay and
overall championship.
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Senior Conor Dwyer, who received SEC Male Swimmer of the Year and
tied for the most points scored in the competition, said the
swimmers came in too far behind from the disappointing men’s finish
in the diving competition.
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“We out swam them in the pool all four days, so it’s kind of tough
coming up short,” he said. “We were down 90 going into the meet
from the diving.”
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Freshman Elizabeth Beisel received SEC honors as well as she was
named SEC Freshman Female Swimmer of the Year. Beisel also scored
the third-highest points in the women’s competition. She said the
women’s team was excited about their second-place finish behind
Georgia, and are hopeful going into the NCAA Championships.
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“This meet was just a tune up for next month,” she said.
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Coach Gregg Troy said the women excelled in a season full of
adversity.
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“We’ve been putting things together with band aids and tape all
year,” he said. “We’ve had a bit of misfortune and the girls did a
great job.”
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He said he was a little disappointed with the men’s finish, but he
is certain they will move forward to the NCAA’s with
determination.
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“We had some opportunities, but there was no room for mistakes,” he
said. “But we got everyone qualified for NCAA, pretty much, that we
wanted.”
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Troy said the men benefited from their leaders, especially Dwyer,
giving up personal glory to help the team by swimming different
events than usual.
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“He gave up sure wins in certain places to help out team wise,” he
said.
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Troy said the determination of freshmen Marcin Cieslak and Brad
deBorde were also instrumental to the men’s near-win.
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“This is a tough competition for young guys,” he said. “This is
four days, and it’s intense all four.”
