The No. 10 Florida swimming and diving team is coming off a first place showing in the third-annual All Florida Invitational.
The Gators women’s team finished with 1,141.5 points, and the men totaled 1,273. They racked up 32 victories, 23 of which were individual events.
Coming off a strong effort in the Olympics, junior Elizabeth Beisel continued her success with victories in the 500-meter free, 200 IM and 200 back.
But it was a group of freshmen that delivered in the opening meet for the Gators.
Ashlee Linn and Sinead Russell gave Beisel a run for her money in the 200 back. Linn finished second with a time of 1:57.96. Russell was third with 2:00.53 behind Beisel’s 1:56.22.
Lindsey McKnight and Natalie Hinds helped Linn and senior Jamie Bohunicky to a win in the 400 free relay.
“We knew we had a heralded freshman class,” women's associate head coach Martyn Wilby said. “I didn’t realize that they were so versatile.”
The Gator women’s team will need that versatility when it travels to Dallas for the SMU Classic on Friday. The meet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last two days.
“You've got to be prepared to swim three, four events within the space of about 45 minutes,” Wilby said.
The competition is stiff. Florida will race against No. 3 USC, No. 9 Texas, No. 16 SMU, No. 19 North Carolina and No. 24 Louisville.
The men won’t compete until the Gators travel to Georgia on Oct. 25. The team will follow that up with another meet at South Carolina on Oct. 26.
One of the rules of the SMU Classic is that each team can only consist of eight swimmers and one diver.
Beisel could be a lock for the team. She is still recovering from the London 2012 Olympics.
“Coming back from the Olympics, it’s always hard," Wilby said. "It’s always a letdown. ... Elizabeth leads by example. There’s no tougher athlete, day in and day out, at practice.
