The No. 4 Gators men’s swim and dive team secured 1,292 total points in the near weeklong slate at the Southeastern Conference Swim & Dive Championships.
While Florida came up just 157.5 points short of the Texas Longhorns’ first-place total, UF excelled in the pool and on the board.
Florida entered the competition as one of the most decorated programs across the swim and dive realm. The men collected 45 SEC team championships heading into Knoxville, proving to be the second-highest total by any team across all sports within the conference.
The Gators men’s swim team also owns the most SEC titles in every individual swimming event, and that success continued throughout the week.
Senior Josh Liendo notched a team-high six gold medals, earning 30% of the club’s total. The two-time Olympian’s name can already be found countless times in the Florida record books, but he continued to perform in the final stretch of his collegiate career.
Liendo was named SEC Men’s Swimmer of the Meet after reaching the podium in all three of his individual events. The 23-year-old picked up five gold medals across his individual and relay events, one silver medal with the relay team and one bronze medal for the 100-meter freestyle.
The Toronto native maintained his wildly successful career in the pool, as he contributed to resetting the NCAA, SEC and program record for fastest time in the 200-yard medley.
Liendo, alongside senior Koen de Groot and juniors Jonny Marshall and Scotty Buff, finished the race with a time of 1:20.03 to open the competition on Monday. Liendo was also a part of three additional relay teams that all notched top-10 program times.
He captured his fourth-consecutive 100-meter butterfly title, cementing himself as one of the greatest NCAA swimmers in the event.
The senior wasn’t the only bright spot of the Gators — Marshall and freshman Ahmed Jaouadi both earned a spot in the NCAA Championships.
“One of my great mentors, Katie Ledecky, talks about how during her best swims she is thinking about her people,” Marshall said. “During that swim, I was thinking of George Marshall, my brother. He became a two-time district champion, and I just had to keep it in the family…. the Marshalls are on a hot streak today.”
Jaouadi picked up gold in the men’s 1,650-meter freestyle. His time of 14:25.14 became the new record at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center Pool.
Jaouadi also notched a silver medal in the 500-meter freestyle with the second-fastest time in program history (4:09.28).
The Gators captured the lead following the second day of competition, marking 274 points to Tennessee's 213. However, Texas propelled into the No. 1 spot the following day and stood 8.5 points ahead of Florida.
Jesus Gonzalez notched the sole two medals for the Gators men’s divers after finding his first SEC gold medal. The sophomore secured bronze last season, but placed first in the 3-meter dive on the third day of events in Knoxville. Gonzalez also grabbed silver in the men’s platform dive.
Sophomores Alexander Painter and Devin Dilger, as well as Jaouadi, Liendo, Marshall, de Groot and Buff will all gear up for the NCAA Championships on March 25-28. Gators diving will be back in action on March 8-11 in Athens, competing at NCAA Diving Zones.
Contact Riley Orovitz at rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow her on X @rileyorovitz.
Riley is a sophomore sports journalism student in her second semester at The Alligator. She is the beat reporter for Gators Gymnastics and Swim & Dive while also contributing to the Gators Football Beat. She previously served in the same role in her first semester with the newspaper. Riley is an avid South Florida sports fan and enjoys playing/following all sports in her free time.
