Florida swimming has yet to lose to Kentucky in a dual meet, and Friday was no exception.
Following their split-dominance over Florida Atlantic and Vanderbilt, the No. 3/10 Florida men and women once again proved their rankings. Both came away with dominant victories, combining for 23 first-place finishes across 28 swimming events. The men ultimately won 194-103, and the women won 183-115.
Both Gator teams started the meet with victories in the 200-yard medley relay. The women’s relay team of senior Catie Choate, freshmen Maddie Moreth and Grace Rabb and Sylvia Statkevicius finished first with a time of 1:40.33.
Senior Catie Choate and freshmen Maddie Moreth and Valentina Procaccini led the women with individual wins in the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 500 and the 1,000, respectively.
The Gators continued to spread out their victories across the women’s races. Freshman Maeline Bessard earned her first collegiate victory in the 100-yard freestyle, while Lainy Kruger won the 100-yard butterfly.
Sophomore Nil Cadevall also continued his strong start to the season. Cadevall dominated in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley.
Senior and captain Scotty Buff took home his first individual win of the season in the 100 butterfly, while Aiden Norman and Matthew Cairns each collected their second victories of the season in the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly, respectively.
The meet also marked Abdalla Youssef’s first appearance as a Gator. The junior transfer won the 200 freestyle and added a third-place finish in the 200 butterfly. The Gators closed out the meet with wins in the 400 freestyle relays. The men’s team of Aiden Norman, Buff, Devin Dilger and Paul Dardis finished first in 2:55.12, while the women’s team of Statkevicius, Choate, Procaccini and Kruger won in 3:21.93.
Florida swimming will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, on Oct. 17 for its next dual meet against Virginia.
Contact Lily Perkins at lperkins@alligator.org. Follow her on X @lily_perkins10.
Lily Perkins is a senior sports journalism student in her second semester at The Alligator. She is currently the men's and women's swim and dive reporter. She enjoys cooking, swimming, spending time with her friends and watching all sports, but specifically any sport that involves four wheels and a track.
