Senior Jack Blyzinskyj is ready for a final chance to compete at the O'Dome. (Photo: Reagan Lunn/For UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Blyzinskyj Back Where He Was Built
Friday, January 27, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Scott Carter
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Senior swimmer eager to return to O'Dome for home finale and see what Gators can do in postseason.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jack Blyzinskyj spoke as if he were talking about the last movie he watched or an upcoming exam. No hint of nostalgia or melancholy in his voice.
Blyzinskyj has a steady grasp of the past, present and future. He is one of seven seniors the UF swimming program will recognize on Saturday in its final – and only – home meet of Blyzinskyj's last season.
The Gators host Tennessee on Saturday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium, Florida's first home meet in more than a year due to the renovation of Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
The road back here has been a challenging one for Blyzinskyj and his teammates. A lot of travel. A lot of practices away from their home pool. A real grind.
"I was kind of created in the O'Dome with all the days of training in there,'' Blyzinskyj said. "It will be nice to swim at home for a change."
Senior Jack Blyzinskyj has finished second and third in the 100-yard backstroke the past two seasons at the SEC Championships. (Photo: Reagan Lunn/For UAA Communications)
When you spend much of your career on relay teams with Olympian and NCAA champion Caeleb Dressel, it's easy to float under the radar.
Blyzinskyj has done that to some degree. Still, he is an important piece to a Gators men's team that seeks a place at the medal ceremony in March at the NCAA Finals.
Florida finished third a year ago and Blyzinskyj earned four All-American honors, three coming on relays (200-yard medley, 200 free, 400 medley) and one in the 100 back.
The 100 back is Blyzinskyj's featured individual event and where he has finished second (2015) and third (2016) in the Southeastern Conference Championships the past two seasons. He is striving for more next month.
"That's definitely the goal,'' he said. "I kind of had a rough beginning to this season. I think I'm exactly where I need to be right now."
Blyzinskyj battled Auburn's Joe Patching to the wall a week ago in Florida's win over the Tigers, finishing second by .29 of a second.
The biggest events of the season are ahead, starting Feb. 14 with the SEC Championships in Knoxville and followed by the NCAA Finals in Indianapolis March 23-25.
Blyzinskyj is focused on the now, starting with Saturday's home swan song and then preparing for the postseason.
"We have been really getting after it [in practice]," he said. "I think it's very good that we're coming off a win going into the end of the season. We embrace the grind so to speak. That's why it's really good to win against a rival. If you're a rival of Florida, that means you're a pretty damn good team yourself, so it's good to beat a good team."
He also has an eye toward the future. A native of Weston, Mass., Blyzinskyj has a summer job already lined up at IBM in Boston. He worked at the company last summer, too.
As an economics major, Blyzinskyj is ready to explore his options for the future.
"This year is the end of my eligibility and that will most likely be it for my competitive swimming,'' he said. "I'm just ready to focus on other things in life. I'm always going to swim, like I'll be doing masters and stop by the pool, but I think after NCAAs this year that will be it for me competitively."
Until then, he has unfinished business. So do the Gators.
Blyzinskyj might not be the headliner, but he is a vital part of the team's potential success when it matters most.
"I think it's a team capable of anything," he said. "It's really just a matter of how focused we are at the end."
Blyzinskyj has a steady grasp of the past, present and future. He is one of seven seniors the UF swimming program will recognize on Saturday in its final – and only – home meet of Blyzinskyj's last season.
