The Brains Behind the Gator Attack
Wednesday, December 5, 2001 | Men's Swimming & Diving
By: Nicole Dupes
The 2001-2002 Florida men's swimming and diving team has already started off its season with a bang, in and out of the water. Strong victories at the start of the season have given the Gators a great advantage in the SEC. After having a great finish at the U.S. Open, the men are now ready to head into the holiday break, but before they do that, they each much sit down and take their semester finals. Yes, those dreaded final exam are the last obstacle for many students before they head into the holiday break. So as they sit down to master a semester's length of material, just which muscles are being used to bolster the Gator force?
The Gator men's swimming and diving team has one of the best team grade point averages at the University, averaging 3.21. Of the 31 swimmers, 13 of them have a GPA above a 3.0 and seven of those 13 have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. That makes almost one half of the entire team with a GPA above the average of the normal college student without the athletic obligations.
With their athletic commitments, some people tend to think they would not pursue a degree in anything too taxing. That is not the case with this team. Of the eight seniors on the team, two are pursuing a degree in engineering, two in pre-med, and two in business. Of the entire team, six are pursuing a degree in pre-med, nine in engineering, nine in business administration, and two in pre-law. Other majors include psychology, education, history, exercise physiology, broadcast journalism, and leisure service management. Also, nine people on the team are also pursuing a second degree.
The team also holds other honors as well, holding roughly the most Bright Future Recipients at the University with 11 swimmers. Two of the swimmers are also involved in Honors Programs, alongside four of their other team mates who have participated in outside research projects at the University. Numerous student-athletes are named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year.
"It's always a goal to see how many Academic All-SEC athletes we have, and it's certainly an attribute for them to be able to train and keep the academic schedule they have," said Head Coach Gregg Troy. "We take a lot of pride in the student-athletes that we have and their ability to budget their time and be the high-caliber athletes that they are."
Among the brains on the team are also eight international students, who have chosen UF as their home away from home. These students come from a variety of places around the globe, ranging from Brazil to Suriname, Spain to South Africa, and Germany to Canada. They take their education very seriously with degrees ranging from Aerospace Engineering to Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Will Ratliff, a freshman on the team, explains the activities associated with being an athlete and that some of the sacrifices that one has to make.
"We don't have too much time for a social life," said Ratliff. "We are kept busy with swimming and then have specific times that are set aside for our studies. The coaches make it a point to stress the fact that we are first students and then athletes."
This team means business when it comes to education. They will not stand for any slacking and are determined to keep their education first and their swimming second.
