Florida Gators
Men's NCAA Champs. - Day 3
Troy Coach of Year, UF 4th at Men's Swimming NCAAs
Sunday, March 31, 2002 | Men's Swimming & Diving
University of Florida head coach Gregg Troy won the men's coach of the year honor, and the Gators finished fourth in the overall scoring at the 2002 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday with 277 points. Florida's fourth-place finish is its best finish since the 1991 season, when the Gators placed third overall. The University of Texas won the championship with 512 total points.
"Obviously we're really pleased with our performance, "said Troy. "It was a true team effort, and everyone stepped up. Our seniors did a great job all year long, helping the freshman get ready for this type of competition."
Florida's 277 total points marks the seventh-best team total in school's 40 years of NCAA men's swimming and diving competition and the best team total since the 1991 season, when current assistant coach Anthony Nesty was a member of the squad..
"It's definitely a nice honor, but I share it with my assistant coaches," said Troy. "I think we have the best staff in the country, with Anthony (Nesty), Martyn (Wilby) and Rich (DeSelm),"
The Gators began the night with Mike Jansen (Wellington, Fla.) finishing fourth in the 200-yard backstroke in a time of 1:42.95. Teammate Chris Kellam (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) was right behind, clocking in at 1:43.00 for the fifth-place finish. Stanford's Markus Rogan took the individual title in the 200-yard backstroke, setting a new pool record with his time of 1:41.14.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Hendrik Odendaal (Stellenbosch, South Africa) finished eighth overall with his time of 43.73, while Carlos Jayme (Goias, Brazil) clocked in at 43.28 for a second-place finish in the consolation final (10th overall). California's Anthony Ervin broke his own NCAA and American record with his first-place time of 41.62.
Senior Duncan Sherrard (Bartow, Fla.) clocked in at 1:44.32 to finish sixth in the championship final of the 200-yard butterfly. Adam Sioui (Ontario, Canada), who won the individual title in the 200-yard freestyle on Friday, finished the 200-yard butterfly in 1:45.76 to place sixth in the consolation final (14th overall).
In the final event of the Championships, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Jayme, Odendaal, Gabriel Mangabeira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Sioui finished seventh in the championship final with a time of 2:53.91.
USC's Erik Vendt won the 1,650-yard freestyle in a pool-record time of 14:37.48. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Texas sophomore Brendan Hansen set a new NCAA, American, US Open and pool record with his first-place time of 1:52.88, breaking the old record by .23 seconds. In the 10-meter platform diving, Miami's Imre Lengyel took the individual title with a score of 620.25.
The Gators finished competition at the Championships with 11 swimmers earning a total of 37 All-America honors.
Top 10 Team Standings
1. Texas 512
2. Stanford 501
3. Auburn 365.5
4. Florida 277
5. USC 272
6. California 271
7. Arizona 242
8. Minnesota 216
9. Michigan 183
10. Georgia 167
