Florida Gators
NCAA Championships
Men's Swim & Dive Finish Sixth At NCAAs
Sunday, March 30, 2003 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida men's swimming and diving team finished in sixth place Saturday with a total score of 232 points at the 2003 NCAA Championships, at the Jamail Texas Swim Center in Austin, Texas. It marked the 29th time in school-history that UF finished in the top-10 of the team standings, which is the most for any school in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn won the overall team championship with 609.5 points.
The finish was also the fourth top-10 finish for Gator Head Coach Gregg Troy in as many season's as the leader of the men's program. The four straight top-10 finishes is the second longest streak in the storied history of the Florida men's swimming and diving program. The longest streak of top-10 placings is 17 from 1978-1994.
"We're very pleased with the sixth place finish," Troy said. "The guys showed a lot of character swimming against some great competition. A lot of the guys that swam here this weekend will be returning next year, so the future is very bright."
The Gators saw eight athletes garner another nine NCAA All-America honors during the final night of competition. Overall, 10 Gators earned 32 NCAA All-America honors, marking the 13th time in school-history that UF received at least 30 honors at the national championships. The 32 honors also gave Florida a total of 850 All-America honors in its history.
Junior Carlos Jayme (Goias, Brazil) led the way for UF with two All-America honors on the night, as he won the consolation finals by placing ninth in the 100-yard freestyle (43.31) and seventh as a member of UF's 400-yard freestyle relay team. Jayme earned seven NCAA All-America honors throughout the championships, as it gave him 19 for his career. The total ties Jayme with former Gator greats Mike Heath and Paul Robinson for fifth place in Florida history.
Freshman Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) finished in eighth place in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a time of 14:59.18. It marked the fifth NCAA All-America honor in the championships for Lochte. Sophomore Scott Kaufmann (Sparks, Nev.) became the fourth Gator athlete at the NCAAs to gain his first All-America honor as he finished 15th in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:07.87. Lochte finished tied for seventh in the race for the NCAA Male High Point Award with 42 points.
Sophomore diver Zach Wilcox (Yarrow Point, Wash.) finished 15th in the 10-meter platform diving competition with a score of 418.05 to garner his third NCAA All-America honor at the NCAAs. Wilcox became just the second diver in UF history to get All-America honors in all three diving events at the same championships. Wilcox was an All-American in the one-meter springboard, while earning honorable mention honors in both the three-meter and platform. David West was the only other Gator diver to accomplish the feat in 1996, but he only received honorable mention status in all three events.
Junior Chris Kellam (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) finished fifth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:42.29. The finish gave Kellam his third All-America honor this season.
UF's 400-yard medley relay team of Gabriel Mangabeira (Piratininga, Brazil), Adam Sioui (Ontario, Canada), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Jayme finished tied for seventh in the event with a time of 2:54.94.
NCAA Championship Notes:
--Carlos Jayme collected seven NCAA All-America honors to give him 19 for his career, which moved him into a tie for fifth place in UF history with Mike Heath and Paul Robinson
--10 Gator athletes earned a total of 32 NCAA All-America honors
--It marked the 13th time in school-history that Florida earned at least 30 NCAA All-America honors in one year
--Florida has now earned 149 NCAA All-America honors in the four years that Gregg Troy has been the head coach of the men's program; the four years prior to Troy taking over the men's program, UF garnered only 81 All-America honors
--Florida has averaged over 37 NCAA All-America honors in Gregg Troy's four years as the men's head coach
--UF added four new NCAA All-Americans to its list with Ryan Lochte (200 IM, 200 FR, 400 IM, 800 FR and 1,650 Free); Zach Wilcox (One-Meter, Three-Meter and 10-Meter Platform); Kris Wiebeck (800 FR and 200 Free); and Scott Kaufmann (1,650 Free)
--Florida now has 145 NCAA All-Americans in its history, who have combined for a total of 850 All-America honors
--30 of Florida's 32 NCAA All-America honors were won by Gator athletes that will return to next season's squad; the only All-American that will not return is senior Philip Norris, who garnered honors in both the 200- and 400-yard medley relays
--19 of UF's 32 All-America honors were won by underclassmen with at least two more years of eligibility remaining
--UF finished in the top-10 of the team standings at the NCAA Championships for the 29th time in school-history (the most of any Southeastern Conference school)
--The Gators have now finished in the top-10 of the team standings in all four years that Gregg Troy has been the head coach of the men's program: 2000, 9th; 2001, 5th; 2002, 4th; 2003, 6th
--UF's streak of four straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships is the second longest streak in school-history (2000-03); the longest streak in school-history is 17 from 1978-94
Final Top 10 Team Standings
Day Three Final Results
1,650-Yard Freestyle
Championship Finals
1. Erik Vendt, USC 14:29.85
8. Ryan Lochte, UF 14:59.18
Consolation Finals
15. Scott Kaufmann, UF 15:07.87
20. Brian Hartley, UF 15:17.32
23. Jan Wolfgarten, UF 15:24.71
200-Yard Backstroke
Championship Finals
1. Aaron Piersol, UT 1:39.16
5. Chris Kellam, UF 1:42.29
100-Yard Freestyle
Championship Finals
1. Duje Draganja, CAL 42.02
Consolation Finals
9. Carlos Jayme, UF 43.31
200-Yard Breaststroke
Championship Finals
1. Brendan Hansen, UT 1:52.62
200-Yard Butterfly
Championship Finals
1. Stefan Gherghel, BAMA 1:42.35
10-METER PLATFORM DIVING
Championship Finals
1. Jason Corbe, UM 575.80
1. Caesar Garcia, AUB 575.80
Consolation Finals
15. Zach Wilcox, UF 418.05
400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Championship Finals
T7. FLORIDA 2:54.94
(Jayme, Mangabeira, Lochte, Sioui)
-UF-
