Gator Swimmers Gear UP For Season Opener
Friday, October 8, 2004 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida men's and women's swim teams will head to Boca Raton, Fla., Friday for the 2004-05 season opener against Florida Atlantic. Last season, the Gator teams opened season play against the Owls, defeating them at home, 143-79.
The meet is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. ET. The Gators will be led this meet by Assistant Coach Martyn Wilby, as Head Coach Gregg Troy is in Indianapolis, Ind., coaching the U.S. Team at the FINA World Short Course Championships.
The UF women's team is 32-0 on opening day, including 21-0 vs. non-conference opponents. Last year versus Florida Atlantic, the women's team swept eight of the 12 events and claimed eight first-place finishes and 19 top-three finishes. The men's team holds a perfect 7-0 mark against the Owls and has not lost a non-conference season-opening meet since 1955, when the University of Miami defeated the Gators, 58-26. The men's squad owns a 63-8 mark in opening meets since 1930, excluding the 1943-46 seasons when there was no team.
The Gators return to the pool coming off a sixth-place finish for the men's team and a fourth-place women's finish at the NCAA Championships. Fourth place was the highest finish dunring Coach Troy's tenure at UF and was Florida's best finish at the NCAA meet since placing third in 1994.
The women's team earned 33 All-America honors in 2003-04 and at the NCAA's, broke 12 school records. The Gator men return eight All-Americans this season accounting for 31 honors.
The Owls, who are a member of the Sun Belt Conference's inaugural swimming season, are lead by Pavel Babaev, Kenny Anderson and Adam Zeibig. Returning only two seniors, the Owls added 19 freshman to their men's 2004-05 roster and are hoping for immediate contributions from each to make FAU a contender in the new SBC.
The Lady Owls finished third at the National Independent Conference Championships in 2004. Freshman Ellie Weberg set an NIC, pool and school records in the 100 breaststroke with a 'B' cut time of 1:027.70. The 400-yard relay medley team, consisting of 2003 seniors Kelly Pancake, Emma Peterson and Lisa Anderson and freshman Ellie Weberg, broke the FAU school record in the 400-yard medley relay at the NIC Championships.
Results from the meet will be posted on www.GatorZone.com at the conclusion of the meet.
-UF-
