Women's Swimming Earns Highest National Ranking in School History
Friday, February 29, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida women's swimming and diving team finished the dual meet season ranked third nationally in the College Swim Coaches of Association of America (CSCAA), the highest ranking by a Gator women's team in the history of the program.
“We are really pleased with the women's ranking,” said head coach Gregg Troy. “This is the highest ranking we've ever had and we hope to see it carry over to championship competition.”
The final ranking is based on dual meet performance throughout the 2007-08 season. The Gators finished with an overall record of 11-1, marking the third straight season that Florida has totaled 10 or more wins in a dual meet season and seventh time in the 10 years that Troy has led his team to a 10-win season.
Florida began the season in October, defeating tenth ranked Virginia and ninth ranked Minnesota on the road and wrapped up the season with wins over fifth ranked Auburn in Gainesville and seventh ranked Tennessee in Knoxville before hosting Florida Atlantic for senior day. For the year, the Gators defeated a total of seven ranked teams, including Minnesota, Michigan, Florida State and Louisiana State. The win over Auburn was the first for Florida since the 1993-94 season.
The Gators defeated all ranked opponents by an average of 49.7 points. The only team that Florida fell to during the season was the number one team in the country, Georgia, dropping a 148-95 decision to the Bulldogs in Athens.
Florida finished their Southeastern Conference season with a 5-1 record and had three women named the SEC Swimmer of the Week for their efforts throughout the dual meet season. Senior Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) earned the distinction the week of October 16 for her performances against Virginia and Minnesota, junior Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) swam her way onto the list following the Auburn meet and freshman Julianne Lago (Wellington, Fla.) earned Freshman Swimmer of the Week honors for her performance at Tennessee.
The rankings do not take in to account the performance of teams at Championship meets and are decided upon from a panel of 16 Division I assistant and head coaches.
