Florida Hosts Auburn Friday for Senior Day
Thursday, January 21, 2010 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Friday's match-up between the Florida and Auburn swimming and diving programs is a highly anticipated dual that will conclude the Gators' 2009-10 home schedule in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium. Always a thrilling competition, Florida will bid farewell to 15 seniors just before the No. 6 Florida men (7-0, 2-0 SEC) host No. 5 Auburn (4-1, 3-0 SEC), and the No. 7 Gator women (8-2, 2-1 SEC) take on the No. 8 (3-3, 2-1 SEC) Tiger team.
“It's really exciting to have our senior meet against a quality team like Auburn,” Florida head coach Gregg Troy said. “There will be a lot of great races tomorrow. We have one of the most decorated senior classes in the history of the UF program - we have multiple national champions, Olympians, a World Champion and an all-around great group that's not only talented athletically, but they're also great people.”
Gator fans can check out the men's and women's one-meter diving competition at 2 p.m. and UF's Senior Day celebration at 3:30 p.m., while the remainder of swimming and diving action starts at 4 p.m. in the O'Dome. The competition between the two universities always features two of the league's most talented squads and several of the SEC's fastest swimmers, as the defending SEC Champion women's squad, Florida, and the defending National Champion men's team, Auburn, both take to the water.
The first 250 Florida fans will receive a free Gator swim and dive backpack, courtesy of Gatorade.
In women's competition, Florida and Auburn last met up for a dual Jan. 24, 2009, when the Gators visited Auburn, Ala., defeating the Tigers, 180-120. Florida then went on to claim its 17th SEC Championship in 2009 when Auburn hosted the league meet last February. The win for the Gators was the third-closest competition in SEC history, Florida with 744 points, Auburn with 730.5 and Georgia with 725. AU and UF went on to finish sixth and seventh, respectively, at the 2009 NCAA Championship meet, hosted by Texas A&M. The Gators hold the all-time record in the history of the series, leading 18-11, and both teams share a defeat this season from conference foe Georgia.
On the men's side, Auburn held the edge last season, topping Florida in the dual meet between the two teams, 166-132, and finishing first at the league meet as the Gators claimed their eighth consecutive second-place showing. Auburn went on to claim the 2009 National Championship title, while the Gators took fifth at the 2009 NCAA meet. The Gators still hold the all-time advantage in the history of the series, with a 21-15 advantage. Both squads enter Friday's dual unscathed in conference competition.
Florida vs. Auburn
Jan. 22, 2010
Order of Events
2:00 pm Diving 1M (Men & Women)
3:30 pm Senior Recognition
4:00 pm 200 Medley Relay
1,000 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
5:00 pm (approximate) Diving 3M (Women & Men) - BREAK
5:45 pm (approximate) 100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
6:15 pm (approximate) BREAK (15 minutes)
6:30 pm (approximate) 200 IM
400 Free Relay
-UF-
