Gators Set to Compete at 2013 Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The University of Florida men's swimming and diving will send 14 men to Indianapolis, Ind., for the 2013 Swimming & Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium. Competition will begin on Thurs., March 28 and end Sat., March 30 with prelims starting at 11 a.m. ET and finals 7 p.m. ET each day. The Gators had 15 men selected to compete, eight of which are returning from last season's meet.
Last season Florida continued their top-10 finish streak to 12-straight years after finishing eighth at the NCAA Championships. Junior Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland) collected three top-three finishes to lead the Gators. UF accumulated 27 All-America honors throughout the three-day meet, with 22 coming from returners this season.
Prior to this meet, the Gators did not drop a dual meet as they finished 7-0. It is the second year in a row that they remained undefeated. UF is coming off of their first SEC Championship since 1993. There they broke Auburn's streak of 16-consecutive championships and look to continue that success on into the NCAA Championships. The Gators tallied four individual titles and one relay title at the conference meet.
The 14 selections for the NCAA meet are third most among the teams this year behind Michigan (17) and California (16). Florida's participants include: Cieslak, sophomore Matthew Curby (Oviedo, Fla.), junior Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.), sophomore Matt Elliott (Peoria, Ill.), freshman Arthur Frayler (Fort Washington, Pa.), freshman Corey Main (Auckland, New Zealand), senior Cameron Martin (Clearwater, Fla.), sophomore Ricky Munch (Clifton, Va.), sophomore Carlos Omana (Miami, Fla.), redshirt junior Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa), junior Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.), sophomore Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez (Madrid, Spain), senior Jason Taylor (Plant City, Fla.), sophomore Dan Wallace (North Berwick, Scotland) and freshman Pawel Werner (Wroclaw, Poland).
Florida's men have swam some of the top times in the nation this season as they currentloy have 15 top-10 times. Two particularly strong events include the 200 fly and 400 IM as there are three Gators with top-10 times in both. Cieslak won the 2013 conference title in the 200 fly with the third lowest time in the country1:42.17, while he swam his personal-best (1:41.36) in the event at last year's NCAAs. Rousseau, who finished second at SECs, has the fourth lowest time and Martin is the sixth fastest in the nation.
In the 400 IM, Rousseau recorded the fifth lowest time this season at the Ohio State Invitational. Wallace and Signorin, who finished second and fifth respectively at the conference meet, currently hold the sixth and eighth best times in the country in the event.
deBorde's time in the 50 free currently is the fourth fastest in the nation. He swam his way to a second place finish at the SEC Championships with a school record time of 19.12. Also finding himself among the top times is Elliott in the 200 breast. He won the event at the SEC Championships for his first individual title in the nation's ninth fastest time of 1:54.13. Elliott also set a school record in the 100 breast during the meet.
Several Gator newcomers are making a splash in the top times list and will challenge for Florida this week. Werner won his first SEC title in the 200 free at the championships a month ago and his best time of 1:33.23 sits fourth overall so far this season. Frayler has been a fierce competitor in the mile for UF this season. His personal-best time of 14:49.88 is the sixth-best time in the country. Main joined the team in January and has already made his first appearance at the NCAA Championships. He put down the ninth fastest time in the 200 back this season.
The 2013 NCAA Championships will have live results available for all sessions and the finals on Friday and Saturday will be streamed live on ESPN3 by following the links below.
Friday: http://es.pn/NCAA-MSD-0329
Saturday: http://es.pn/NCAA-MSD-0330
For all Championship information please click here.
Gator fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook. For all of the latest information on Florida swimming, please log on to www.Gatorzone.com.
Schedule of Events
Prelims will begin at 11 a.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET each day
Thursday, March 21
200-yard Freestyle Relay
500-yard Freestyle
200-yard Individual Medley
50-yard Freestyle
One-meter Diving
400-yard Medley Relay
Friday, March 22
200-yard Medley Relay
400-yard Individual Medley
100-yard Butterfly
200-yard Freestyle
100-yard Breaststroke
100-yard Backstroke
Three-meter Diving
800-yard Freestyle Relay
Saturday, March 23
1,650-yard Freestyle—Last heat of time finals
200-yard Backstroke
100-yard Freestyle
200-yard Breaststroke
200-yard Butterfly
Platform Diving
400-yard Freestyle Relay
