Florida Begins Its Quest for NCAA Championship on Thursday
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 | Men's Swimming & Diving
IOWA CITY, IA - Florida's group of 14 swimmers and one diver are in Iowa City, Iowa for the 2015 NCAA Championships and begin what hopes to be a special week tomorrow, as the three-day meet gets underway. Prelims will begin at 12 p.m. ET and finals will start at 8 p.m. ET each day at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium.
Of the 15 Gators competing this week, 10 are returners from last year's championships. In addition, Florida ranks third with the most swimmers who qualified for the meet.
The Gators are looking for their third NCAA Championship, after winning the men's titles in 1983 and 1984. A season ago, Florida tallied two national titles, set seven school records and ended the NCAA Championships in third place with 387 points, representing the highest finish for the Orange and Blue since UF also took third in 1991.
In addition, the finish also represented the highest Florida men have ever finished in the 15 years under Head Coach Gregg Troy's tutelage. Since Troy took over the men's team before the 1999-2000 season, the Gators have scored a top-10 finish every year. Individually, Florida had 13 different swimmers earn a combined 45 NCAA All-American honors to match the most for the program at a single NCAA meet since 2007. The final point total of 387 was the most all time for Florida at NCAA's.
The University of Iowa is serving as the host school for the Championships. It is the second time the UI will host the championships and the first since 1927 when it was held at the UI Field House.
Important Links:
- NCAA Championships Central Page
- Host Information
- Psych Sheet | Institutions Eligible Relays
- Florida Meet Notes
- Watch: Coach Troy's Presser Previewing the NCAA Championships
Following the Meet:
- Live Results
- Thursday Prelims Video | Thursday Finals Video
- Friday Prelims Video | Friday Finals Video (ESPN3)
- Saturday Prelims Video | Saturday Finals Video (ESPN3)
Coaches Corner:
Head Coach Gregg Troy
On the NCAA Championships overall…
“We have a pretty good group that qualified, as we have 15 men going that includes two relay alternates and we do have a diver (Zach Hernandez) going this year. Our group is very experienced and deep. We are looking forward to a great competition this week.”
On the competition the Gators will face this week…
“Our guys are very aware of the competition they are going up against this week, as we have a pretty good idea of what landscape looks like. It's great to be in the Southeastern Conference because we've already been a part of a real swim meet. This week really comes down to stepping up, racing tough and making the Gator Nation proud, and I'm sure that we will do that.”
Who's In:
Seniors: Matt Elliott, Christian Homer, Carlos Omana, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, Dan Wallace
Redshirt Junior: Zach Hernandez
Juniors: Arthur Frayler, Corey Main, Pawel Werner
Redshirt Sophomore: Nicholas Alexiou
Sophomores: Jack Blyzinskyj, Mitch D'Arrigo
Freshman: Caeleb Dressel, Ben Lawless, Mark Szaranek
Top Times:
Regarding relays, UF enters the championships having qualified in all five relay events. Individually, coming into the meet, Florida holds 20 top-16 times in the country, including:
50 Free – Caeleb Dressel, 2nd (18.89)
100 Free – Caeleb Dressel, 2nd (41.90)
200 Free – Mitch D'Arrigo, 2nd (1:33.10)
200 Free – Pawel Werner, 10th (1:33.69)
200 Free – Caeleb Dressel, 12th (1:33.95)
500 Free – Mitch D'Arrigo, 1st (4:10.77)
500 Free – Dan Wallace, 6th (4:13.61)
1,650 Free – Mitch D'Arrigo, 3rd (14:39.90)
1,650 Free – Arthur Frayler, 4th (14:40.05)
100 Back – Jack Blyzinskyj, 11th (45.81)
100 Breast – Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, 15th (52.54)
200 Breast – Matt Elliott, 12th (1:54.04)
100 Fly – Caeleb Dressel, 3rd (45.28)
200 Fly – Dan Wallace, 13th (1:42.49)
200 IM – Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, 9th (1:43.15)
200 IM – Mark Szaranek, 15th (1:43.61)
400 IM – Mark Szaranek, 3rd (3:40.22)|
400 IM – Carlos Omana, 4th (3:40.35)
400 IM – Dan Wallace, 8th (3:41.14)
400 IM – Matt Elliott, 16th (3:42.54)
All-American Status:
The top eight times (places 1-8) in each preliminary race, including relays, will advance to the evening's finals and earn NCAA All-America honors (the only exception is the 1,650-yard freestyle, which is a timed final). The next eight times (places 9-16) will swim in the 'B' final and earn NCAA All-America honorable mention. The top 16 finishers will score points for their team.
Schedule of Events: (Prelims: 12 p.m. ET / Finals: 8 p.m. ET)
Thursday, March 19
200-yard Freestyle Relay
500-yard Freestyle – Mitch D'Arrigo, Arthur Frayler, Dan Wallace, Pawel Werner
200-yard Individual Medley – Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, Mark Szaranek
50-yard Freestyle – Caeleb Dressel
400-yard Medley Relay
Friday, March 20
200-yard Medley Relay
400-yard Individual Medley – Matt Elliott, Carlos Omana, Mark Szaranek, Dan Wallace
100-yard Butterfly – Jack Blyzinskyj, Caeleb Dressel, Christian Homer
200-yard Freestyle – Nicholas Alexiou, Mitch D'Arrigo, Pawel Werner
100-yard Breaststroke – Matt Elliott, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez
100-yard Backstroke – Jack Blyzinskyj
800-yard Freestyle Relay
Saturday, March 21
200-yard Backstroke – Corey Main
100-yard Freestyle – Caeleb Dressel
200-yard Breaststroke – Matt Elliott, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez
200-yard Butterfly – Dan Wallace
400-yard Freestyle Relay
Platform Diving (Prelims: 1:45 p.m.) – Zach Hernandez
1,650-yard Freestyle (Begins at 4:45 p.m.) – Mitch D'Arrigo, Arthur Frayler, Ben Lawless, Carlos Omana
NCAA Championships Coverage:
ESPN3 will live stream the championships final sessions Friday and Saturday. Sam Gore on play-by-play and Rowdy Gaines and Cynthia Potter providing commentary. Thursday's sessions (morning and evening), along with the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday will be streamed live via Hawkeyesports.com.
Coverage of the championships will also be broadcast via tape delay on ESPNU at 6 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, March 31.
Florida's Team Finishes under Head Coach Gregg Troy:
The Gators last won NCAA titles in 1983 and 1984. Here is UF's finishes at the SEC and NCAA Championships under Head Coach Gregg Troy.
- 1999-00: 2nd SEC's; 9th NCAA's
- 2000-01: 3rd SEC's; 8th NCAA's
- 2001-02: 2nd SEC's; 4th NCAA's
- 2002-03: 2nd SEC's; 6th NCAA's
- 2003-04: 2nd SEC's; 6th NCAA's
- 2004-05: 2nd SEC's; 5th NCAA's
- 2005-06: 2nd SEC's; 5th NCAA's
- 2006-07: 2nd SEC's; 4th NCAA's
- 2007-08: 2nd SEC's; 8th NCAA's
- 2008-09: 2nd SEC's; 5th NCAA's
- 2009-10: 2nd SEC's; 5th NCAA's
- 2010-11: 2nd SEC's; 5th NCAA's
- 2011-12: 2nd SEC's; 8th NCAA's
- 2012-13: 1st SEC's; 6th NCAA's
- 2013-14: 1st SEC's; 3th NCAA's
- 2014-15: 1st SEC's
Individual NCAA History:
Florida's men have won a total of 43 NCAA titles (33 individual and 10 relays). Ryan Lochte ranks atop the program with seven career NCAA titles and Associate Head Coach Anthony Nesty ranks second with five career NCAA titles.
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