Gators Claim 7 All-America Honors to Highlight Day 3 at NCAAs

Friday, March 25

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Gators Claim 7 All-America Honors to Highlight Day 3 at NCAAs

Friday, March 25, 2016 | Men's Swimming & Diving

Gators will head into Day Four at NCAAs in Fourth place

By: Benjamin Schmitz

Complete Day 3 Results | Championship Central Page

ATLANTA -- The University of Florida men's swimming and diving team showed an all-around effort on Friday night as six individuals brought home seven All-America Honors in Day Three competition at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Altogether, the Blue and Orange amassed 92 team points today which puts them in third-place as they head into the fourth and final day of competition tomorrow.

Sophomore Mark Szaranek got the momentum going with a career best and ninth-place finish in the 400 IM tonight. The Scotland native posted a time of 3:39.28, which bested his prelims mark (3:41.84) and ranks fifth all-time in the UF record books.

In the 100-Yard Butterfly, Dressel shined with a second-place finish in the event, clocking a new school record and the third-fastest time in history (44.40). Former Bolles Club teammate and defending National Champion, Joseph Schooling, won the event after posting the fastest time in history (44.01).

Sophomore Jan Switkowski and junior Mitch D'Arrigo brought home a pair of All-America honors in the 200-Yard Freestyle event, posting two of Florida's top-five times in UF history. Switkowski touched the wall at 1:32.14 for a fourth-place finish while D'Arrigo followed behind in sixth at 1:32.67. Both times mark career-bests and currently stand as the third and fifth fastest times in school history.

In addition, senior Pawel Werner gathered an Honorable Mention All-America 200-Yard Freestyle recognition with a 14th-place showing. Werner clocked a season-best 1:33.77.

Junior Jack Blyzinskyj capped the individual racing with an Honorable Mention All-America showing in the 100-Yard backstroke, touching out with a 12th-place time of 45.82.

In the relay field, the foursome of Dressel, Switkowski, Szaranek, and Dressel registered a school record time of 1:23.43 to finish fourth overall. The relay team brought in 30 team points to finish the night.

The Gators return to the pool tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, for the fourth and final day of competition at the 2016 NCAA Championships.

Click here for a complete recap from Day 3 Preliminary Competition

Florida Head Coach Gregg Troy on Day Three Competition:
"We had a great day today. We came in this morning and improved on most of our performances. This is two days in a row where we've not only done our job in the morning, but also improved at night. Overall it was a great day and it was capped off by a tremendous relay at the end of the night.

"We're pretty relaxed going into tomorrow's races and we've kept a good focus throughout the week. It's important that you stay relaxed in meets like this and don't get tightened up -- it shows confidence."

Florida Sophomore J. Switkowski his fourth-place finish in the 200-Yard Freestyle:
"It was a good race. I was able to post my best time ever. I wasn't seeded as high as the fourth-place finish so it felt good to go out and prove myself.

"It's not just about me though, everyone has been swimming really well and it's made this week a lot of fun. We're all looking forward to tomorrow."

Florida Junior M. D'Arrigo on his sixth-place finish in the 200-Yard Freestyle:
"It felt good to go out and swim a career-best time today. I was up against a fast group of guys in the 200-Yard Freestyle but it was fun to compete alongside them.

"The focus is on the team right now though. We're really looking forward to tomorrow's competition and putting up some fast times and supporting each other."

Looking Back:
Click Here for a complete Recap From Day 1 Competition
Click Here for a complete Recap from Day 2 Competition

Record-Breaking Weekend
The Gators have put together a week full of new school Florida records. Tonight, Dressel added to the list of broken records this weekend with a 44.40 in the 100-Yard Butterfly in addition to the 200-Yard Medley Relay's 1:23.43 (Complete list of this week's new records below).

800-Yard Freestyle Relay: P. Werner, J. Switkowski, M. Szaranek, & M. D'Arrigo (6:09.84).
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: C. Dressel, C. Main, J. Blyzinskyj, M. Szaranek (1:16.21).
500-Yard Freestyle: M. D'Arrigo (4:09.98).
50-Yard Freestyle: C. Dressel (18.20).
100-Yard Butterfly: C. Dressel (44.40).
200-Yard Medley Relay: C. Dressel, Jan Switkowski, Jack Blyzinskyj, and Mark Szaranek (1:23.43).

Gator All-Americans
In NCAA swimming and diving, athletes and relay teams who make the championship final (top eight) are considered First-Team All-Americans. Athletes and relay teams that qualify for the consolation final (determines places 9-16) are considered Honorable Mention All-Americans.

With tonight's Top-8 finishes, Dressel, D'Arrigo, Switkowski, and the 200 Medley Relay group gather All-America Honors in their respective events while Szaranek, Werner, and Blyzinskyj accept Honorable Mention All-America honors for this Top-16 finishes.

This Week's All-America Honors:
All-America Honors
J. Blyzinskyj (4): 200 FR, 400 MR, 100 Back*, 200 MR.
M. D'Arrigo (3): 800 FR, 500-Yard Freestyle, 200 Free.
C. Dressel (5): 50-Yard Freestyle, 200 FR, 400 MR, 100 Fly, 200 MR.
C. Main (2): 200 FR, 400 MR.
J. Switkowski (5): 800 FR, 200 IM, 400 MR, 200 Free, 200 MR.
M. Szaranek (4): 800 FR, 200 IM, 200 FR, 400 IM*, 200 MR.
P. Werner (4): 800 FR, 500 Free*, 200 Free*.

(*) - Denotes an Honorable-Mention All-America Honor

Complete Top-10 Standings After Day Two Competition

Place	School	Points
1	Texas	366
2	California	271
3	Florida	255
4	NC State	197
5	Georgia	162
6	Tennessee	152
7	Alabama	143
8	Missouri	140
9	Louisville	134.5
10	Michigan	118

Saturday, March 26: Prelims - 10 a.m. | Finals - 6 p.m.
Platform Diving: Smith
1,650 Freestyle: Frayler, D'Arrigo, Lawless, B. Manganiello
200 Back: Main, Blyzinskyj, Balogh, Lebed
100 Free: Dressel, Werner
200 Breast:
200 Butterfly: Switkowski, Szaranek, A. Manganiello
400 Free Relay: Florida

Notable Links:
WATCH: Caeleb Dressel swims a Blazing 18.20 in the 50-Yard Freestyle
Complete NCAA Championship Notes
2016 Championship Central Page

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