Gators Comeback to Win Against Longhorns, Fall to Hoosiers

Saturday, October 20

Austin, TX

11 AM

Florida Gators

126

227

Indiana

Grant Sanders wins the 400 IM with the fastest time in the country.

Gators Comeback to Win Against Longhorns, Fall to Hoosiers

Saturday, October 20, 2018 | Men's Swimming & Diving

By: Chad Smith

AUSTIN, Texas – After finding itself down 98-88 to Texas, No. 8 Florida bounced back on the second day of the tri-meet to defeat No. 1 Texas 178-175 and fell to No. 3 Indiana 227-126. Grant Sanders led the Gators with the fastest time in the NCAA this season in the 400 IM.

Bayley Bain, Chandler Bray, Maxime Rooney, and Will Davis recorded a third-place time of 1:28.75 in the 200 Medley Relay.

Khader Baqlah won the 500 Free with the Gators' fastest time this season, 4:24.25. Trey Freeman set a new personal-best time with a swim of 4:25.16 on his way to a second-place finish.

In the 200 Back, Clark Beach posted a time of 1:46.22 and placed fourth. Kieran Smith added a person-best swim of 1:46.62 and placed fifth.

Rooney set the fastest time of the season by a Florida swimmer in the 100 Free. He placed third and his time of 44.27 is a season best.

Sanders collected a third-place finish after a swim of 2:00.54 in the 200 Breast. Stanley Wu swam a season-best 2:02.17 and placed fifth. Ross Palazzo came in sixth with a time of 2:02.76.

In the 100 Fly, Rooney notched a fourth-place time of 48.08. Will Davis placed fifth with a mark of 48.91, setting a new personal best.

Sanders posted an NCAA B Cut time and placed first with a swim of 3:50.61 in the 400 IM. Sanders' time is also the fastest time in the NCAA. Kieran Smith finished second with a time of 3:52.76, which is the second fastest time in the country.

Alex Farrow recorded a combined score of 291.05 and placed sixth in the 1-meter.

Khader Baqlah, Rooney, Smith, and Christoph Margotti finished second in the 400 Free Relay with a combined time of 2:55.28. Viktor Toth, Isaac Davis, Erge Gezmis, and Dakota Mahaffey combined for a fifth-place swim of 3:01.18.

From the coaches – Head Coach Anthony Nesty

"This was a great college tri-meet environment. It was a successful team trip and I am extremely proud of our men."
"Their attitudes were positive and their zealous efforts were obvious. They demonstrated true Gator Pride."
"There were terrific swims again by all classes. Much credit goes to our seniors, who clearly showed tremendous leadership."
"Next week, we have another challenging road trip as we travel to Athens, Georgia, to compete against the Bulldogs."
"We will return home and prepare as we continue to work hard and represent the Gators."
"Special thanks to our support staff as well as Matt DeLancey (strength & conditioning), Blaire Wolski (nutritionist), Tim Aydt (academic advisor), and Jon Palomar and Christina Radomski (athletic trainers). It truly is a team effort. All parts are integral to our success and we all firmly know this."

From the coaches – Diving Coach Bryan Gillooly

"The men continue to show improvement up against the very best divers in the NCAA."
"Texas and Indiana are stacked with All-Americans and Olympians, so we are at a disadvantage in terms of experience. However, we stepped up and were able to add some points to the overall team score."
"The learning experience will pay off big in SEC competition later in the season."

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