No. 3 Gators Defeat No. 9 Bulldogs

Friday, October 26

Athens, GA

11 AM

Florida Gators

166

132

Georgia

Maxime Rooney led the gators with two individual victories and one relay victory.

No. 3 Gators Defeat No. 9 Bulldogs

Friday, October 26, 2018 | Men's Swimming & Diving

By: Chad Smith

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 3 University of Florida men's swimming & diving team defeated No. 9 Georgia 166-132, at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on Friday. Maxime Rooney led the Gators with two individual event wins and a relay victory.

Gators finished first and second in the 200 Medley Relay to set the tone early. Kacper Stokowski, Chandler Bray, Maxime Rooney, and Will Davis placed first with a time of 1:27.33, 4th-best in the NCAA. Bayley Main, Marco Guarente, Isaac Davis, and Christoph Margotti finished in second with a swim of 1:28.42. Florida jumped out to an early 15-2 lead.

Trey Freeman placed second with a time of 9:03.42 in the 1000 Free. Kieran Smith finished in fourth with a swim of 9:06.68. The Gators led 22-14 at the conclusion of the 1000 Free.

Khader Baqlah, Freeman, and Grady Heath swept the podium in the 200 Free. Baqlah posted a time of 1:35.96. Freeman notched a swim of 1:38.15. Heath finished with a season-best time of 1:38.20 and helped Florida extend its lead to 38-17.

Stokowski set an NCAA B Cut time of 46.76 and won the 100 Back with the second-fastest swim in the NCAA. Main finished in second with a mark of 47.84 and he set a season best time. The two put the Gators on top 53-21.

Stanley Wu finished second in the 100 Breast with a time of 55.19. He improved on a season best and tied the 16th-fastest time in the NCAA. Guarente added a fourth-place finish with a swim of 55.37. Wu and Guarente combined for six points, while three Georgia swimmers claimed 13 points.

In the 200 Fly, Santiago Corredor placed second with a mark of 1:47.09, the 11th-fastest time in the NCAA. Grant Sanders finished in fourth with a swim of 1:47.92. The Bulldogs pulled within eight, 65-47, after they claimed 13 points in the 200 Fly.

Rooney won the 50 Free with a season-best time of 20.24. Margotti placed second with a season-best time of 20.61. Will Davis added a swim of 20.69 and finished third. Isaac Davis clocked a fourth-place time of 20.84. After the event sweep, the Gators led 81-50.

Alex Farrow posted a personal-best score of 312.75 and placed second in the 1-meter. Nick Lydon added a personal-best mark of 305.10 and placed third for Florida.

After the Bulldogs closed the gap to 88-62 at the conclusion of the 1-meter, the Gators swept the 100 Free.

Baqlah won the 100 Free with a time of 44.19. Stokowski achieved a personal-best time of 44.75 and placed second. Heath added a third-place time of 44.87, while Margotti collected a season-best swim of 45.11.

Florida added another sweep in the 200 Back. Clark Beach led the field with a season-best time of 1:45.78 and the 10th-fastest mark in the NCAA. Dakota Mahaffey added a personal-best swim of his own, with a time of 1:48.06. Tyler Silver brought home a third-place time of 1:48.66.

Guarente, Wu, and Ross Palazzo placed third, fourth, and fifth, respectively in the 200 Breast. Guarente swam a season-best 2:00.25. Wu added a season-best swim of 2:01.61. Palazzo posted a time of 2:03.16.

Corredor claimed the top spot in the 500 Free with a time of 4:22.27, which is the fifth-fastest time in the NCAA this season. Rooney added a first-place finish in the 100 Fly with a personal-best swim of 47.79 and the 12th-fastest time in the NCAA. Will Davis added a third-place finish in the 100 Fly.

From the coaches – Head Coach Anthony Nesty

"Congratulations to Coach Poppell and Coach Hite. Our women were fantastic! This was a big win for our women's Program."
"Today was a great team win, which saw a great team effort from our men. Both swimmers and divers stepped up! We had some outstanding swims."
"It was great to have Kacper back and it clearly showed in our performances."
"We are looking forward to our bus ride home. We have our in-state rivals next week in FSU. This will be another great opportunity for our men to showcase their talent."
"Thanks again to our support staff for their efforts on our behalf."
"I would also like to thank Georgia for being a gracious host today."

From the coaches – Diving Coach Bryan Gillooly

"Today was definitely about the team. Georgia is a great SEC rival and a good matchup for us."
"We are still pretty early in the season. Our goal was to contribute to the team and score team points in the diving events."
"Everyone stepped up and was very valuable in the two team wins. Freshman Nick Lydon made his Zone cut and Alex Farrow had a personal best in the 1-meter."

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