Gators Dominate Georgia Tech Invitational

Saturday, November 17

Atlanta, GA

All Day

Florida Gators

Georgia Tech Invitational

Gators Dominate Georgia Tech Invitational

Saturday, November 17, 2018 | Men's Swimming & Diving

By: Chad Smith

ATLANTA – Khader Baqlah, Maxime Rooney, Kieran Smith, and Christoph Margotti clocked an NCAA A Standard in the 400 Free Relay to pace the University of Florida men's swimming & diving team on the final day of the Georgia Tech Invitational. The Gators led every day at McAuley Aquatic Center and on Saturday finished with 1,224.5 points.

Rooney, Baqlah, Smith, and Margotti clocked the 10th-fastest time in program history in the 400 Free Relay. The group effort of 2:50.70 was the third-fastest time of the day.

Robert Finke recorded the fastest time of his career in the 1,650 Free with a mark of 14:55.39 and won. Trey Freeman added a personal-best swim of his own and placed third with a time of 15:10.95. Drew Clark put forth a strong effort and finished in sixth with a season-best 15:20.25.

Clark Beach notched a season-low time of 1:41.97 and finished in third in the 200 Back A Final. Grant Sanders set a career best with a sixth-place swim of 1:44.80. Smith came in eighth with a mark of 1:46.12. Ethan Beach had a ninth-place time of 1:46.27. Bayley Main closed out the top-10 with a 1:49.02.

Rooney added a second-place finish in the 100 Free A Final with a swim of 42.50, nearly matching his personal-best 42.45. Baqlah won the B Final with his fastest swim of the season, 43.08. Margotti added a 44.14 and placed third in the B Final.

Marco Guarente posted a fifth-place time of 1:57.59 in the A Final of the 200 Breast. Sanders added the best time of his career, as he clocked a 1:57.84 and placed sixth. Stanley Wu came in 10th with a 1:59.57.

Nick Lydon and Lyle Hayes-Macaluso collected points on the platform for the Gators. Lydon placed 12th with a combined score of 237.00, which gave the team nine points. Hayes-Macaluso added six points to the team score, as he accumulated a 15th-place mark of 237.00.

From the coaches – Head Coach Anthony Nesty

"This was a tremendous team win for our men in Atlanta. Our fall invitational is always a good test for us. I am pleased with the team's effort and attitude during all six sessions."
"There were some great swims by all classes and it was very encouraging to see our men picked up NCAA A Standards in both the 800 Free Relay and 400 Free Relay."
"Again, I would like to thank the entire support staff for their commitment to our men's team."

From the coaches – Diving Coach Bryan Gillooly

"The freshmen are showing great signs of things to come. Their work ethic as a group is outstanding and it is starting to show in their progress."
"Getting a taste of a championship format event will help a lot."
"Junior Alex Farrow took a huge leap forward finagling in both springboard events. In a very deep field, he proved that he belonged right there at the top."
"I couldn't be more proud of the group of men."

Team Standings
1. Florida – 1,224.5
2. Florida State – 876
3. Georgia Tech – 764.5
4. Alabama – 685
5. Virginia Tech – 626
6. Auburn – 540.5
7. South Carolina – 438
6. North Carolina – 369
9. East Carolina – 327.5

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