Friday, October 11
Minneapolis, MN
7 PM
Florida Gators
at
#18 Minnesota
No. 10 Gators Ready for Ranked Dual Against No. 18 Gophers
Thursday, October 10, 2019 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Pre-Meet Notes
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 10 Gators women's swimming and diving team will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 11 as they will hit the pool against Big 10 opponent No. 18 Minnesota for their fourth-straight away meet of the season.
UF has started the season 3-0 after picking up wins over FIU, Miami and FAU on Sept. 26-28. This is only the second 3-0 start for the team since 2010, with the only other time coming last season when the team got off to a 4-0 start in head coach Jeff Poppell's first season.
Thus far, Florida has won 47-of-48 events and have outscored their opponents by a tally of 617.5-270.5 and have nine times that rank in the top-10 nationally, highlighted by Kelly Fertel's fastest 400 IM time and Sherridon Dressel's second-fastest 100 back time.
In the first weekly conference awards, junior diver Ashley McCool earned her first SEC Women's Diver of the Week after winning five-of-six events and sweeping the 1-meter and 3-meter against Miami and FAU.
Series History
Prior to this year's matchup, the Gators and Gophers have faced off just four times. UF leads the series 2-1-1, winning the first two meets in 2003-04 and 2004-05 by just 74 points combined. In 2014, Minnesota defeated the visiting Gators by a tally of 183-117. The two teams finished in a dead lock at 150 in their last meeting in 2015.
Looking at the Gophers
The Gophers head into the new season ranked as the 18th best team in the nation according to the first CSCAA poll released on Wednesday. Coming off a season where they posted a 7-3 record (3-1 conference) and an 11th-place finish at NCAAs, Minnesota will rely on three All-American returners from last year's squad: Emily Cook, Lindsey Kozelsky and Tevyn Waddell. The trio finished seventh in the 400 medley relay at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
Quotables
Head coach Jeff Poppell- "We're very excited to take on a great Minnesota team tomorrow. Last season, they were a .5 point shy of being a Top-10 team at the NCAA Championships. They are extremely well-coached and have no doubt that they will represent a tough challenge for us in their home pool and in their first dual meet of the season."
Head Diving coach Bryan Gillooly- "Minnesota is always one of the top diving teams in the NCAA and has been for a long time. It will be a great experience to go outside of the SEC and dive against some great talent. It's early in the year so we aren't as sharp as we expect to be an a few months but diving in an excellent facility against really good competition is the perfect way to really get things moving in the right direction."
Looking Ahead
The Gators will wrap-up their five meet road stand next Friday when the team will compete in their conference opener at No. 6 Missouri on the 18th. Florida will then host two meets in a row (No. 8 Georgia and No. 24 Florida State) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida's future schedule will remain tough as every dual meet opponent is slotted in the first CSCAA Top 25 poll.
Follow the Gators:
| FloridaGators.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 10 Gators women's swimming and diving team will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 11 as they will hit the pool against Big 10 opponent No. 18 Minnesota for their fourth-straight away meet of the season.
UF has started the season 3-0 after picking up wins over FIU, Miami and FAU on Sept. 26-28. This is only the second 3-0 start for the team since 2010, with the only other time coming last season when the team got off to a 4-0 start in head coach Jeff Poppell's first season.
Thus far, Florida has won 47-of-48 events and have outscored their opponents by a tally of 617.5-270.5 and have nine times that rank in the top-10 nationally, highlighted by Kelly Fertel's fastest 400 IM time and Sherridon Dressel's second-fastest 100 back time.
In the first weekly conference awards, junior diver Ashley McCool earned her first SEC Women's Diver of the Week after winning five-of-six events and sweeping the 1-meter and 3-meter against Miami and FAU.
Series History
Prior to this year's matchup, the Gators and Gophers have faced off just four times. UF leads the series 2-1-1, winning the first two meets in 2003-04 and 2004-05 by just 74 points combined. In 2014, Minnesota defeated the visiting Gators by a tally of 183-117. The two teams finished in a dead lock at 150 in their last meeting in 2015.
Looking at the Gophers
The Gophers head into the new season ranked as the 18th best team in the nation according to the first CSCAA poll released on Wednesday. Coming off a season where they posted a 7-3 record (3-1 conference) and an 11th-place finish at NCAAs, Minnesota will rely on three All-American returners from last year's squad: Emily Cook, Lindsey Kozelsky and Tevyn Waddell. The trio finished seventh in the 400 medley relay at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
Quotables
Head coach Jeff Poppell- "We're very excited to take on a great Minnesota team tomorrow. Last season, they were a .5 point shy of being a Top-10 team at the NCAA Championships. They are extremely well-coached and have no doubt that they will represent a tough challenge for us in their home pool and in their first dual meet of the season."
Head Diving coach Bryan Gillooly- "Minnesota is always one of the top diving teams in the NCAA and has been for a long time. It will be a great experience to go outside of the SEC and dive against some great talent. It's early in the year so we aren't as sharp as we expect to be an a few months but diving in an excellent facility against really good competition is the perfect way to really get things moving in the right direction."
Looking Ahead
The Gators will wrap-up their five meet road stand next Friday when the team will compete in their conference opener at No. 6 Missouri on the 18th. Florida will then host two meets in a row (No. 8 Georgia and No. 24 Florida State) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida's future schedule will remain tough as every dual meet opponent is slotted in the first CSCAA Top 25 poll.
Follow the Gators:
| FloridaGators.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
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