Gators Finish Fifth at Georgia Tech Invitational

Saturday, November 23

Atlanta, Ga.

All Day

Florida Gators

Georgia Tech Invitational

Robert Finke won the 1,650 Free on Sunday night, securing a B-Cut with the third-fastest time in the nation this year.

Gators Finish Fifth at Georgia Tech Invitational

Sunday, November 24, 2019 | Men's Swimming & Diving

By: Ryan Sosic

Full Meet Results | Full Day Three Results

GAINESVILLE, Fla. –The No. 6 University of Florida swimming and diving team jumped one spot in the final day at the Georgia Tech Invitational to finish in fifth-place, led by Robert Finke's victory in the 1,650 free.

After staying steady in sixth-place through the first two days of swimming, Florida was able to jump ahead of Alabama with a total of 674.5 points.

Florida State went on to earn a victory in Atlanta with 983.5 points after leading all three days. Utah was posted a runner-up finish with their team tally of 893.5 points.

UF produced some of their best swims on the final day of the three-day invite, reeling in an individual event win, five B-cuts and three personal-bests in the finals on Sunday night.

In his first event of the invite, Finke took home the 1,650 free by 13 seconds, securing a B-cut with his effort of 14:47.51. The win marked the first victory for the Gators in Atlanta and stands as the third-fastest time in the NCAA.

Ethan Beach posted a third-place finish and a B-cut with his finals time of 1:44.04, improving on his time from the morning that was the second-fastest for the event.

Dakota Mahaffey qualified for the 200 back finals as well, producing a season-best time of 1:45.93 and a first-place B-final finish.

For the first time in his collegiate career, Eric Friese competed in the 100 free as an individual. In the evening finals, the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week improved on his prelim time, hitting the wall in 43.82 and reeling in a 13th-place finish.

The duo of Chandler Bray and Kevin Vargas both earned B-cuts in the 200 breast. Bray would tally a sixth-place finish in the final, with Vargas hitting the wall in 1:58.25, good for 11^th and almost three full seconds off his previous best set earlier in the day.

The final event for Florida was the 400 free relay. Will Davis, Friese, Isaac Davis and Mahaffey combined for a swim of 2:55.98 and a sixth-place finish. Mahaffey anchored the relay and posted the top split of 43.58.

Gator Splashes

Dillon Hillis continued to find success at the McAuley Center. The sophomore notched a B-cut in the 200 fly prelims before finishing in sixth-place in the finals.
Drew Clark and Advait Page joined Finke as top-10 finishers in the 1,650 free, with Clark hitting the wall in fourth-place with a swim of 15:23.55, notching a B-Cut. Page posted his best finish in Atlanta, tallying a sixth-place nod. For the first time in their collegiate career, Tyler Watson (15:35.39) and Alfonso Mestre (15:36.66) joined the group and swam the distance event.
For the second straight day, Tyler Silver would notch a B-final victory, posting a new personal-best swim of 1:48.22 in the 200 fly final.
Alex Farrow and Santiago Morales competed on the platform for the first time this season for the Gators. Farrow registered his best finish of the weekend, tallying an overall score of 252.00 and a ninth-place finish. Morales finished in 17th with his score of 165.85.
Watson and Mestre both wrapped up their first collegiate invitational with appearances in the 200 fly final with Hillis and Silver. Watson would go on to finish in 13th-place with a time of 1:48.99, while Mestre notched a swim of 1:53.52, good for 27th.

Quotables

Head coach Anthony Nesty- "Overall, it was a good day for the men. We had some really good swims tonight.We traveled with half of the team for this meet and we have a group heading to the US Open the first week of December. Both groups have been working hard during this fall training period. All are committed and focused on our team goals. We will continue to press forward collectively. We would like to thank Georgia Tech for being a terrific host for the invitational. I would like to thank my Associate Head Coach, Steve Jungbluth, and our entire support staff for their dedication and relentless efforts."

Head diving coach Bryan Gillooly- "Overall, I think the meet was a success for the men. Alex (Farrow) finishing in the top-10 on platform was a nice bonus. This year we are really setting our sites on peaking in February, so the results for this week aren't really the measuring stick. It's important that we are continuing to improve at this point, which we definitely are.

Final Team Scores

Team (Place)	Points
Florida State (1st)	983.5
Utah (2nd)	893.5
North Carolina (3rd)	759
Georgia Tech (4th)	714
Florida (5th)	674.5
Alabama (6th)	660
East Carolina (7th)	450.5
South Carolina (8th)	431
Virginia (9th)	431

Looking ahead:

The invitational marked the final competition for some Gators, as part of the team will travel to the US Open in Atlanta on Dec. 4-7.

Florida's divers will compete in the Auburn Diving Invitational in Alabama on Dec. 17-19.

The Gators will have a nice break before coming back to the O'Connell Center Natatorium for their next dual meet with Auburn on Jan. 25. The meet will serve as Senior Day and the final home dual of the season.

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