Pre-Meet Notes
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 8 University of Florida women's swimming and diving team will welcome No. 14 Auburn for their Senior Day live on SEC Network on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 11 a.m. ET inside the O'Connell Center Natatorium.
A pre-meet ceremony will honor 13 seniors for their accomplishments and efforts to the UF swimming and diving program over their collegiate careers. Additionally, during the second break of the meet, Florida will welcome back and recognize the 2010 women's national championship team.
For timing purposes, the teams will compete in the women's 1-meter, men's 3-meter and 1,000 free on Friday evening.
The Gators (10-0) head into their last home dual of the 2019-20 season after picking up victories in quad-meet action over Vanderbilt, North Florida and Liberty on Jan. 3 in Gainesville. UF last hit the water in a dual meet back on Nov. 8 in the Sunshine Showdown against Florida State, picking up a 195-104 victory over their in-state rival.
Over the long break from dual competition, Florida was able to claim two different invitational titles at the Georgia Tech Invitational (Nov. 22-24) and Auburn Diving Invitational (Dec. 17-19) for the second year in a row.
During the 2019 portion of the season, the team has found itself among conference leaders across multiple evets. Swimmers have posted 11 top-10 times, with seven of those being among the top-five fastest times.
Leah Braswell owns three of those times, including the fastest 1,650 time in the NCAA set by the sophomore at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
On the board,
Ashley McCool and
Brooke Madden both own top-five dives in both the 1-meter and 3-meter.
Telecast Information
Play-by-play announcer Mark Neely will be joined by Rowdy Gaines and Kat LaRocca to break down all the action, with former Gator All-American and Olympic medalist Elizabeth Beisel returning back to Gainesville to handle the reporting duties from the pool deck.
The meet can be viewed directly on the SEC Network or via stream
here.
Series History
This year marks the 41st matchup between the Gators and Tigers, with Florida leading the all-time series 24-16.
Auburn holds the upper-hand recently, possessing a three-meet win streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season.
From 1972-96, Florida remained undefeated against their conference foe, compiling 17 wins in a row.
Auburn's longest win streak stands at 11, as the Tigers strung together wins in every matchup from 1994-2006, excluding the 1995-96 season.
Looking at the Tigers
Auburn will head to Gainesville with an overall record of 5-1, including a 2-0 conference mark. The team has picked up dual victories over LSU, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia Tech and Gardner Webb. Their lone loss of the year was against No. 3 Virginia
on Jan. 4.
The Tigers' sprinting efforts are led by Julie Meynen, who earned SEC Swimmer of the Week after her performance at the SMU Classic in October. She currently holds the third-fastest 100 free time in the conference, while also claiming the fourth-best 50 free effort in the SEC.
Her teammate Claire Fisch also holds top-10 times in the 50, 100 and 200 free.
Emily Hetzer is Auburn's distance leader as she sits right behind Braswell in the 1,000 with the third-best time this season. She also holds top-five swims in the 500 and 1,650 free.
Diver Alison Maillard has been gaining conference-wide recognition all season long, already taking home three SEC Diver of the Week accolades throughout the fall portion of competition. The senior holds the top 1-meter score in the conference.
Quotables
Head coach Jeff Poppell- "This is an exciting weekend for the Gators. We expect a very close and competitive meet with No. 14 Auburn as they beat us pretty handily last year at their home pool. We're also looking forward to recognizing our seniors at their last home competition and getting the opportunity to honor our 2010 women's national championship team. It should be a great day in front of a packed O'Connell Center crowd."
Head diving coach Bryan Gillooly- "There will be a lot of moving parts to this meet against Auburn. They have a couple divers who will be the ones to beat in the SEC. The individual competitions will be very tough. We also really want to contribute to, what should be, a close team event, so every point counts. Now, throw in the fact that it's senior night for Abby, Brooke and Alex, and all of the emotions come with that, and add the SEC Network and a great home crowd. It's going to come down to who can channel all of this energy into a controlled, disciplined performance. The team is great shape and this should be a very exciting competition."
Promotions
- SENIOR DAY: Get to the Natatorium early as we honor this year's senior class in a pre-meet ceremony!
- T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY: The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a Gators Swimming and Diving t-shirt upon entry!
- 2010 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Join us in welcoming back members of the 2010 Women's National Championship team to Gainesville.
Looking Ahead
Florida will wrap-up its dual meet and conference portion of their schedule when they take on the No. 4 Volunteers in Knoxville on Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. ET.
The Gators will then enter championship season, beginning with the SEC Championships on Feb. 18-22 hosted by Auburn. Last season, the team finished in second-place, its best conference championship finish since 2011.
Next up on the docket will be the NCAA Diving Zones on March 9-11.
The team will then come back together for the 2020 NCAA Championships on March 18-21 in Athens, Ga.
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