Results
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sherridon Dressel and
Vanessa Pearl each took home three event titles to lead the No. 7 University of Florida women's swimming and diving team to a 161-137 Senior Day victory over No. 14 Auburn in front of a capacity crowd at O'Connell Center Notarium on Saturday afternoon.
Prior to the meet, Florida recognized 13 seniors for their contributions to the Gator swimming and diving program.
In addition to the three event wins by Dressel and Pearl, Florida remained undefeated on the season after getting a boost on the diving board as
Brooke Madden swept both events in her first home action on the 2019-20 season. The senior would go on to post scores of 313.65 on the 1-meter and an overall tally of 337.35 on the 3-meter.
The 8-0 dual mark is the best start to a season since the 2002-03 team that won its first nine duals on the season before losing to Auburn on Jan. 24, 2003.
To begin the meet, Auburn took home the first individual events of the competition in the 1,000 and 200 free. Dressel's victory in the 100 back got the Gators on track, as the team would then win the next two races to regain momentum.
Overall, UF took home 10 events compared to Auburn's six, including splitting the relays.
Florida took the 200 medley as the relay of Dressel,
Kelly Fertel,
Talia Bates and
Bella Garofalo posted the fastest time. The Tigers ended the meet with a relay win in the 400 free by just under two seconds.
Gator Splashes
- Taylor Ault was able to get the Gators a distance win in the 500 free by just a touch, hitting the wall just .01 faster than Emily Hetzer from Auburn. Her time, 4:43.60, was good for a B-cut.
- Kathleen Golding joined the event, and posted a third-place finish with her time of 4:49.72. The freshman would go on to place runner-up bids in the 200 free (1:49.04) and the 400 IM, just .08 seconds behind Pearl's winning mark of 4:14.16. Both times earned B-Cuts for the Florida pair.
- On Friday, Leah Braswell set a new personal-best in the 1,000 free, posting a swim of 9:42.44. The effort was her new top time by over three seconds, the seventh-best in the NCAA and earned her a second-place finish.
- Joining Dressel in the 100 back was Emma Ball, who finished behind the winning-effort tallied by Dressel with a runner-up bid of 55.07.
- In her final meet at the O'Conner Center, Kelly Fertel earned a second-place finish in the 200 fly with her time of 2:00.15. Auburn's Averee Preble would win the event with an effort of 1:59.95, just .20 seconds better than Fertel. She would also go on to finish in third in the 200 breast later in the meet with a swim of 2:14.19
- Bella Garofalo competed in a tough 100 free event. Auburn posted the top two swims, but Garofalo's third-place finish (49.75) was just .11 off a win, and .05 off a runner-up bid. In the 50 free, the senior would earn a fourth-place finish as the Tigers took the top-three spots.
- As Dressel took home the 200 back, Rosie Zavaros would round-out the top-three finishers as the sophomore hit the wall in 1:56.86. Dressel's winning effort was 1:53.28.
- Ashley McCool posted a 1-meter total of 304.50, good for second-place behind Madden.
- As championship approaches, multiple Florida swimmers were out to claim cuts in Friday night time trials. Both Ault and Nikki Miller secured B-cuts with their efforts in the 1,650 free. Aul's time of 16:03.06 would stand as ninth-best in the nation, and Miller's effort of 16:12.50 would place her with the seventh-best swim in the SEC.
Series History
Florida improves to 25-16 all-time against Auburn. The Gators were able to snap a three-meet losing streak that dated 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.
Quotables
Head coach Jeff Poppell- "
On the team's performance today....
"We won. That was a great way to end Senior Day, Senior Week and I thought our team did a phenomenal job today. It wasn't a pretty meet. It wasn't a perfect meet by any means...Auburn is a terrific team. They definitely came prepared and ready to compete with us today and gave us a great test. We're appreciative of that because I think that is only going to make us stronger heading into SEC's and NCAA's."
On getting tested by Auburn...
"I thought our girls handled the competition really, really well. We had some phenomenal performances from some key individuals in places and opportunities that we needed them. And again, that gives me a lot of confidence as we go through the rest of the season that have people like that can pull us out of adverse situations over the course of a meet, which is normal. You never have a meet that goes perfectly."
On the emotions of Senior Day...
"There were a lot of emotions today with it being Senior Day. I think that might've hurt us in some cases with some of our seniors... This senior class, by far, is the greatest group of seniors that I've associated with in my 27 years of coaching. Truly the best group of leaders, collectively, that I've ever been associated with. They mean a lot to the program, and to me personally, so it was as emotional for me as it was for them."
Head diving coach Bryan Gillooly-
On his emotions going into the dual…
"A lot of emotions today. I knew that was going to be the case. We had a tough competition against Auburn… It always comes down to a close meet so every point counts so that means your third, fourth and fifth-places count a lot too. It's Senior Day so it's the last home meets for Alex, Abby and Brooke tonight. A lot of excitement. The crowd here at the O'Dome is always loud and exciting as well so how are you going to handle that and how are you going to perform under that pressure, and to see them come through tonight (Friday), I couldn't be happier."
On what Senior Night means for his divers…
"It's Senior Night. It means a lot to these kids. These kids are Gators. They've been here for a long time… This place means a lot and for it to be your last meet, you're leaving something that is a big part of your life."
On Abby Howell…
"Abby- a fifth-year senior. She has been a great captain in the past. Great leader. Always someone I can count on. Great diver as well. She's set the table for this new group coming in."
On Brooke Madden…
"Been at nationals at all three years, looking to make it back again. (She was) an All-American last year. Honorable-mention All-American the year before. She's kind of carried us during in a down-time for the women's team. You see them build up, that's because of her."
Looking Ahead
Florida will look to remain undefeated on the year when it travels to Knoxville to face-off with the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers in their season-finale 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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