Florida Gators

SEC Championship Notes

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 8 University of Florida swimming and diving team will hit postseason competition at the 2020 Southeastern Conference Championships from Feb. 18-22 at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

The four-day event will begin on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. ET with time trials, followed by preliminary rounds for the women's 1-meter and the men's 3-meter at 11:30 a.m. ET.  The first day of finals will feature both diving events and the 200 medley and 800 free relays, beginning at 5:20 p.m. ET.

For the remainder of the week, prelims will start at 10:30 a.m. ET, with finals competition beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Both morning and evening sessions throughout all five days of competition can be viewed on SEC Network +.

Additional information throughout the week can be found at championship central.

Regular Season Review 

The Gators finished the 2019-20 regular season with an overall record of 11-1, with a dual tally of 8-1. The dual mark posted was the best finish since the 2007-08 season when UF posted an identical record in their respective season.

Additionally, the 8-0 start was the first time that Florida won eight-straight dual meets to start off a season this decade. 

Florida got off to a hot start, winning three straight meets in South Florida over FIU, Miami and FAU. UF would outscore their opponents by mark over 617.5-270.5 to start the season.

The Gators would then hit the road again for two straight duals, starting off with a trip up north to face then-No. 18 Minnesota. Florida would win the meet, outscoring the Gophers by a tally of 202-97.

Florida would open its SEC slate with a 176-124 victory in a top-10 showdown with No. 6 Missouri in Columbia, Mo. on Oct. 18.

UF would the defeat then-ranked No. 12 Georgia and No. 20 Florida State in back-to-back home meets at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8 to remain undefeated at 7-0.

Before heading into the new year, the squad was able to pick up a pair of invitational victories, winning the Georgia Tech Invitational (Nov. 22-24) and the Auburn Diving Invitational (Dec. 16-19).

A tri-meet victory over Vanderbilt, Liberty and North Florida and a Senior Day victory over Auburn highlighted the remainder of regular season competition.

UF last competed on Feb. 1 in a battle of unbeatens against No. 4 Tennessee in Knoxville. Florida earned its only loss of the season by a final score of 170.5-129.5.

In total, 22 swimmers and divers would go on to win 171 events throughout the 2019-20 regular season.

Florida was led by Sherridon Dressel, who put together a 27-win performance during her senior year. She would post 16 individual event victories, while also being a part of 11 winning relays.

Talia Bates came in and made her presence felt right away in her first collegiate season, producing the second-most wins on the squad. She would win nine individual events, while being a key member of 10 winning relays for Florida.

The final members of the top-five were rounded-out by Bella Garofalo (19), Vanessa Pearl (18) and Kelly Fertel (13).

Ashley McCool would post 11 diving victories throughout the year, with seven of those coming in Florida's first four dual meets.

Conference of the Week Honors

Florida's individual contributions made throughout the season was recognized league-wide, as four different Gators picked up six weekly league accolades.

McCool made a splash for the team's diving efforts, garnering back-to-back Diver of the Week honors after her seven events to begin Florida's season. She would sweep diving competition in three-straight meets versus Miami, FAU and Minnesota.

The transfer wasn't the only individual to open eyes in their first season as a Gator. Bates earned a pair of Freshman of the Week honors on Nov. 12 and Jan. 14 for her efforts in wins over Florida State and Florida's tri-meet.

On Jan. 28, a pair of seniors earned the final pair of weekly awards for their performance in Florida's Senior Meet victory over Auburn.

Dressel would go on to claim a trio of wins in the 100 fly and the 100 and 200 back, while Brooke Madden earned her first career Diver of the Week accolade after sweeping the 1-meter and 3-meter events in her first dual meet appearance of the season.

Gators in the Polls

After a 24th-place finish at the NCAA championships, Florida was voted No. 8 in the final 2019 CSCAA poll.

The 2019-20 preseason poll would drop the team to No. 10.

After getting out to the 4-0 mark, the Gators moved up nine spots to No. 1 and remained as the top team in the nation until Dec. 11's poll that dropped Florida to No. 7.

The No. 1 ranking marked the first time since the Gators won their national championship in 2010 that they owned the nation's top spot.

The most recent poll was released on Jan. 22 and placed Florida as the eighth team in the nation.

Gators Make Mark in SEC and NCAA

Florida's regular season success is apparent through the number of times or scores that landed in the top of both the SEC and the nation.

In the SEC, 52 times or scores posted were in the top-20.

Leah Braswell owns the fastest 1,650 free time, while also claiming the second-best 500 free time as well as the third-best 1,000 effort. 

Dressel and Fertel also won a pair of top-ten times. Dressel's times come in the 100 back (sixth) and 100 free (tenth). Fertel comes in at No. 3 in the 400 IM, and No. 4 in the 200 IM.

In diving, Florida has a duo in Madden and McCool that possesses top-five scores in both the 1-meter and 3-meter. Madden owns the third-best tally on both 1-meter and 3-meter, while McCool comes in at No. 2 in the 3-meter and No. 5 in the 1-meter.

Nationally, Braswell's 1,650 free time is the top in the NCAA, and her 500 free (No. 6) and 1,000 (No. 10) also crack the top-ten.

Additionally, Florida's 200 free relay set the ninth-fastest time in the nation (1:28.36) at the Georgia Tech Invite.

Championship History

The 2020 Southeastern Conference Championships marks the 40th conference meet as women's competition began in 1981.

Florida currently leads the SEC with 17 conference titles. They would go on to claim the first four SEC championships from 1981-84. The Gators also hold the longest championship streak by an SEC school, winning 11-straight from 1986-96.

Florida last conference title came in 2009. Since then, only two schools have taken home the crown - Georgia (2010-2015) and Texas A&M (2016-2019).

Last Year SEC's Flashback

Last year at the SEC Championships, Florida posted a second-place with 1,023.5 points. This marked the first finish since 2011 when the team posted an identical record. UF also finished in second-place in 2010.

Texas A&M would take home the championship with 1,107 points over the four days in Athens, Ga.  Last year's title marked the fourth-straight title for the Aggies.

Braswell took home Florida's lone individual title, winning the 1,650 free with the fifth-fastest time in Florida history with an effort of 15:53.54.

Another top-ten program swim was registered as Dressel posted a third-place finish in the 100 back. Her swim of 1:56.15 slotted her as the second-best time produced by a Gator.

Pearl also put together a notable performance in her first collegiate championship experience. She earned a second-place finish in the 400 IM with an A-cut and personal-best swim of 4:03.56. Her effort set in Athens was the third-fastest swim in program history.

Schedule
 

Day (Preliminary time/Final time)	Event
Tuesday Prelims (11:30 a.m.)	Women's 1-Meter
	Men's 3-Meter
Tuesday Finals (5:20 p.m.)	Women's 1-Meter
	200 Medley Relay
	Men's 3-Meter
	800 Free Relay
Wednesday (10:30 a.m./6:30 p.m.)	200 Free Relay (finals only)
	500 Free
	200 IM
	50 Free
	Men's 1-meter
Thursday (10:30 a.m./6:30 p.m.)	400 IM
	100 Fly
	200 Free
	Women's 3-meter
Friday (10:30 a.m./6:30 p.m.)	200 Fly
	100 Back
	100 Breast
	Men's Platform
	400 Medley Relay (finals only)
Saturday (10:30 a.m./6:30 p.m.)	1,650 Free
	200 Back
	100 Free
	200 Breast
	Women's Platform
	400 Free Relay (finals only)

 
What's Next

 After the conference championships concludes, Florida will take some time off and prepare for more postseason competition.

Florida's divers will compete on the boards at the NCAA Diving Zones on March 9-11.

The team will then come back to travel to Athens, Ga. for the 2020 NCAA Championships, beginning on Wednesday, March 18. The meet will take place over the following three days, with the national champion being crowned on Saturday, March 21.
 

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