No. 5/8 Florida Swimming Welcomes No. 14/12 LSU for Friday Dual Meet

Friday, January 9

Gainesville, Fla

10 AM

Florida Gators

Louisiana State University

during the Gators' meet against the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday, October 31, 2025 at the Stephen C. O?Connell Center Natatorium in Gainesville, FL / UAA Communications photo by Audrey Djuricich

Josh Liendo is one of the eight Gator swimmers being honored prior to competition.

No. 5/8 Florida Swimming Welcomes No. 14/12 LSU for Friday Dual Meet

Thursday, January 8, 2026 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

By: Abby Wisecup

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 5/8 ranked Florida men's and women's swimming program will kick off the new year at home on Friday, Jan. 9, taking on No. 14/12 LSU. The Gators will honor their seniors at 10:00 a.m. with swimming events following at 10:30 a.m.

#5/8 Florida (Men's: 3,1, Women's: 3-1) vs. #14/12 LSU (Men's 6-0, Women's 8-0)
Date: Friday, Jan. 9
Senior Celebration: 10:00 a.m.
Swimming Events: 10:30 a.m.
Site: Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium
Live Results: MeetMobile (App) | @GatorsSwimDv on Socials
Admission: Free
Parking / Fan Entrance: Fans can use Gate 2 as the entrance to the meet, which will open at 9:30 a.m. The Flat Lot of the O'Dome North parking lot will be available for parking.

All-Time Series against LSU
Friday's dual meet marks the first meeting with the Tigers since the 2018-19 season. The men hold a 25-0 advantage, while the women sitting 15-0.

About LSU
Led by Rick Bishop, both the men's and women's programs remain undefeated heading into their first dual meet of the season and have been ranked in the CSCAA Top 25 since the beginning of the year. The Tigers are also making their first appearance of the new year, as the women finished second and the men placed fourth at the Georgia Fall Invitational. In SEC dual meet action, LSU has tallied wins over Kentucky and Alabama.

LSU's men enter the matchup with 11 swimmer individuals ranked among the SEC top-25 performers. Led by sprint standout Jere Hribar, the junior ranks third in both the 50 and 100 free and eighth in the 200 free. Stepan Goncharov sits second in the 50 back and fifth in the 100 back, while also ranking 15th in the 50 free and 11th in the 100 free. Dillingham and Simon Meubry are also ranked in the 50 free, while Meubry sits 24th in the 100 free and 19th in the 200 free. LSU's middle-distance group features Jovan Lekic (18th in the 200 free, eighth in the 500 free), alongside Nikola Simic (21st) and Jacob Pishko (22nd) in the 500 free. On the backstroke side, Albert Bouley checks in at 24th in the 50 back, while Volodymyr Lisovets ranks seventh in the 100 breast and 16th in the 200 breast. Stuart Higdon (20th, 200 fly) and Caleb Ellis (22nd, 200 fly) who represent the Tigers in the fly.

On the women's side, Michaela De Villiers (6th 50 free, 9th, 100 free) and Avery Littlefield (7^th 50 free, 10th 100 fly) headline the sprint group as well as Sabrina Lyn. Megan Barnes (12^th 200 free, 10th 500 free) and Nicole Santuliana, who ranks eighth in the 1650 free and 14th in the 500 free represent LSU in the middle distance events. Giulia Zambelli ranks fourth in the 200 fly, while LSU's back is led by Sofia Sartori, who owns top-10 marks in all three backstroke events and ranks third in the 200 fly. Breaststroke depth is rounded out by Martina Bukvic (6th 200 breast, 8th, 100 breast) and Grace Palmer.

Gators Last Time Out
Both the men and women are making their first appearance since Nov. 21, 2025, when the Gators swept the Georgia Fall Invitational for the third-consecutive year. The men totaled 947 points, while the women finished with 1,044.5 points. Across four days of competition, the Gators combined for 69 NCAA qualifying times, 36 top-three finishes and 12 program top-10 marks.

Gator Splashes
Florida's men are highlighted by Josh Liendo, who ranks first in the 50 free and 100 fly and second in the 100 free. The Gators' sprint group also features Scotty Buff, Alexander Painter and Devin Dilger. In the distance events, Ahmed Jaouadi tops the conference in both the 500 and 1650 free, with Gio Linscheer, Charlie Hutchison and Eric Brown also ranked. Florida is equally strong on the backstroke side behind Jonny Marshall and Aiden Norman, while Aleksas Savickas, Nil Cadevall and Jordan Willis appear in the breaststroke rankings.

ON the women's side, Anita Bottazzo, tops the conference in both the 100 and 200 breast, alongside Molly Mayne, Grace Rainey and Sofia Plaza. The Gators' freestyle and distance group is highlighted by Julie Brousseau (3rd 500 free, sixth 1650 free, fifth 400 IM), Michaela Mattes (third 1650 free, ninth, 500 free), Lainy Kruger and Camille DeBoer, along with sprint depth from Beatriz Bezerra and Sylvia Statkevicius. Florida's back is led by Catie Choate (first 200 back, third, 100 back), JoJo Ramey, Aspen Gersper and Zoe Dixon. Grace Rabb, Addison Reese and Sofia Plaza also appear in the rankings, with Rabb appearing in six events.

Senior Day
Florida honors the careers of eight Gators on Friday before the main portion of the meet at 10:00 a.m. This senior class has accounted for 36 All-American honors, 35 Top-10 program times, 17 SEC titles and 12 national titles and four SEC Championships. Two seniors represented their country at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with one earning a silver medal. In the classroom, this group has been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll 19 times as well as have had over 10 C-S-C-A-A Scholar All-American accolades.

FLORIDA SWIMMING & DIVING 2025-26 SENIOR CLASS
Men	Women
Eric Brown	Zoe Dixon
Charlie Hutchison	Camille DeBoer
Josh Liendo	Anna Moore
Gio Linscheer
Aleksas Savickas

ORDER OF EVENTS
Florida even lanes, LSU Odd lanes
10:00 a.m. – Senior Ceremony
10:30 p.m. – Swimming Events

200y Medley Relay
1,000y Freestyle
200y Freestyle
100y Backstroke
100y Breaststroke
200y Butterfly
50y Freestyle

11:45 a.m. – Break
12:00 pm – Swimming Events

100y Freestyle
200y Backstroke
200y Breaststroke
500y Freestyle
100y Butterfly

12:30 p.m. – Break
12:45 p.m. – Swimming Events

200y IM
200 Free Relay

Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv