Florida women’s swimming and diving earn wins to start off the season

Florida Gators swim team opened the 2023 season with a victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Florida women’s swimming and diving team is off to a great start after earning its first victory of the year in the season opener.

Florida out-swam the Vanderbilt Commodores, 180-75, up north in Nashville, Tennessee, while the dive team made its debut in Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes.

The Gators were victorious in every event against Vandy and were led by freshman Bella Sims and senior Isabel Ivey. Both swimmers made their debuts for the Orange and Blue, finishing in first place during three of their own events.

Ivey, a California transfer, took the top spot in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:47.44, followed by a win in the 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter IM.

Sims finished in the top spot in the 100-meter backstroke, freestyle and butterfly. The Olympic silver medalist led off the Gators in the 200-meter medley relay, which also swam her to the top of the podium.

Up next for the Gators is a home meet against the Virginia Cavaliers on Oct. 13, leaving plenty of preparation time for the Orange and Blue. Florida will then host the Georgia Bulldogs on Oct. 27.

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Five Florida swimmers earned medals at Phillips 66 Championships Wednesday

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water.

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water at this summer’s latest competition. Caeleb Dressel, Annie Lazor, Katie Ledecky, Bella Sims and Kieran Smith all took home some hardware after putting up superb performances in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Volunteer coach Ledecky earned a silver medal for her 1:55.28 in the women’s 200m freestyle — just .02 away from first — while incoming freshman Sims took home the bronze in the same event with a personal-best 1:56.08 — almost a second better than her previous top mark.

In the men’s 200m free, Smith notched a 1:45.63 time — dropping .47 seconds off his prelim time — to earn silver. The other member of the men’s team to earn a medal was Dressel, who dropped an event-best .44 seconds off his prelim time to swim a 23.35 as he continues his work his way back into Olympian form.

Finally, assistant coach Lazor added to the Gators’ haul with a 2:25.86 finish to earn the bronze in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

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Gators News: Four Florida fall sports ranked in top 10

Both of Florida’s swimming & diving teams sit in first place entering the final day while the volleyball team prepares for its final weekend

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We are just a day away from the big game between the Florida Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville, Tenn. While Vandy does not strike fear in the hearts of most football fans, every game counts and on any given day anything can happen. But there is a lot more happening than the ol’ pigskin game that brings pride to the Gator Nation.

Four Florida athletic teams currently sit in the top 10 of their respective sports, with men’s swimming and diving as well as volleyball at No 5, football at No. 6, and women’s swimming and diving at No. 10.

Speaking of the men’s aquatic team, the swimmers swept all of their events and the Gators finished up with seven total event victories to lead the pack at the Auburn Invitational. Meanwhile, the women also fared well at the same competition, with freshman Cecilia Porter shattering the 100 breast school record by .33 seconds to give the Lady Gators the overall lead heading into the final day. The event competition as well as dual meets for the fall conclude today.

Finally, there is the volleyball team (5-1, 5-1 SEC), which has had quite a successful season heading into their last two matches of the year on their home floor against the Georgia Bulldogs (3-3, 3-3 SEC) tonight. UF holds a 66-9 series advantage over UGA, sporting a dominating 63-1 record with coach Mary Wise at the helm.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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