Day one: first place for men’s team

The University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team ended the first day of the Georgia Tech Invitational in first place after competing in 12 events. The three-day competition consists of nine teams including Florida State, Miami, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Auburn and Alabama.

The men’s squad started the meet with a bang by achieving the first NCAA automatic qualifying time of the year in the 200 freestyle relay. Matthew Curby, Brad deBorde, James Turner, and Matt Norton finished the race in fifth place with a time of 1:23.07.

Marcin Cieslak was the only UF swimmer to capture a victory for the men when he placed first in the 200 IM, with a NCAA “B” cut time of 1:48.54.

Other top-three finishers for the Gators included Connor Signorin and Jason Taylor who finished second and third place, respectively, in the 500 freestyle. Signorin touched the wall in 4:25.49 and Taylor was right behind him, clocking in at 4:27.77. deBorde also had a top-three performance in the 50 free, capturing a NCAA “B” time of 20.18 to take third place.

The Georgia Tech Invitational will continue tomorrow with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. and finals slated for 6 p.m.

TEAM RANKINGS – DAY ONE

MEN

UF – 373

FSU – 302

Virginia Tech – 298.5