Gator Country

The men and women's swimming and diving team celebrate. The teams came out on top after the three-day All-Florida Invitational. / Gator Country Photo by Tim Casey

The University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished the three-day All-Florida Invitational at the top of the standings. The women accumulated five relay and 15 individual wins to place first in the standings. The men had four relay and nine individual victories to lead them to the top.

The Gators were able to place first in every event on day three, except for the men’s 1,650 relay.

“I’m pretty pleased with the whole meet,” head coach Gregg Troy remarked. “I think we still have some big holes to fill, but we have a lot of great leadership and great potential.”

Sophomore Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.) had the first victory for the Gators on Sunday in the 1,650 free with a NCAA “B” cut mark of 16:09.89.

The Gators got out the brooms to sweep four men’s and women’s events. In the 200 back Connor Signorin (East Windsor, N.J.) and Teresa Crippen were victorious with times of 1:48.87 and 1:57.32 respectively. Crippen’s time was good enough for a NCAA “B” cut. Crippen and Marcin Cieslak (Warsaw, Poland) placed first in the 200 fly. Their respective times of 1:58.54 and 1:47.31 are good enough for NCAA “B” cuts. Senior Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) finished first in the 100 free.

Freshmen Rebecca Rainer (Richmond, Va.) and Matt Elliot (Peoria, Ill.) won the 200 Breast by getting NCAA “B” cut eligible times of 2:17.21 and 1:59.06 respectively. 

Elliot got off to a great start in his collegiate career by winning three individual titles in the 400 IM, 100 breast and 200 breast and contributing to three relay team wins. The All-Florida Invitational allowed Troy to gauge where his team is. 

“For the most part, the freshman did very well this weekend,” explained Troy. “They responded well to a race situation, which is great to see, and they also had the opportunity to see a full, three-day meet. That in itself is unusual this early in the season. They have yet to go up against a big SEC opponent, but this gives them the opportunity to get a little more settled.”
Gator divers added to the points total in the one-meter springboard with Danielle Risley (Jacksonville, Fla.) finishing in fifth with 256.35 points. Kaylee Dobak (Brandon, Fla.) came in eighth with 244.40 points. On the men’s side, Chris Jones (Palm City, Fla.) had a fourth place finish with 315.70 points. Sean Saley (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and David Springfels (Bradenton, Fla.) respectively came in fifth with 278.20 points and sixth with 275.65.

For the three-meter competition Saley (305.10), Jones (305.10), and Springfels (301.55) finished in fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively. Doback placed second with a score of 301.45 while Risley came in sixth with 256.10 points.

The Gators next meet will be at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center when LSU comes to town. The time is scheduled at 1 p.m. with free admission. The first 500 fans will receive a Florida swimming and diving drawstring backpack. The meet will be shown on Sun Sports at a later date.

Final Women’s team rankings:
1. University of Florida 1074
2. Florida State University 911
3. Florida Gulf Coast University 594
4. University of Miami 467
5. Florida Atlantic University 334
6. Florida International Univ. 184
7. University of North Florida 136
8. Florida Southern College 90
9. Nova Southeastern University 83

Final Men’s team rankings:
1. University of Florida 1092
2. Florida State University 949
3. Florida Atlantic University 608
4. Florida Southern College 470
5. Nova Southeastern University 438
6. University of Miami 40

Gator Country reporter Sara Ladwig can be reached at

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