Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Anthony Nesty led the University of Florida to history at the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, as the program swept the men’s and women’s titles for the first time in 20 years.
The Gator men have been on an incredible run of title victories, earning their 11th consecutive last month, but things haven’t been as smooth for the women’s team. Coming into the 2023 championships, Florida hadn’t won the women’s title since 2009, and last season, they finished a distant fifth.
However, under Nesty, who only started coaching the women’s team in 2021-22 when the men’s and women’s programs combined after the departure of former head coach Jeff Poppell, the Gators thrived at SECs last month, storming to a decisive conference championship victory.
Florida put up 1255 points, more than 300 clear of defending champion Tennessee (950.5). This included a 400 IM win from UVA transfer Emma Weyant, a victory in the 800 free relay, and nine athletes scoring 50+ individual points.
On the men’s side, where Nesty has been the leading man since Gregg Troy‘s retirement in the spring of 2018, the squad seamlessly transitioned from the Kieran Smith/Bobby Finke era and won their 11th straight title by 399 points, the second-largest margin of victory during their streak, as the Gators put 1488.5 points on the board.
Leading the charge were Canadian freshman Josh Liendo, fifth-year Dillon Hillis and junior Adam Chaney, who all exceeded 80 individual points, and the team also won three relays and had newcomers Jake Mitchell (junior transfer) and Aleksas Savickas (freshman) also win titles.
Sophomore Macguire McDuff is another name that has improved leaps and bounds under Nesty, as he reeled off personal best times in the 50 free (18.95), 100 free (41.59) and 200 free (1:32.34) to rank fourth on the team with 78 individual points.
Both Gator squads now head into March and the NCAA Championships riding a wave of momentum, with Nesty, along with his coaching staff that includes associate head coach Whitney Hite and assistant coaches Kristen Murslack and Jack Szaranek, leading the way.
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