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Florida Gators Extend Their Reign With 11th Straight Men’s SEC Swimming & Diving Title

Braden Keith
by Braden Keith 3

February 18th, 2023 College, News, SEC

2023 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Final Scores

  1. Florida – 1488.5
  2. Auburn – 1089.5
  3. Tennessee – 1035.5
  4. Texas A&M – 1018
  5. Georgia – 828.5
  6. Missouri – 725.5
  7. Alabama – 667
  8. Kentucky – 514
  9. South Carolina – 458.5
  10. LSU – 337

The streak continues for the Florida men, as they won their 11th consecutive SEC championship in College Station.

This victory is a little different than the others though, as the Gators also won the women’s SEC conference title. This is the first time since Auburn in 2008 that the same school has won both SEC titles. It’s the ninth time the Gators have achieved the feat, but first since 1993. (In case you were wondering yes, head coach Anthony Nesty jumped in the pool twice.)

It’s the 44th conference championship for Florida men, which widens the gap between them and Auburn for the most conference titles in conference history. That said, Auburn still owns the longest streak of consecutive titles: they won 16 titles from 1997 through 2012.

WINNING TOTAL
MARGIN OF VICTORY
2013 1408 212
2014 1440 159.5
2015 1314.5 180
2016 1275 52
2017 1271.5 286.5
2018 1237 243
2019 1233 96
2020 1194 218.5
2021 1401 76.5
2022 1414 476
2023 1488.5 399

This year, Florida beat Auburn by 399 points, which is the second-largest margin of victory in their 11 year streak. They set the record last year, with a margin of victory of 476 points, though they were missing Hillis and distance ace Bobby Finke because of COVID-19 protocols.

They cracked 1400 points for the fourth time in their 11-year streak, the start of which coincides with the SEC’s expansion to ‘C’ final scoring. The team also scored more points than they did last year, even though they did not sweep the relays and were without the talents of Finke, Kieran Smith, and Trey Freeman. In fact, this is the most points that the Gators have accumulated during their run.

This is Nesty’s fifth conference title in five years as head coach of the Florida men.

Gator Event Winners:

The Gators performed well across the board. Their newcomers provided a huge boost to the team as Josh LiendoJake Mitchelland Aleksas Savickas all notched individual wins.

After pulling out of the 2022 meet due to COVID-19 protocols, fifth-year Dillon Hillis found his way back to the top of the podium, out-touching Savickas for the 100 breaststroke title.

Adam Chaney continues to be a key piece for the Gators: he lowered his own school record in the 100 backstroke twice, and contributed 81 individual points, third-most on the team.

Hillis is the only swimmer in the Gators’ top 10 highest scorers that won’t return next season; the other nine are all underclassmen, including Liendo, their highest individual point scorer.

Next, the Florida Gators head to NCAAs, which take place in Minneapolis, MN from March 22-25. The battle for a spot in the top 5 will be tighter than ever with ASU joining the conversation, but the Gators have positioned themselves well to be right in the middle of the hunt for a top 3 finish.

Gator Individual Scorers:

  1. Josh Liendo, Freshman – 88 points
  2. Dillon Hillis, Fifth-Year, 85 points
  3. Adam Chaney, Junior – 81 points
  4. Macguire McDuff, Sophomore – 78 points
  5. Jake Mitchell, Junior – 73 points
  6. Julian Smith, Sophomore – 69 points
  7. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero, Sophomore – 67 points
  8. Giovanni Linscheer, Freshman – 66 points
  9. Eric Brown, Freshman – 65 points
  10. Aleksas Savickas, Freshman – 60 points
  11. Tyler Watson, Senior – 58 points
  12. Alfonso Mestre, Senior – 57 points
  13. Mason Laur, Sophomore – 47 points
  14. Kevin Vargas, Senior – 40 points
  15. Oskar Lindholm, Sophomore – 39 points
  16. Jace Crawford, Junior – 35 points
  17. Ed Fullum-Hout, Freshman – 32.5 points
  18. Leonardo Garcia, Senior – 27 points
  19. Alberto Mestre, Fifth-Year – 25 points
  20. Eric Friese, Senior – 13 points

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jablo
1 year ago

lowkey very surprised by auburn bouncing back so well, beating tennessee powered by the crooks train is solid

Region Rat
Reply to  jablo
1 year ago

NCAA swimming is better when Auburn has a competitive program. Good to see them bouncing back after a rough patch

Rowdy Marsh
Reply to  Region Rat
1 year ago

Amen, Region Rat!!!

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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