GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida women’s swimming and diving team will host Florida State in the Sunshine Showdown at the O’Connell Center Natatorium on Friday, Nov. 8 at 2:00 p.m.
The matchup will be made available through ESPN’s SEC Network + and the MeetMobile app.
This year’s Gators (6-0) head into the meet with their in-state rival Florida State after winning their sixth straight dual meet over Georgia on Nov. 1 by a tally of 164.5-135.5.
Against the Bulldogs, UF put together an all-around team effort, winning seven individual events and both relays.
Leah Braswell won the 1,000 free in a new personal-best time of 9:45.74, the second-fastest time in the country this season for the event. Additionally, Kelly Fertel notched three B-cuts while Bella Garofalo tallied 10.5 points as she tied for the top time in the 50 free and posted a runner-up bid in the 100 free.
Elizabeth Perez swept both diving events and led the Gators’ effort on the board in the home opener.
In total, nine Gators have posted 16 times or scores that rank in the top five for the respective event.
Series History
The Gators and 20 Seminoles are facing off for the 47th time in the 2019-20. Florida leads the all-time series 43-3 with Florida State and have won the last 10 meets in Gainesville.
Last season, Florida handed FSU their only loss on the year as the Gators came out victorious by a tally of 177.5-122.5.
From 1972-2007, UF won 33 consecutive meets.
Looking at the Seminoles
Florida State will come into the dual winning their previous two meets over Minnesota and Georgia Tech. They started off the season with a pair of losses to conference foes Notre Dame and Duke.
Over the course of their two-meet win streak, the team has outscored its opponent by a final tally of 363.5-234.5.
The team has been well-represented in the Atlantic Coast Conference weekly accolades through their first four meets.
Aryanna Fernades earned Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 22 for her four-win performance against Minnesota while Molly Carlson and Ayla Bonniwell have each earned Diver of the Week after winning single diving events in back-to-back duals.
Quotables
Head coach Jeff Poppell- “We are looking forward to a great matchup tomorrow against in-state rival Florida State in the O’Connell Center. The Seminoles are always tough in a dual meet setting and we expect a very competitive meet with them.”
Head diving coach Bryan Gillooly- “Florida State is always a tough matchup on the diving side. Most of their roster are upperclassmen with a lot of National and international experience and John is a great coach. We see a lot of them throughout the season so although it’s pretty competitive, it’s always a lot of fun.”
Looking Ahead
The meet with Florida State will mark the Gators’ final dual of 2019.
Swimmers and divers will each travel to different invitationals to wrap up competition in 2019 as the swimmers will travel to Atlanta to compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational on Nov. 22-24.
The divers will take part in the Auburn Diving Invitational on Dec. 17-19 in Auburn, Ala.
The women will be back in pool for on Jan. 3 as they host a quad-meet with Vanderbilt, North Florida and Liberty at 2:00 p.m.