PSYCH SHEET | MEET TIMELINE | MEET HOMEPAGE
For the first time since the 2009-10 season, Florida will head out of Gainesville to begin its 2016-17 swimming & diving season at the All-Florida Invitational Friday. UF has hosted the meet since its inception six years ago, but due to renovations at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, the meet will move to Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.
The three-day event, which will run from Friday to Sunday, features four teams in addition to the Gators – host Nova Southeastern, Florida Gulf Coast (which only fields a women’s team), Keiser and Miami (FL) [the Hurricanes do not have a men’s swim team].
“It’s always exciting to open the season and have a chance to actually compete a little bit,” head coach Gregg Troy said Monday about the competition. “We’re through a month of school and got some initial training and a little feel for the team, but it’ll be entirely different to see everyone in an actual competitive setting.”
UF will attempt to defend its meet title, which it’s held for six-straight seasons, but the Gators have focused on treating All-Florida as a tune-up meet. Although the 12 freshmen on the men’s team and 15 on the women’s boast a number of accomplishments, it will also help them transition from club and high school meet surroundings to a collegiate setting.
“It’s a little more of an evaluation point to look at the technical areas we addressed early in the season,” Troy said. “We’re going to evaluate whether the little things are correct, then we’ll take those things and start a different training phase with a little more of a direction – where are the weaknesses, what do we need to improve on – and zero in on individual skillsets.”
The meet will begin at 10 a.m. Friday with prelims and wrap up Sunday at 4 p.m. with finals. Results will be updated throughout the day on Twitter at @GatorsSwimDv and posted at the conclusion of each day’s competition on FloridaGators.com. Nova Southeastern has provided a streaming link of each finals session here.
MEET SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 23
Prelims: 10 a.m. – 11:17 a.m.
Diving: 11 a.m. – 12:24 p.m.
Finals: 5 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 24
Prelims: 9 a.m. – 10:13 a.m.
Finals: 5 p.m. – 6:42 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25
Prelims: 9 a.m. – 10:52 a.m.
Finals: 4 p.m. – 5:41 p.m.
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Courtesy of UF Athletics.
No Caeleb Dressel 🙁 But what can Rooney do?!
Troy said in an interview recently (SW) that when you have someone on the team who was just a U.S. Olympian, you ease them into competition. Apparently it can be overwhelming or exhausting being in competition when you become high profile. He dealt with this with Lochte and Beisel, so he knows what he’s talking about I guess. Although I am holding out that he might swim a relay or two.
I was also disappointed not to see Dressel on the sheets, but Rooney is probably the best possible consolation to him not being there.
I would love to see MR throw down some times, but at this point it really doesn’t matter.