No. 3 Florida Men Set for NCAA Championships
No. 3 Florida Men Set for NCAA Championships. 17 individual men and five relays will compete in Minneapolis this week
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The SEC Champion and No. 3 Florida men's swimming and diving team are set for the 2023 Men's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted at the University of Minnesota's Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center from March 22-25. Amro Al-Wir, Eric Brown, Adam Chaney, Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero, Dillon Hillis, Mason Laur, Joshua Liendo, Oskar Lindholm, Giovanni Linscheer, Macguire McDuff, Alfonso Mestre, Jake Mitchell, Aleksas Savickas, Julian Smith, and Tyler Watson advanced to this week's national championships based on their season-best times in 11 different events. Alberto Mestre is the first alternate, while Eric Friese will participate as a relay-only swimmer.
Florida's 15 swimmers selected are the tied for the third-most in the country. Chaney owns the fastest 100 back time in the country at 44.17, while Savickas is the top 100 breast swimmer this season at 50.73.
Leonardo Garcia and Skip Donald joined the group after qualifying in the NCAA Diving Zones earlier this month. Garcia, who took bronze in the platform at the SEC Championships, and Donald will both compete in all three events.
The Gators qualified five relay teams as well with the 200 free relay, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. Florida has the top times this season in the 200 free relay and 400 medley relay, and will be the top seed in those events.
Chaney, Hillis, Lindholm, Mestre and Watson all were All-Americans at last year's national championships. Chaney won two national titles in the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay, while Hillis was a member of the 200 medley relay national championship team.
Name Event Time
Amro Al-Wir 200 Breast 1:52.33
Eric Brown 500 Free 4:12.95
1650 Free 14:44.06
Adam Chaney 50 Free 18.71 100 Free 42.26 100 Back 44.17
Skip Donald 1-meter 3-meter Platform Leonardo Garcia 1-meter 3-meter Platform Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero 200 IM 1:43.09 200 Fly 1:41.37
Dillon Hillis 100 Breast 50.90 200 Breast 1:51.14
Mason Laur 400 IM 3:40.18
Joshua Liendo 50 Free 18.35 100 Free 41.22 100 Fly 44.11
Oskar Lindholm 1650 Free 14:52.71
Giovanni Linscheer 400 IM 3:40.90 500 Free 4:12.69
Macguire McDuff 50 Free 18.95 100 Free 41.59 200 Free 1:32.34
Alfonso Mestre 500 Free
4:10.15 1650 Free 14:52.88
Jake Mitchell 200 Free 1:32.69 500 Free 4:09.85 1650 Free 14:46.91
Aleksas Savickas 100 Breast 50.73 200 Breast 1:50.08
Julian Smith 100 Free 41.98 200 Free 1:42.64 100 Breast 51.52
Tyler Watson 500 Free 4:13.92 1650 Free 14:38.50
SEC Championship Recap
Florida won it's 11-straight SEC title last month, and the 44th in program history. That title marked the second-most by any SEC team across all sports, and the Gators are only the third team in history of the SEC swimming and diving championships to reach 11 consecutive titles (Florida - 13 from 1955-1968; Auburn - 16 from 1996-2012).
Savickas set the SEC, Meet, Pool, and School record in College Station during the conference championships. The freshman won one gold and two silvers during the week.
Florida's 400 medley relay team swam a sub 3:00, clocking in at 2:59.48 behind Chaney, Hillis, Liendo, and McDuff, while the 200 free relay of McDuff, Liendo, Chaney, and Alberto Mestre's time of 1:14.19 flirted with the all-time record that the Gators set during last year's NCAA Championships (1:14.11).
Liendo continues to make waves across the country during his first year of NCAA swimming. The Canadian Olympian set the second-fastest times in the 50 free (18.35), 100 free (41.22) and 100 fly (44.11).
In the platform, Garcia secured a podium spot after scoring 418.65 to give Florida a bronze diving medal. Championship Coverage
A total of 270 participants (235 swimmers and 35 divers) will compete in the championships. Swimmers qualified for the championships by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. Tape-delayed coverage of the women's championships will be on ESPNU at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, April 4.
Schedule of Events (Times in Eastern)
Wednesday - Finals at 7 p.m.
200 Medley Relay
800 Free Relay
Thursday - Prelims at 11 a.m. | Finals at 7 p.m.
500 Free
200 IM
50 Free
1-Meter Diving
200 Free Relay
Friday - Prelims at 11 a.m. | Finals at 7 p.m.
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
3-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay
Saturday - Prelims at 11 a.m. | Finals at 7 p.m.
1650 Free
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
Platform Diving
400 Free Relay