Despite a pair of individual wins and NCAA provisional qualifying times from sophomore Lucas Salatta (Sao Paulo, Brazil), the tenth-ranked University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team (2-3, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) lost a wild dual meet with No. 3 Texas, 127-116, on Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

“This is a really good Texas team, and we took them down to the last relay,” Florida head coach Gregg Troy said. “We’re pleased with where we are, but we have some things to improve on. We approach dual meets as learning experiences. When you swim three top-10 teams in a row, and every race is a heads-up race, it hardens you for the end of the season.”

Trailing by 11 points with two events remaining, sophomore Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and freshman Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) placed first and second, respectively, and senior Luca De Matteis (Naples, Italy) finished fourth in the 200 breast to tie the score at 113 apiece. Both Ally (2:02.47) and De Matteis (2:04.32) set season bests in the effort, while Burckle clocked in at 2:03.42.

The Gators, however, could not complete the comeback in the 400 FR, as the Texas squad of Christopher Seitz, Caleb McDermott, Michael Klueh and Matthew McGinnis secured the win for the Longhorns with a first-place finish in a time of 2:59.91. UF finished second in the event, as freshman Roland Rudolf (Budapest, Hungary), junior Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.), sophomore Jos Smith (Milledgeville, Ga.) and sophomore Ron Ballatore (Gainesville, Fla.) posted a time of 3:02.34.

In addition to victories and NCAA provisional cuts in both the 200 individual medley (1:47.70) and 200 back (1:44.21) from Salatta, Florida also got wins in each diving event from sophomore Jonathan Wilcox (Bellevue, Wash.) for the third-consecutive meet. Wilcox posted a score of 337.28 in the 1M dive and a total of 338.18 on the 3M board, marking NCAA Zone qualifying scores in each discipline for the fourth time in five meets this season.

Ally also turned in a runner-up finish in the 200 IM with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:47.71, while freshman Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) notched a B cut in the 200 fly (1:47.42) en route to a second-place showing. Junior Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.) recorded a second-place finish in the 1,000 free with a career-best time of 9:02.49, and later added a runner-up effort in the 500 free (4:28.80).

“We got an outstanding performance out of our team today, considering where we are in our training schedule,” Troy said. “Lucas Salatta was really good, and Bradley Ally was outstanding. We’re seeing some good things out the guys who have the capability to lead our team.”

The Gators will be in action again on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when they make the short trip to Tallahassee for a dual showdown with Florida State. The meet will begin at 6 p.m. EST at the Bobby E. Leach Center.

Men’s Results (Texas 126, Florida 117)

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