DALLAS—The No. 2 University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team completed their busy Texas two-step on Saturday evening by competing in their second meet in the same day. Despite the solid efforts of the Gators in the final day of competition in the 23rd Annual Dallas Morning News Classic, Florida came up short and finished in second-place behind No. 4 California as the Bears scored 352 points to UF’s 313.

For the second night in a row, junior Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) claimed multiple event titles as he recorded first-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (1:47.99) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:42.36). Lochte’s time of 1:42.36 in the 200 backstroke shattered a pool and meet record that was established in 1997 by Texas’ Neil Walker (1:43.88) by over a full second.

Junior Brian Hartley (Indianapolis, Ind.) raced to Florida’s only other event title as he claimed the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4:29.18.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the quartet of Lochte, Nick Borreca (Honolulu, Hawaii), Darian Townsend (Montrose, South Africa) and Kris Wiebeck (Tampa, Fla.) placed second in a clocking of 2:59.82.

Senior Adam Sioui (Ontario, Canada) posted a time of 1:50.04 in the 200-yard butterfly, which was good enough for a second-place finish.

Florida divers continued to turn in solid efforts on the boards as senior Zach Wilcox (Yarrow Point, Wash.) finished third with a score of 321.15 in the three-meter springboard event.

The Gators earned a pair of fourth-place finishes in the duo of Townsend and Bill Mrazek (Tallahassee, Fla.). Townsend took fourth in the 100-yard freestyle (46.14 seconds), while Mrazek earned his fourth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke in a clocking of 2:04.98.

The Gators return to action on Friday, Jan. 21, as they travel to Auburn, Ala., for a Southeastern Conference showdown with No. 3 Auburn.

-UF-