The fourth-ranked Florida Men’s Swimming & Diving team improved to 20-0 lifetime versus Indian River C.C., following a 137-101 victory on Saturday. Florida opened the meet by combining youth and experience to win five of the first six events, before exhibitioning the final five races.

The Gators opened the competition by sweeping the top three positions in the 200 medley relay. The freshman team Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.), Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Lucas Salatta (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Jos Smith (Milledgeville, Ga.) took first place with a time of 1:32.58.

Freshman Cody Kauffman (Harrisburg, Pa.) kept the youth movement going by setting a career-best time of 15:43.64 in the 1,650 free. Kauffman placed second in the race behind Indian River C.C.’s Fernando Costa, who clocked a time of 15:40.41. 

Sophomore Darian Townsend (Pietermartizburg, South Africa) earned an NCAA B time in the 200 free and led a group of four Gators to another sweep. Townsend recorded a time of 1:38.31, followed by junior Matt Coan (Plantation, Fla.), sophomore Daniel Penniman (Pensacola, Fla.) and freshman Russell Wilder (Gainesville, Fla.).

Junior Bill Mrazek (Tallahassee, Fla.) recorded a time of 58.80 in the 100 breast to win the event for the first time this season. Freshman Ron Ballatore (Gainesville, Fla.) had a season-best time of 58.82 to place second, followed by Kyle Deery (Daytona Beach, Fla.) in third with a time of 58.95.

In the 100 free race, sophomores Tim Hughes (Winter Park, Fla.) and Grant Johnson (Clearwater, Fla.) notched season-best times in the event. Hughes placed second with a time of 46.50, while Johnson finished third with a time of 46.76.

Salatta capped off the afternoon by recording a career-best time in 400 IM. Salatta’s time of 3:51.00 was the second-fastest by a Gator this season.

Several members of the senior class, who were honored prior to Saturday’s meet, also clinched wins in their final home meet. Senior Nick Borreca (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded a season-best time in the 200 fly to win the event. Borreca’s time of 1:50.07, was the fifth-fastest recorded by a Gator this season. Senior Brian Hartley (Indianapolis, Ind.) won the 200 back for the second time this season with a time of 1:48.50.

Senior Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) completed his final home by challenging a school record. Lochte, who already holds 10 school records, swam the 100 fly in a time of 46.91. Current assistant coach Anthony Nesty set the record of 46.62 during the 1990 season.

“He (Ryan) never gets to swim that event and we felt like he had a good shot at breaking Anthony’s school record,” Gator head coach Gregg Troy said. “He probably will in two weeks when we’re shaved and rested. But Anthony was still a quality athlete.”

In the diving competition, freshman Aaron Leech (Newark, Del.) swept both the one-meter and three-meter events. Leech set a career-high with a score of 293.63 in the one-meter dive, edging teammate junior Justin Schmidt (Falcon, Col.) who placed second with a score of 239.71. Leech followed-up with a career-high score of 322.35 to win the three-meter dive.

Florida will begin preparations for the SEC Championships, which will take place Feb. 15-18 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Men’s Results

Florida 137, Indian River C.C. 101

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