UF swim and dive teams clinch SEC titles

GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – Florida’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both brought home SEC championship titles from Auburn on Saturday night.

According to the program, their wins mark the second consecutive year and the 10th time in program history both teams have clinched titles during the same season.

The last time an SEC program has had both men’s and women’s teams claim the title two years in a row was Auburn in 2007 and 2008, according to Florida swim and dive.

On Saturday night, the men’s team scored an NCAA and all-time best of 1,584 points, bringing home their 12th title in a row. According to the SEC, their title represents their 45th SEC Championship in history. Florida’s program says it marks the second-greatest number of wins by any SEC team in all sports. Kentucky men’s basketball holds the number one spot with 49 titles.

For the women’s team, it’s their 19th SEC title in the program’s history and the team’s first back-to-back title since 1996-97. The women finished off with an NCAA and program-best score of 1391.5, with 25 top-10 placements and eight school records broken, says the program.

“It’s always great to come to the SEC Championship and win. It was a group effort. The support staff is fantastic. The administration obviously gives us the resources. The most important thing is the development of our athletes in the classroom and in the pool so that they could perform at a high level this week,” shared Gators Head Coach Anthony Nesty.

The program says Bella Sims won the women’s Commissioner’s Trophy with the meet’s high point total of 96.

The NCAA Women’s Championships will be held in Athens from March 20-23. According to NCAA records, Virginia has clinched the national title for the last three years. The women’s team is 5-0 within the SEC, and 8-1 overall with a loss to Virginia earlier in the season.

The men’s team is currently 8-0 overall and 4-0 within the conference. Their NCAA Championship will be in Indianapolis from March 27-30. The California Golden Bears have won the National Championship the last two years in a row.