TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The annual swimming & diving installment of the Sunshine Showdown pits Florida against Florida State, with the Gators traveling to Tallahassee for a match-up with the Seminoles Thursday.
Along with the ever-present Florida/FSU rivalry, there’s some extra incentive involved for FSU this time around. It was scheduled to host Minnesota in its season-opening meet last Saturday, but the meet was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew.
”They have not yet competed other than an intrasquad, so I’m sure they’re going to be fired up and excited to go in their home pool in the first competition of the season for them,” said Florida associate head coach Jeff Poppell on Monday. “Obviously we want to match and exceed that excitement on our end of things so we can come out on top.
WATCH: The @GatorsSwimDv teams compete at in-state rival FSU tomorrow at 2pm!#GoGators pic.twitter.com/V0nGN4yHow
— GatorVision (@GatorVisionTV) October 12, 2016
“We take great pride in representing Gator Nation, so it’s one of those where any time we’re up against in-state rival Florida State, that adds a little bit of excitement to the competition, just given who our opponent is,” Poppell said.
Florida has enjoyed much success against FSU in recent years. Last season, Florida completed a clean sweep, with the fourth-ranked men’s team defeating 24th-ranked FSU 188-109 and the 11th-ranked women winning 200-93. The UF women last lost to the Seminoles in 2012, while the men haven’t lost since 2010.
The Gators are coming off two first-place finishes at the All-Florida Invitational in Fort Lauderdale three weeks ago.
The meet begins at 2 p.m. on Thursday and will follow a 16-event format, including the 100 and 200 of each stroke in addition to the 50 free, 200 IM, 500 free, 1000 free, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay. One-meter and 3-meter diving will run simultaneously to the swimming events.
Live results are available through Sports Timing and the Meet Mobile app. Results will also be updated throughout the day on Twitter at @GatorsSwimDv and posted in full at the conclusion of the competition on FloridaGators.com.
ORDER OF EVENTS
200 medley relay
1000 free
200 free
100 back
100 breast
200 fly
50 free
100 free
200 back
200 breast
500 free
100 fly
200 IM
400 free relay
*One-meter and 3-meter diving will occur simultaneously with the swimming events.
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Courtesy of The Florida Gators
