SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers to predict the NCAA finish of the new-look Florida men:
RESULTS
Question: Where will the Florida men finish at 2019 NCAAs?
- Top 5 – 22.3%
- 6th-10th – 61.0%
- 11th-15th – 14.1%
- Lower than 15th – 2.7%
More than a fifth of voters are still expecting the Florida men to finish inside the top 5 at 2019 NCAAs, while 83% predicted the team to remain inside the top 10.
That’s a major vote of fan confidence in a new-look program that fields a new head coach and graduated 5 of 6 NCAA scorers from last spring. Florida returns just 16 of its 347 points and 6 of its 20 relay legs. That’s after the departures of 2018 seniors Caeleb Dressel (60 points), Jan Switkowski (54 points), Mark Szaranek (41 points), Ben Lawless (7 points) and Blake Manganiello (5 points) and the loss of backstroker Michael Taylor to a likely redshirt season.
18 teams return more NCAA points than Florida for next year. But the Gators did bring in the second-ranked recruiting class in the nation, headed by top-20 prospects Trey Freeman (#6), Kieran Smith (#11) and Robert Finke (#12). That group, combined with new head coach Anthony Nesty (promoted from his assistant role after the retirement of longtime head coach Gregg Troy) bring about a year of massive change for the Florida team. The Gators have also split their men’s and women’s programs in another major structural change.
For the Gators to return to the top 5, this freshman class will have to have a massive season collectively, but 22% of voters expressed confidence in that possibility. More than half of voters picked the Gators to finish between 6th and 10th, and just under 3% picked them to finish lower than 15th.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks voters to predict the NCAA finish of the Tennessee women:
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner
This is a good example of the psychological phenomenon known as recency bias.
Kind of, but I think Florida will still be pretty good. They got a really good freshman class and I think Rooney will l swim closer to his potential this year
100% agree with you. The incoming freshman class is solid. Rooney looked strong in Irvine. There is no doubt the team will have great results.