COLLEGE

College Roundup: Gators flood SEC swimming awards list

Staff Writer
The Gainesville Sun

UF ATHLETICS

SWIMMING AND DIVING

Gators flood SEC postseason awards list

The Gators took home both Male Swimmer of the Year and Men's Swimming Coach of the Year, as well as nine All-SEC First Team honors, three All-SEC Second Team honors and two All-Freshman Team accolades, the SEC announced Thursday.

Senior Caeleb Dressel earned his third consecutive SEC Male Swimmer of the Year award after winning three individual SEC Championships and three relay titles at the meet. The Green Cove Springs native set two American and NCAA records during the four days in the 100 breast and 200 IM, while also setting the pool record in the 100 free.

Dressel ended his career with the most individual SEC titles in Florida's history on the men's side, garnering 10 championships over his four years at UF. He also earned both Male Swimmer of the Meet, as well as the Commissioner's Trophy on the final day of the championship competition.

Coach Gregg Troy was named SEC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year for the sixth consecutive season after leading the men's team to its sixth-straight SEC Championship. The honor is his 10th overall in his 19 seasons at the helm of the men's program.

Nine Gator men earned spots on the All-SEC First Team: Khader Baqlah, Chandler Bray, Caeleb Dressel, Bayley Main, Maxime Rooney, Jan Switkowski, Mark Szaranek and Michael Taylor. The First Team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships.

Two men and one woman landed on the All-SEC Second Team, which consists of the second- and third-place finishers in each event at the SEC Championships. Blake Manganiello and Enzo Martinez-Scarpe made up the men's awards, while Taylor Ault earned the first SEC honor of her career on the women's side.

BASEBALL

Gators visit Knoxville

The top-ranked Florida baseball team looks to remain atop the SEC East standings when it visits Tennessee for a three-game series starting at 6:30 p.m. today.

Florida (26-5, 7-2) is 150-84 all-time against Tennessee (18-12, 4-5). The Gators are 20-10 against the Vols under coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

Righty Brady Singer (6-1, 2.74 ERA) will oppose UT lefty Garrett Crochet (2-3, 4.46) today. The game will be carried online at SEC Network+, as will Saturday's 6 p.m. game. Sunday's 12 p.m. game will be carried by the SEC Network.

— Special to The Sun

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Gak has knee surgery

Florida rising junior center Gorjok Gak underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday.

The projected recovery time for Gak is four to six months, which means the 6-foot-11, 245-pound center from Sydney, Australia will likely miss summer workouts but should be ready for preseason practices in October.

Gak dealt with soreness and swelling in his knee throughout the 2017-18 season, with pain limiting his practice time and minutes. In 29 games this past season, Gak averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per contest.

— Kevin Brockway

LACROSSE

Gators game moved back

Due to an impending forecast of snow in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Florida lacrosse team will now play the Villanova Wildcats on Sunday at 1 p.m. 

Florida and Villanova were originally scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday as part of a doubleheader between the Villanova men and women's lacrosse teams. The game will still be played at Villanova Stadium.

SFC ATHLETICS

BASEBALL

Saints continue winning streak

LEESBURG – The NJCAA No. 2 Santa Fe College baseball team continued its torrid pace Wednesday with a 10-6 win over Lake Sumter State College.

The Saints (31-6, 12-2 MFC) won for the eighth straight game and fourth in a row with double-digit runs. They now have scored 10 or more runs in 14 contests this season, including seven of their last eight games. They have scored 83 runs during their streak.

Santa Fe used a three-run first inning and a five-run fifth to build its lead before holding off a late rally by the Lakehawks.

The first three hitters in the Saints' lineup combined for 11 of SFC's 18 hits. Andrew Eyster led the way with four hits and two RBIs, Mikey Navarrete was 3-for-6 with a double and an RBI, an Garrett Mathes was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Jarrod Cande and Kyler Marquis had two hits each.

The Saints will be back in action at 3 p.m. today against visiting Seminole State College. Fans can watch live on the Saints Sports Network.

— Special to The Sun