Florida Gators
Dallas Morning News @ SMU
No. 7 Men's S&D Win The Dallas Morning News Classic
Sunday, January 15, 2006 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The No. 7 University of Florida men's swimming and diving team took home top honors at the Dallas Morning News Classic with a total of 342.5 points. The Gators won four events during Saturday's competition to win the team title for the second time in three years.
“It's always a good meet because it has some great races,” Florida coach Gregg Troy said. “Nobody is ever really out of contention at this competition. Competitions like this are big confidence builders. I think a guy like Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) is starting to swim really well and Lucas Salatta (Sao Paulo, Brazil) is getting a good feel for the short course meet. The experience for them is invaluable.”
The Gator team of senior Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), senior Nick Borreca (Honolulu, Hawaii), freshman Lucas Salatta (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore Darian Townsend (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa), began the evening by recording the team's best time in the 200 MR this season (1:20.30). The quartette earned an NCAA provisional time in the process, despite finishing second behind the Northwestern University team of Matt Grevers, Mike Alexandrov, Kyle Bubolz and David Kormushoff (1:29.71).
Lochte won his second individual event of the competition with a time of 4:22.81 in the 500 free. Junior Matt Coan (Plantation, Fla.) earned the win in the consolation race with his season-best time of 4:28.32.
In the 200 fly race, Ally clocked a career-best time of 1:49.22 to win the event. Salatta followed shortly after by winning the 200 IM with a time of 1:48.75. The Florida team of Lochte, Townsend, Ally and Borreca capped off the competition by winning the freestyle relay in a time of 1:21.20.
Florida returns home for one of its most anticipated weeks of competition. The Gators will host SEC foe Alabama on Friday at 4 p.m. then Auburn at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to both events is free.
Team Scores
| School | Points |
| Florida | 342.5 |
| Northwestern | 325 |
| Southern Methodist | 296 |
| Florida State | 247 |
| Washington | 223 |
| Notre Dame | 222.5 |
Event Winners
| Event | Name | School | Time/Score |
| 200 MR | Grevers, Alexandrov, Bubolz, Kormushoff | Northwestern | 1:28.71 |
| 500 Free | Ryan Lochte | Florida | 4:22.81 |
| 200 Breast | Mik Alexandrov | Northwestern | 1:58.70 |
| 200 Back | Matt Grevers | Northwestern | 1:43.66 |
| 100 Free | Matt Grevers | Northwestern | 43.68 |
| 200 Fly | Bradley Ally | Florida | 1:49.22 |
| 200 IM | Lucas Salatta | Florida | 1:48.75 |
| 200 FR | Lochte, Townsend, Ally, Borreca | Florida | 1:21.20 |
| 3M Diving | Philip Griffin | SMU | 366.70 |
-UF-
