Thursday, March 26
Atlanta, GA
10 A.M. Prelims | 6 P.M. Finals
Florida Gators
205
vs
NCAA
Josh Liendo becomes fastest-ever in 100 fly after setting the record in prelims and lowering it again in finals en route to his third-straight 100 fly national title at the NCAA Championship on Thursday, March 26, 2026 at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, GA (Photo by Audrey Djuricich)
Liendo ‘Flies’ to Three-Peat Title and NCAA Record
Friday, March 27, 2026 | Men's Swimming & Diving
ATLANTA, Ga. – Florida's Josh Liendo became the fastest swimmer in the 100-yard fly on day two of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming & Diving Championships at the McAuley Aquatic Center, shattering the NCAA, program, meet and U.S. Open records twice en route to his third-consecutive national title.
Following nine events, the Gators sit second in the team standings with 205 points, just behind Texas at 215.5.
After casually going a 42.54 in prelims, Liendo lowered his record to 42.49 in the final, out-touching Texas' Hubert Kos to claim the NCAA 100 fly for the third-straight year. Liendo didn't lead until the final 25 yards, where he split 11.44 to finish first and claim his seventh career national title, surpassing former Gator Caeleb Dressel's 42.80 from 2018.
Florida's dominance extended beyond Liendo, with six additional Gators scoring in individual events, including five podium finishes before the 200 free relay team of Liendo, Alexander Painter, Scotty Buff and Devin Dilger closed the night with the No. 2 time in program history for second place.
100 Butterfly
Buff joined his teammate in the finals after posting 44.10 in the morning heat to earn the No. 8 seed. The junior dropped a career-best 43.67 in the final to place sixth overall, reset his No. 3 mark on UF's all-time top-10 list. He earned his third 100 fly All-American honor and helped the Gators total 33 points in the event.
100 Breaststroke
Senior Koen de Groot placed fifth in the morning session with 50.61 to enter finals as the fifth seed, where he improved to 50.44, contributing 15 points and garner his first collegiate All-American honor.
1-Meter Diving
Jesus Agundez Mora and Conor Gesing combined for 27 points as the only school with multiple divers in the finals. Making his NCAA debut, Agundez Mora finished fourth with 395.30, moving up from his fifth seed (358.95) and earning his first collegiate All-American honor. Gesing, who entered finals as the seventh seed with 348.25, improved to 381.20 to place sixth overall and earn his second All-American honor in the event.
400 IM
Charlie Hutchison and Gio Linscheer scored in the top 16, with Hutchison dropping 2.56 seconds from his entry time to 3:39.09 for 12th overall. Linscheer followed in 13th place at 3:39.75, while Eric Brown narrowly missed scoring after touching in 3:40.32 for 17th place.
200 Freestyle
In the morning session, Painter posted a 1:32.69 to take 27th place, while Aiden Norman finished 36th with a 1:33.46.
HEAR FROM WINNING GATOR JOSH LIENDO
On his three-peat and how much he has been eyeing Dressel's record…
"I just enjoy racing and taking it all in. I love looking over at my teammates, I'm just having fun with it. Shoutout to Hubert too, it was a great race."
On his last 25 yards and how much he has been working on it…
"Ever since I got to Florida, the coaches always said how Caeleb goes no breath on the last 25. I've been building on that and working at it, just getting better every time."
UP NEXT
Championship action continues tomorrow with the 100 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 50 free, 400 medley relay morning events starting at 10 a.m., followed by 3-meter diving at 12 p.m. The top-eight finishers in each event and the top-eight seeded relays will compete in the 6 p.m. finals session. Diving finals will be split, with Rounds 1-3 following the 200 breast and Rounds 4-6 taking place after the 50 free.
Top -10 TEAM STANDINGS (Following day two)
Podium (Top-8 finishes)
Swimmers qualified for the championships either by winning their conference championship in an event with an established minimum time in that swim or by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. The invited divers earn their automatic spot at zone meets in the weeks prior.
Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv
Following nine events, the Gators sit second in the team standings with 205 points, just behind Texas at 215.5.
After casually going a 42.54 in prelims, Liendo lowered his record to 42.49 in the final, out-touching Texas' Hubert Kos to claim the NCAA 100 fly for the third-straight year. Liendo didn't lead until the final 25 yards, where he split 11.44 to finish first and claim his seventh career national title, surpassing former Gator Caeleb Dressel's 42.80 from 2018.
Quick update from this morning 👀 pic.twitter.com/arWQyRgjJi
— Gators Swimming & Diving (@GatorsSwimDv) March 26, 2026
Florida's dominance extended beyond Liendo, with six additional Gators scoring in individual events, including five podium finishes before the 200 free relay team of Liendo, Alexander Painter, Scotty Buff and Devin Dilger closed the night with the No. 2 time in program history for second place.
100 Butterfly
Buff joined his teammate in the finals after posting 44.10 in the morning heat to earn the No. 8 seed. The junior dropped a career-best 43.67 in the final to place sixth overall, reset his No. 3 mark on UF's all-time top-10 list. He earned his third 100 fly All-American honor and helped the Gators total 33 points in the event.
100 Breaststroke
Senior Koen de Groot placed fifth in the morning session with 50.61 to enter finals as the fifth seed, where he improved to 50.44, contributing 15 points and garner his first collegiate All-American honor.
1-Meter Diving
Jesus Agundez Mora and Conor Gesing combined for 27 points as the only school with multiple divers in the finals. Making his NCAA debut, Agundez Mora finished fourth with 395.30, moving up from his fifth seed (358.95) and earning his first collegiate All-American honor. Gesing, who entered finals as the seventh seed with 348.25, improved to 381.20 to place sixth overall and earn his second All-American honor in the event.
400 IM
Charlie Hutchison and Gio Linscheer scored in the top 16, with Hutchison dropping 2.56 seconds from his entry time to 3:39.09 for 12th overall. Linscheer followed in 13th place at 3:39.75, while Eric Brown narrowly missed scoring after touching in 3:40.32 for 17th place.
200 Freestyle
In the morning session, Painter posted a 1:32.69 to take 27th place, while Aiden Norman finished 36th with a 1:33.46.
HEAR FROM WINNING GATOR JOSH LIENDO
On his three-peat and how much he has been eyeing Dressel's record…
"I just enjoy racing and taking it all in. I love looking over at my teammates, I'm just having fun with it. Shoutout to Hubert too, it was a great race."
On his last 25 yards and how much he has been working on it…
"Ever since I got to Florida, the coaches always said how Caeleb goes no breath on the last 25. I've been building on that and working at it, just getting better every time."
UP NEXT
Championship action continues tomorrow with the 100 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 50 free, 400 medley relay morning events starting at 10 a.m., followed by 3-meter diving at 12 p.m. The top-eight finishers in each event and the top-eight seeded relays will compete in the 6 p.m. finals session. Diving finals will be split, with Rounds 1-3 following the 200 breast and Rounds 4-6 taking place after the 50 free.
Top -10 TEAM STANDINGS (Following day two)
- Texas – 215.5.
- Florida – 205.0
- Arizona State – 133.5
- Indiana – 132.5
- California – 124.0
- NC State – 122.0
- Michigan – 115.0
- Tennessee – 107.0
- Virginia – 88.0
- Stanford – 83.0
Podium (Top-8 finishes)
- National Champions
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle
- Josh Liendo – 100 Butterfly
- Second Place
- Jonny Marshall, Koen de Groot, Scotty Buff, Josh Liendo – 200 Medley Relay
- Josh Liendo, Alexander Painter, Scotty Buff, Devin Dilger – 200 Freestyle Relay
- Fourth Place
- Ahmed Hafnaoui – 1,650 Freestyle
- Koen de Groot – 100 Breaststroke
- Jesus Agundez Mora – 1-Meter
- Fifth Place
- Gio Linscheer – 1,650 Freestyle (5th)
- Sixth Place
- Scotty Buff – 100 Butterfly
- Conor Gesing – 1-Meter
- First Team
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle
- Ahmed Hafnaoui – 1,650 Freestyle
- Gio Linscheer – 1,650 Freestyle
- Josh Liendo – 100 Butterfly
- Scotty Buff – 100 Butterfly
- Koen de Groot – 100 Breaststroke
- Jesus Agundez Mora – 1-Meter
- Conor Gesing – 1-Meter
- Jonny Marshall, Koen de Groot, Scotty Buff, Josh Liendo – 200 Medley Relay
- Josh Liendo, Alexander Painter, Scotty Buff, Devin Dilger - 200 Freestyle Relay
- Second Team
- Eric Brown - 1,650 Freestyle
- Charlie Hutchison – 400 IM
- Gio Linscheer – 400 IM
- 1,650 Freestyle
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 14:10.03 – No. 1
- Ahmed Hafnaoui - 14:22.64 – No. 3
- 100 Butterfly
- Josh Liendo – 42.49 – No. 1
- Scotty Buff – 43.67 – No. 3
- 200 Freestyle Relay
- Josh Liendo, Alexander Painter, Scotty Buff, Devin Dilger – 1:13.30 – No. 2
- NCAA
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- Josh Liendo – 100 Butterfly – 42.49
- U.S. Open
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- Josh Liendo – 100 Butterfly - 42.49
- Meet
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- Josh Liendo – 100 Butterfly - 42.49
- Program
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- Josh Liendo – 100 Butterfly - 42.49
- All prelim and final sessions will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required)
- Live scoring will be available on the Meet Mobile app, Dive Meets and via the live results link on the women's swimming page on FloridaGators.com
- Men's championship: Wednesday, March 25 - Saturday, March 28 | Watch on ESPN+
- Friday, March 27 | Live results
- 100-yard backstroke
- 200-yard breaststroke
- 500-yard freestyle
- 50-yard freestyle
- 400-yard medley relay
- Three-meter diving
- Saturday, March 28 | Live results
- 200-yard individual medley
- 100-yard freestyle
- 200-yard butterfly
- 200-yard backstroke
- 400-yard freestyle relay
- Platform diving
- Friday, March 27 | Live results
Swimmers qualified for the championships either by winning their conference championship in an event with an established minimum time in that swim or by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. The invited divers earn their automatic spot at zone meets in the weeks prior.
Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv
Players Mentioned
Diver
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Diver
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast/Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & DivingOne-on-One with Jac Caglianone
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