The SEC announced Monday it’s delaying the start of men’s and women’s swimming and diving until October.
The 2025 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships unfolded with a fierce intensity over four days in Federal Way, Washington. But for Florida, the meet represented the conclusion of a season defined by growth, determination and relentless competition. Every race and every dive mattered, as the Gators had their sights set on a top-five finish to cap their season on a high note.
Florida sent 18 qualifying swimmers and divers, with at least one appearance in each event, to battle for top spots on the leaderboard. The Gators finished in fourth place with 315 points, 24 All-American nods, four gold medals and two records.
Florida got off to a troubled start in the races on Day 1.
The meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay, where the Gators looked to defend their gold title. The star-studded team of sophomore Jonny Marshall, senior Julian Smith, junior Josh Liendo and sophomore Scotty Buff topped the scoreboard with an NCAA record-breaking time of 1:20.05. The powerful performance was sure to land them in the top three of the overall leaderboard. However, the Gators watched in anguish as the relay team was disqualified and stripped of 40 points for early take-off in the butterfly-to-freestyle exchange.
Florida continued to put up large numbers in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Freshman Alexander Painter, Smith, fifth-year Jake Mitchell and senior Oskar Lindholm placed seventh and earned All-American honors.
Due to the disqualification, the Gators were awarded only 22 points for the day and sat in eleventh place.
At the start of day two, Florida quickly went into comeback mode and hoped to dig out from eleventh with strong appearances in every final event.
Liendo played a pivotal role in the Gators’ day two success with a forceful split in the 200-yard freestyle relay, which placed third. Although he finished second in the 50-yard freestyle and couldn’t hang on to defend his title, his two All-American honors contributed 49 out of 79 points to the team tally.
Diving events began on Day 2 with the 1-meter. Junior Peyton Donald, sophomore Conor Gesing and freshman Jesus Gonzalez each qualified for the event at the NCAA Diving Zones, but only Gesing moved on to the final. He placed 14th with a score of 340.30.
By the end of the day, Florida jumped up to sixth place on the leaderboard with 101 points. The action continued on Day 3 with Florida’s best performance of the meet.
Up to this point, Gators had been unable to find gold until Liendo sped through the water to defend his 100-yard butterfly title with a personal best of 43.06. The junior now has two of Florida’s eight national titles in the event and is the first athlete to go back-to-back since Caeleb Dressel in 2017-18. Only 15 swimmers in history have earned two or more wins in the event at the NCAA’s:Dressel and current Florida head coach Anthony Nesty.
