Josh Liendo Posts 19.3 50 Free, 42.8 100 Free, and 46.3 100 Fly as Florida Sweeps Georgia (original) (raw)

Florida vs. Georgia

Florida sprint star Josh Liendo posted season-best times in the 50 free (19.30), 100 free (42.84), and 100 fly (46.30) as the Gator men and women swept Georgia in their SEC opener on Friday.

Liendo now ranks 2nd in the NCAA this season in the 50 free behind Arizona State fifth year Jack Dolan (19.02), 6th in the 100 free, and 6th in the 100 fly. The Canadian standout also split 18.86 on the anchor leg of Florida’s 200 medley relay (1:26.53) along with Jonny Marshall (22.27 back), Aleksas Savickas (24.32 breast), and Scotty Buff (21.08 fly).

Last season at his first NCAA Championships, Liendo won the 100 free title in 40.28 while adding runner-up finishes in the 50 free (18.40) and 100 fly (43.40).

Marshall and Savickas claimed individual victories in the 200 back (1:44.38) and 200 breast (1:59.01), respectively. Buff, the top freshman recruit in the country, placed 3rd in the 100 fly (47.95) and 5th in the 50 free (20.67).

Senior distance specialists Jake Magahey led the way for Georgia with an impressive triple, collecting 1st-place finishes in the 500 free (4:21.23), 1000 free (8:59.36), and 200 fly (1:45.37). He now ranks 7th nationally this season in the 1000 free.

Georgia sophomore Ruard van Renen and fifth year Zach Hils also tallied top-10 times in the 100 back (46.66, 5th in NCAA) and 200 IM (1:47.24, 10th in NCAA). In the men’s 200 free, Georgia freshman Tomas Koski (1:35.56) edged Florida senior Jake Mitchell (1:35.64) in a tight battle.

On the women’s side, Emma Weyant went her fastest 200 IM time in four years with a winning mark of 1:58.13, just off her personal-best 1:58.07 from 2018. The Florida junior now ranks 9th in the NCAA this season in the event.

Isabel Ivey triumphed in the 100 back (52.59), a couple seconds off her lifetime best (50.42 from 2019) but still good for 11th in the NCAA this season.

Top freshman recruit Bella Sims contested longer-distance freestyle events for her first time as a Gator, earning wins in the 200 free (1:45.84) and 500 free (4:44.36). She now ranks 13th and 12th in the NCAA in those events, respectively. Sims split a season-best 24.94 leading off the Florida women’s 200 medley relay (1:38.68) along with Molly Mayne (27.85), Olivia Peoples (23.35), and Micayla Cronk (22.54). Sims also split 49.65 leading off the victorious 400 free relay (3:17.19) along with Ivey (48.71), Peoples (49.95), and Cronk (48.88).

Fifth-year Zoie Hartman took home two victories for the Georgia women, sweeping the 100 breast (1:01.30) and 200 breast (2:13.37). Georgia junior Dune Coetzee (9:43.13) beat teammate Abby McCulloh (9:44.40) in the 1000 free (9:43.13), with her 9:35.69 from earlier this season ranking 2nd in the NCAA behind Stanford’s Aurora Roghair.

The Georgia women were racing without Rachel Stege, who took silver in the 800 and gold in the 1500 at the Pan American Games last week, both in big new personal best times.

Florida returns to action next week in Knoxville against Tennessee and Kentucky while Georgia will aim to bounce back versus Auburn.

In This Story

Bella Sims
Emma Weyant
Jake Magahey
Jake Mitchell
Josh Liendo
Zoie Hartman

About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

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