Florida was on a lot of people’s lists this year. Several top recruits we spoke with listed the Gators as one of their finalists before going elsewhere. It’s possible that with a somewhat small senior class the Gators had scholarships tied up in the current team, thus leaving swimmers looking for greener pasture$. Some were certainly taken aback by Gregg Troy’s no-nonsense approach to training and recruiting while a few estimated that the Gators were just a step behind their more-traditional NCAA Championship competitors. The lesson? Don’t underestimate the Gators.
And that’s why we’re ranking UF number five – well that and because of the big fish that didn’t get away – Elizabeth Beisel. Beisel can do it all and coming from Chuck Bachelor’s program seems uniquely suited to take on the rigors of Florida. "We are really, really excited about our class of incoming women," Troy said. "We covered all of our needs," but let’s get serious – when you recruit kids as versatile as Beisel along with Carmel’s Trish Regan, Washington’s Alana Pazevic and in-state sprinter Kaitlin Frehling you have few holes in your lineup. Breaststroke, however, could be one such trouble spot for the Gators. With Lindsay Rodgers transferring to Louisville, Troy has to be similarly excited about spiriting Julia Treible out of Georgia. She’s not as well-rounded (yet) as her aunt, a UF alum, but if you shortchange her or distance specialist Alicia Mathieu’s ability to make an impact with this team, you run the risk of underestimating the Gators – and we all know how that turned out last March.
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Stanford #2 Arizona #3 Virginia #4 Auburn #5 Tennessee #6 California #7 USC #8 Florida #9 Texas #10 Ohio St #11 SMU #12 Louisville #13 Princeton #14 LSU #15 Georgia #16 Indiana #17 Arkansas #18 UNC #19 Alabama #20 Penn St #21 Duke #22 SDSU #23 Texas A&M #24 Arizona St |
