GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The LSU swimming and diving program took its first dual meet defeat of the season at the hands of the Florida Gators on Friday at the Stephen O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
LSU’s women were outscored, 174-87, and the men were defeated by a score of 156-105. In total, the Gators won 19 of the 28 events.
The dual meet kicked off with the women’s 200-medley relay, where the Tigers’ A-squad of Zoe Carlos-Broc, Sabrina Lyn, Avery Littlfeild, and Michaela de Villiers took second with a time of 1:41.11. The B-squad of Sofia Sartori, Martina Bukvic, Malou Douillard, and Anastasia Bako followed behind in third at 1:42.77. On the men’s side, the A-squad of Stepan Goncharov, Volodymyr Lisovets, Diggory Dillingham, and Jere Hribar bested the Gators, putting together a winning time of 1:25.63.
In the 1000-free and 500-free, Nicole Santuliana and Jacob Pishko both took top-four finishes. Santuliana came in second in the 1000 with a time of 10:07.50 and third in the 500, posting a time of 4:55.64. Pishko finished second in the 1000 (9:10.61) and fourth in the 500 (4:30.56).
Next up, Megan Barnes took second in the women’s 200-free, clocking a time of 1:49.59.
Goncharov won the Tigers’ first individual event of the day, with a victory in the 100-back. The senior came in at 46.92. He went on to finish third in the 200-back with a time of 1:50.00. On the women’s side of the 100-back, Carlos-Broc finished third, clocking a time of 54.56.
Stuart Higdon followed up in the 200-fly with a victory. The senior touched the wall with a time of 1:47.99. Junior Caleb Ellis followed right behind in second, posting a time of 1:48.23. On the women’s side, Sartori notched third with a time of 2:02.09. Ellis and Higdon went on to finish second and third in the 100-fly with times of 48.55 and 49.67, respectively.
The Tigers took a pair of wins on both the men’s and women’s sides of the 50-free and 100-free. De Villiers posted winning times of 22.85 in the 50 and 50.50 in the 100. Hribar took the top spot in the 50 with a time of 19.41 – ahead of Florida’s Josh Liendo – and again in the 100, coming in at 42.56. The Tigers took second place as well in both women’s races – Littlefield (23.53) in the 50 and Bako (51.94) in the 100.
In the 200-breast, Grace Palmer placed second, touching the wall with a time of 2:15.34. Lisovets took fourth on the men’s side, coming in at 2:02.65.
Senior Chloe Cheng touched third in the 200-IM, posting a time of 2:04.47.
The final event of the day was the 200-free relay, which featured both the Tiger men’s and women’s A-teams taking the top spot. The LSU women’s A-team of Littlefield, de Villiers, Bako, and Lyn touched the wall first with a time of 1:32.24. The men’s A-team of Dillingham, Hribar, Goncharov, and Simon Meubry clocked in at 1:19.59.
Junior Guilherme Camossato, a midseason transfer addition for the Tigers, made his LSU debut Friday, competing in the 100-breast, 200-breast, and 200-IM. Junior Levi Thome also made his season debut for the Tigers.
The diving squad capped off the Tennessee Diving Invitational on Friday, as well. Senior Carson Paul finished fifth overall in the 3m, posting a score of 369.85. Freshman Eve Nelson followed up in the 3m, placing fourth with a score of 274.90. On the platform, Nelson finished third with a score of 223.40. Travis Keith took sixth on the men’s side, scoring a 291.85 to round out the three-day event.
The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 24, for a home dual meet against SMU in the LSU Natatorium at 10 a.m. CT. LSU seniors will be recognized before the meet on Senior Day, as it is the final home meet of the season for the squad.
For the latest news on LSU swimming and diving, fans can follow the team’s social media outlets at lsuswimdive on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Fans can also donate to the Excellence Fund here.