University of Florida Women's Swimming

Troy served as the 2012 USA Mens Olympic Swim Team head coach in London, England, as the U.S. men won 16 medals during the Games. In coordination with his success with the University of Florida and his international coaching resume, Troy was inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012. Troy has brought the University of Florida swimming and diving program back to the national spotlight after winning the womens programs second NCAA Title in 2010, the first since the Gators won the inaugural NCAA Championship in 1982. As a result of his success during the 2010 season, Troy was named the 2010 USA Swimming Coach of the Year, 2010 and 2011 ASCA Coach of the Year, 2010 NCAA Womens Swimming Coach of the Year and 2010 and 2016 SEC Mens Swimming Coach of the Year. A top-10 NCAA contender in his 19 years at the helm of the University of Florida women's swimming team and 18 as the leader of the mens program, Troy has created an atmosphere of consistency and excellence around both the mens and womens Gator swimming and diving programs. The result has been the elevation of one of the most storied collegiate programs to even higher levels of success.  SEC team titles, All-Americans, and Coach of the Year honors are just some of the accomplishments Troy has accumulated during his tenure at Florida. Entering his 19th season with the womens squad and 18th with the mens team, Troy has guided the Gators to 31 national titles, 148 SEC event titles, more than 350 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections and more than 900 All-America honors. And thats just at Florida. With his first National Championship as the Gator head coach, Troy elevated to an elite status, having won a team national championship at the high school, club and collegiate levels. In his career, hes tutored over 75 Olympians, over 250 All-America swimmers and has coached athletes to more than 155 U.S. and international records. The Gators took another step forward during the 2015-16 season as the Florida men matched their highest finish ever at the NCAA Championships under Troy. Behind two national titles from the NCAA Co-Swimmer of the Year, Caeleb Dressel, the Gators claimed a third-place finish for the second time in 20 seasons. In SEC competition, the Orange and Blue brought home their fourth straight Southeastern Conference Championship on the men's side while 11 Gators were crowned individual champions. Senior Kahlia Warner led the Florida women with a pair of titles in the diving well while Dressel shined once again, claiming six (3 individual, 3 relays).     In 2014-15 the mens team won its third-straight Southeastern Conference Championship and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships. The womens team finished ninth overall, extending Floridas top-10 streaks to 16 for the men and 15 for the women, respectively. Caeleb Dressel earned seven All-American honors and became the first UF freshman to earn seven tributes since Shaune Fraser in 2007. In addition, he won Floridas first-ever 50-yard freestyle (18.67) NCAA Championship and became the first Gator freshman to win an NCAA title since Darian Townsend achieved the accolade as a member of the UFs first place 800-yard freestyle relay team (Ryan Lochte, Brian Hartley, Adam Sioui) in 2005. Dressel is also the first freshman to win an individual crown since Adam Sioui did so in the 200-yard freestyle in 2002. The NCAA title provided Troy with his 32nd national crown. In 2013-14, the mens team repeated as Southeastern Conference Champions and finished third at the NCAA Championships with 387 points, representing the highest finish for the Orange and Blue since 1991 and the schools highest point total ever recorded at the national meet. The womens team finished sixth overall. Marcin Cieslak captured a pair of national titles in the 200 IM and 100 fly. The 2012-13 season brought even more highlights to Troys already illustrious resume. UFs sixth-place finish on the mens side capped off a strong season for the Gators. The group tallied 41 All-America honors at the national meet, the most since the 2007 season. For the second time in three years, Floridas men claimed victory in the 800 free relay. The group of Pawel Werner, Sebastien Rousseau, Marcin Cieslak and Dan Wallace blistered the field with a school-record time of 6:13.27, winning by two seconds over eventual NCAA Champion Michigan. Cieslak led the team with seven All-America honors after finishing second in all three individual events (200 IM, 100 fly and 200 fly) and swam on four relays. The biggest highlight of the season came at the 2013 SEC Championships, where Troy guided the Gator men to the conference title for the first time since 1993. The Gators broke Auburns streak of 16-consecutive conference championships, and gave the program its 34th SEC title. Cieslak won two individual event titles, while Matt Elliott and Pawel Werner each won their first SEC titles. Troy was named the SEC Male Swimming Coach of the Year. UFs women also finished sixth at the 2013 NCAA Championships, collecting 35 All-America honors, and placed third at the SEC Championships. Elizabeth Beisel won the NCAA title in the 400 IM, giving her two NCAA championships in her career. Out of the pool, Beisel became just the 11th student-athlete in Florida history to be named Capital One Academic All-America of the Year, earning the distinction for the womens At-Large team. In the 2011-12 season, the Gators continued their streak of consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. With their 12th consecutive top-10 finish, the Gator women took 10th at the 2012 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. They also brought home 27 All-America honors. Senior Teresa Crippen led the team with six All-American honors and finished eighth among the high point swimmers. Beisel won her first individual national championship when she finished first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:50.58. The UF men also extended their streak of top-10 finishes to 13, as they placed eighth at the NCAA Championships. The Orange and Blue collected 27 more All-America titles, with Marcin Cieslak earning six to lead the mens team. Cieslak finished second in the 200 IM and third in the 100 and 200 butterfly. The Gators were one of only two SEC teams in the top-10. At the 2011-12 SEC Championships the Gators collected eight SEC Championships, including a sweep of the 200 and 400 IM events. Beisel and Cieslak each won three individual events and Brad deBorde and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez won one title apiece. Beisel and Cieslak were named SEC Female and Male Swimmers of the Year. It was the first year since 2010 that a Gator has received the Female Swimmer of the Year and the third year in a row that a UF swimmer has won the Male Swimmer of the Year. The 2010-11 season was another successful year for Troy, as the mens team finished fifth and the womens team placed seventh at the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The UF mens top-five finish was the highest of any Southeastern Conference school at the meet, Floridas fifth top-five finish in the last six years and UFs eighth under Troy. For the 12th consecutive season, the Orange and Blue finished in the top-10 nationally. Individually, 15 UF swimmers combined to bring back 19 All-America honors and two national championships (200-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle relay) to Gainesville. For the 11th consecutive season, the Gator women placed in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships with 11 swimmers and one diver combining to earn 38 All-American honors, led by junior Shara Stafford's seven All-American honors. This year's SEC Female Freshman of the Year, Elizabeth Beisel, brought home five All-America honors, including top-three finishes in the 400-yard IM and 400-yard backstroke. At the 2011 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, Troy coached 19 Gators to 56 All-SEC honors, including 13 SEC Championships, more than any other school in the conference. As a result of Troys guidance, UF took home the Male Swimmer of the Year Award and both Male and Freshman Swimmer of the Year Awards. 2010 was one for the record books, as the Florida women brought home the schools first National Championship in 28 years, led by five school records and national championship performances in the 200-yard free relay and 100-yard back by senior Gemma Spofforth. Like the Gators did on March 18-20, 1982, the 2010 squad pulled out a close victory over second-place finisher Stanford. Florida scored 382 points, edging out the Cardinal (379.5) in the second-closest NCAA competition ever. A total of 12 All-Americans tallied 36 All-America performances on the Purdue campus at the Boilermaker Aquatic center. While the womens team swam and dove its most complete Championship meet in recent history, the 2010 mens swimming team rallied for its seventh top-five NCAA finish in Troys tenure at Florida, scoring the most points in Florida history at the time to finish fifth at the NCAA meet on the Ohio State campus after tallying 364 points with leverage from three national titles and five top-eight relay finishes. Junior Conor Dwyer was named the mens Division I National Mens Swimmer of the Year after winning the 200 and 500 freestyle events, the first NCAA swimmer to do so since 2001. Additionally, senior Shaune Fraser recorded one first and two second-place finishes, earning seven All-America honors to rack up an all-time Florida mark of 27 All-America honors, the most for a single mens swimmer or diver in school history. Ten other Gators collaborated with Fraser to collectively put on 38 All-America performances to highlight the 2010 campaign. Both the 2010 Gator squads finished second at the 2010 SEC Championship meet, Floridas 10th straight top-three finish on both the mens and womens side. The Gators tallied numerous accolades at the league championships in Athens, Ga., under Troy, including SEC Mens Swimming Coach of the Year, SEC Womens Swimmer of the Year in Spofforth, SEC Mens Swimmer of the Year in Dwyer, high point awards for Spofforth, Dwyer and S. Fraser, while the Gator divers cleaned up with SEC Womens Diving Coach of the Year for Donnie Craine and SEC Womens Diver of the Year for senior Kara Salamone. In summer 2009, Spofforth captured the spotlight of the world when she shattered the World Record in the womens 100-meter backstroke (58.12), winning her first World Championship for Great Britain at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy. But Spofforths World Title is just the tip of the iceberg. Under Troy, Spofforth defended her 100 & 200-yard backstroke races in 2009, becoming just the fourth NCAA swimmer to win the 200 back three consecutive years. Under Troys watch, Spofforth, the 2009 SEC Swimmer of the Year, eclipsed the NCAA record in the 200 back at the 2009 SEC meet, becoming only the second swimmer to ever break the 1:50.00 mark in the event when she swam to a 1:48.34.  Spofforth also carried British Commonwealth Records in the 50, 100 and 200-meter backstroke races, as well as the 100-meter back European Record. The Gators stamped their 17th SEC Championship team title in 2009 in Auburn, Ala., with the help of Spofforth, a tribute to Troys talent and expectations of excellence at the head of the Gator program. Additionally, Troy tutored 2009 NCAA Champions Bradley Ally and Shaune Fraser, who collectively won three individual national titles, the most since 2006, when Gator great Ryan Lochte picked up three, bringing Floridas all-time national championship count to 35 titles. Collectively, the mens and womens squads brought back 71 All-America honors home to Gainesville after the 2009 season. Troys success is thriving at Florida, but its no different than the mark he made his first season. Troy came to Florida in 1998 as the women's head coach and promptly led the Gators to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships an improvement of seven spots from the previous season. A year later, he became the third coach in UF history to take the reins of both teams when he was named the head coach of the men's squad.  In his inaugural season as mens head coach, the Sarasota, Fla., native guided the Gators to a ninth-place showing at NCAAs and a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships. For his efforts, Troy was named the 2000 SEC Men's Coach of the Year. Both teams made remarkable strides the following season, as the women jumped 11 places from 19th at NCAAs in 2000 to an eighth-place spot in 2001. The men also showed improvement, from ninth place the year before to eighth that season, at NCAAs. The case was the same in 2001-02, as both teams made progress at the conference and national levels. The women's team captured the SEC Championship and finished seventh at NCAAs. The men placed second at SECs for the second-straight season, and, like the women, showed improvement at NCAAs with a fourth-place finish the highest for the Gators since a third-place showing in 1991. In addition to taking home the high finishes, Troy captured the 2002 NCAA Men's Coach of the Year and SEC Men's Coach of the Year awards. He also received the Knoxville Sentinel's 2002 SEC Mens and Women's Coach of the Year awards. In 2002-03, both squads continued to make progress under the tutelage of Troy and his staff. The women improved yet again at the national level by placing fifth at NCAAs after a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships. The men took home second at the SEC meet for the third-consecutive season and followed that up with a sixth-place showing at NCAAs. In 2003-04, Troy led the women's team to a fourth-place finish at NCAAs. The women's team finished third at SECs, marking the fifth-consecutive year UF had placed in the top three at the league championships, and the Florida women did not drop out of the top five of the College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) national poll for the second-consecutive year. On the men's side, the Gators finished second at the SEC Championships, the fifth-straight top-three finish at SECs, and placed sixth at the NCAA Championships. One of the highlights of the season was Lochte winning the 26th NCAA title in UF history when he broke the U.S. Open, American and NCAA record in the 400-meter IM. At the end of the season, Troy was rewarded for the Gators success with his second NCAA Mens Coach of the Year Award. In 2004-05, Troy led both teams to top-five finishes at the NCAAs, as the women placed fourth and the men secured the fifth spot. For the women, it was the 22nd time in Florida history that they finished in the top-five. Both teams also had success outside of the pool, claiming a combined 30 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections during the season. Troy piloted the Gator men to a fifth-place finish for a second-consecutive season in 2005-06, while Lochte, one of Troys finest protégés, became the all-time Florida leader in individual NCAA Championships with seven titles. The women finished in the top-10 for a sixth-consecutive season under Troys direction. The 2006-07 season was another banner campaign for both Troy and the Gators, as both squads finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships. The UF men earned 45 All-America honors en route to a fourth-place finish their highest in five years at the NCAA meet. Three Gator mens swimmers also combined to win six individual SEC titles and Florida won the 800 FR at the conference meet for the sixth year in a row, garnering Troy SEC Mens Coach of the Year honors. Floridas women were not left out of the title chase in 2006-07, as Troy guided freshman Gemma Spofforth to NCAA crown in the 200 back and Caroline Burckle to the conference championship in the 100 breast. Spofforths performance marked the first individual national championship for a member of the UF womens team since 1995, and the squads first backstroke victory in 17 years. Spofforth returned a year later and under Troys direction, became the first Gator woman since the 1993-94 season to win both the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the SEC and NCAA Championships in the same year.  Burckle added to the trophy haul at the NCAA Championships, winning both the 200 and 500 freestyle events.  Burckle also set a new NCAA record in the 500 free, eclipsing Janet Evans 20-year record.  Named the 2008 SEC Womens Swimming Coach of the Year, Troy oversaw the development of Burckle, who came away from her four-year career with five school records.  For her accomplishments in the water, she was named the 2008 NCAA Swimmer of the year and collected the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving. Burckle additionally rallied at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha, swimming a lifetime-best 200-meter free time to make her first-ever Olympic Games. In Beijing and under Troys watch, she swam one of the four 200-meter free legs in the womens 800-meter free relay that claimed a bronze medal. The Gator men countered in 2008 with five SEC titles of their own.  Clark Burckle collected two of the five, winning the 400 IM and 200 breast while also setting the school record in the 100 breast.  Shaune Fraser picked up his second straight SEC Championship in the 200 free, defending his title in pool-record time. Bradley Ally picked up the win in the 200 IM in pool-record time while Omar Pinzon led a Gator sweep in the 200 back with the fifth-fastest time in school history. The men would go on to finish eighth at the NCAA Championships, picking up a total of 38 All-American honors. Troy has also found success in international competition as the head coach of several teams, including his honor as an assistant coach of the mens United States Olympic Team in Beijing. Troy additionally served as head coach of the Thailand Olympic Team in the 1992 games in Barcelona, as well as themens United States 2010 Pan Pacific Swim Team. Active Gator Olympians that are presently under Troys tutelage include Sarah Bateman, Elizabeth Beisel, Melani Costa-Schmid, Evan Lehtonen, Jemma Lowe, Anna-Liisa Pold, Rodion Davelaar, Brett Fraser, Shaune Fraser,BalazsGercsak, Sebastien Rousseau and Gemma Spofforth. Under Troys watchful eye, Lochte has developed into one of the top swimmers in the world. At the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships, Troy coached Lochte to a meet-high six gold medals, giving Lochte Male Swimmer of the Meet honors at the years biggest international meet. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, Lochte won two gold medals and two bronze medals. He broke fellow American Aaron Peirsols two-year winning streak in the 200-meter back with a world-record performance at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, winning his first individual world title in a long-course meters setting. He won five medals (three gold, one silver and one bronze) and set four world records at the 2006 FINA Short Course Championships in Beijing, China, just 10 days after competing at the NCAA Championships. In 2004, Lochte captured a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in the 800 FR with an American-record time of 7:07.33, and won a silver medal in the 200-meter IM in a University of Florida-record time of 1:58.78, which ranks third-fastest all-time in the history of the event. Troy was on deck in Melbourne as an assistant coach with the U.S. Mens World Championships Team when Lochte claimed his world record. He has also served as the head coach for the U.S. Team at the World Championships in 2001; head coach of the U.S. Team for the Pan American Games in 1999; assistant coach for the 2004 U.S. Womens FINA World Short Course Championships; assistant coach for the U.S. Women's Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the head coach for the U.S. Pan American Team in 1995. His accomplishments on the international level led him to being named the 1997 U.S. Olympic & United States Swimming Development Coach of the Year. The award is one of several that Troy has received from the U.S. Swimming Coaches' Achievement program. Before Troy racked up success at the collegiate and international levels, he enjoyed a scintillating career at the prep level for The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. For 20 years, he led the school's program and its affiliated club program. During his tenure, Bolles claimed several national high school team championships. At the state level, his teams won 15 boys' Florida State Championships (including 10 consecutive) and 11 girls' state titles (including nine consecutive). Troy earned his bachelor's degree in history/government from Texas Christian University in 1972. In 1987, he earned his master's in history education from Jacksonville University. Troy and his wife, Kathleen, have three sons: Patrick (27), a former UF Cross Country and Track & Field athlete who earned his undergraduate degree in English from Florida in 2009; Geoffrey (26), a four-year football player at the Merchant Marine Academy and now a United States Marine Lt. Helicopter Pilot; and Ryan (24), a decathlete on the 2009-11 Gator Track & Field team and a graduate of Idaho State University in Outdoor Education.  

Nesty has played a key role in guiding UF men to four-consecutive Southeastern Conference Championships and a third-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Prior to 2013, the Gators had not won a conference title in 20 years. In addition, UFs SEC title in 2016 represented the programs 37th overall. This past seasons third-place finish extended UFs streak of top-10 national finishes to 16 seasons. Florida had nine student-athletes total 37 All-America honors over the three-day meet. Most recently in 2016, Nesty helped the Gators take another step forward as the Florida men matched their highest finish ever at the NCAA Championships. Behind two national titles from the NCAA Co-Swimmer of the Year, Caeleb Dressel, the Gators claimed a third-place finish for the second time in 20 seasons. In SEC competition, the Orange and Blue brought home their fourth straight Southeastern Conference Championship on the men's side while 11 Gators were crowned individual champions. Senior Kahlia Warner led the Florida women with a pair of titles in the diving well while Dressel shined once again, claiming six (3 individual, 3 relays).     In 2015, Nesty coached Caeleb Dressel to UFs first-ever 50-yard freestyle (18.67) NCAA Championship, which he achieved on day one of the NCAA meet. Dressel became the ninth Gator swimmer under Nesty and Head Coach Gregg Troys tutelage to win SEC Male Freshman of the Year. At the conference meet, Dressel won the 100-yard butterfly title in an outstanding time of 45.28 seconds. That mark not only ranked him second all-time in school history but it was the second-quickest in the U.S. 17-18 year old age group. During the 2014-15 season, the Florida men set seven of a possible 18 school records. In 2014, the Gators finished third at the NCAA meet which was the highest finish in program history since 1991. During that season, the Florida men set 12 school records in 2014, including Brad deBorde in the 50 and 100-yard free, Dan Wallace in the 500 free, Arthur Frayler in the mile, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and Marcin Cieslak in the 100 and 200 butterfly races. In addition, four of five relay teams set UF records as well. Cieslak won a pair of NCAA titles, becoming the first Gator since Nesty to bring home three consecutive national titles in the 100 butterfly (1990-92). Cieslak also captured UFs eighth 200 IM national championship. Sebastien Rousseau was named the SEC Swimmer of the Year and earned the SEC Commissioners Trophy after he won a trio of SEC titles. Anthony is one of the most revered coaches in college swimming, and one of the few who is considered both a great athlete and a great coach, Troy said. Hes got a great work ethic and a tremendous ability to get results. His experience at the Olympics as an athlete is instrumental in his ability to relate to our current athletes. His reputation for getting the most out of them speaks for itself. During his collegiate career at UF, Nesty won his aforementioned three consecutive NCAA crowns in the 100 fly from 1990-92. In addition at the NCAA Championships, Nesty won the 200 fly in 1990 and he was a member of Floridas 1991 NCAA champion 400 medley relay team. He held the school records for NCAA titles until 2006, when former Gator Ryan Lochte finished his illustrious career with seven such honors. For his accomplishments as a Gator, Nesty was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2002. In addition to his success at the collegiate level, Nesty brings experience at the highest levels of international swimming to the Florida staff. At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, he won the first-ever Olympic medal for his native country of Suriname when he edged seven-time medalist Matt Biondi of the United States by .01 to bring home the gold in the 100-meter fly. Nesty also won the gold medal in the 100 fly at the 1990 Goodwill Games and captured a world championship in the same event in 1991. Nesty concluded his swimming career at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he earned the bronze in the 100 fly. Nesty made his return to Gainesville on June 1, 1998, to assume duties on the pool deck. Prior to that, he served as a club level coach for three years with Swim Florida in Sarasota.  Making the coaching stop at Florida has not only allowed Nesty to reach a career goal, but his post on the Gators deck has allowed him to be reunited with a close friend in Gator swimming head coach Gregg Troy, for whom Nesty swam for high school at The Bolles School in Jacksonville. Following Nestys illustrious collegiate career, he served as one of Troys assistants at Bolles, while also holding the head coaching position at Jacksonvilles Nease High School.  Nesty began his international coaching career as an assistant coach for Suriname at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He then continued his Olympic tradition as the head coach for Suriname at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London. On the 20th anniversary of Nestys Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter fly, not only was Nesty honored as head coach of his countrys team, but he was recognized as the Suriname flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Games. Outside of the Olympics, Nesty coached internationally during the summer of 2009, when he traveled to Rome as the coach for the 2009 Cayman National Team at the 2009 FINA World Championships. At the Championships, Nesty tutored then-current Gators Brett and Shaune Fraser. In the summer of 2010, Nesty coached the Cayman National Team at the2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships, the largest international meet of the year. In 2011, Nesty served on deck as an assistant coach for the U.S. mens team at the World University Games, which was his first time coaching for the United States. In 2014, Nesty coached the Venezuelan team at the Pan Pacific games, where he tutored Olympian Andreina Pinto, who trains with the Gator swim club in Gainesville. Over the last 18 seasons at UF, Nesty has shown the ability to transfer his penchant for fast times in the water to the Gator swimmers he has coached. In 2006-07, he helped Shaune Fraser, a 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympian from the Cayman Islands, develop into a top-five finisher in the 200 fly at the NCAA Championships in his first collegiate season. His work with the Gators middle-distance and distance freestylers during that campaign also came to fruition at the 2007 NCAA Championships, as he tutored Grant Johnson and Tobias Work to earn a combined five All-America honors and record four career-best times.  Fraser returned to the NCAA Championships in 2008 to collect seven All-American honors and finally reached the highest collegiate achievement under Nesty in 2009, when he brought home his first two individual national championships in the 200 free and 200 fly (NCAA record). Fraser became the first Gator to win the 200-yard fly since Nestydid so in 1990. Fraser wrapped up his career in 2010 withseven All-America honors, giving him 27 accolades for his career, the most for a single mens swimmer or diver in school history. In 2015, Dressel earned seven All-American honors and became the first UF freshman to earn seven tributes since Shaune Fraser in 2007. In 2014, Cieslak finished his career with 25 All-America honors and three NCAA Championships, the third-most All-America honors and the 10th most NCAA titles in school history. At the 2000 NCAA Championships, Nesty saw his pupil, Duncan Sherrard, break his 10-year old school record, which he set at the 1990 SEC Championships, in the 200 fly. In 2006, he was on the pool deck when Ryan Lochte set the school records in the 100 and 200 fly at the SEC Championships. Another Nesty protégé, Ricardo Monasterio, collected four All-America honors during his career at UF and swam in the 1996, 2000, 2004 & 2008 Olympic Games for his home country of Venezuela. In addition to all the All-America honors, national championships and record breaking times that Nesty has led current and former Gators to; the Paramaribo, Suriname native has led multiple swimmers to SEC Male Swimmer of the Year and SEC Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year honors. The Anthony Nesty File Hometown: Paramaribo, Suriname Education: B.A. in Communications, University of Florida, 1994 Coaching Career: Career Highlights:

Nesty has played a key role in guiding UF men to four-consecutive Southeastern Conference Championships and a third-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Prior to 2013, the Gators had not won a conference title in 20 years. In addition, UFs SEC title in 2016 represented the programs 37th overall. This past seasons third-place finish extended UFs streak of top-10 national finishes to 16 seasons. Florida had nine student-athletes total 37 All-America honors over the three-day meet. Most recently in 2016, Nesty helped the Gators take another step forward as the Florida men matched their highest finish ever at the NCAA Championships. Behind two national titles from the NCAA Co-Swimmer of the Year, Caeleb Dressel, the Gators claimed a third-place finish for the second time in 20 seasons. In SEC competition, the Orange and Blue brought home their fourth straight Southeastern Conference Championship on the men's side while 11 Gators were crowned individual champions. Senior Kahlia Warner led the Florida women with a pair of titles in the diving well while Dressel shined once again, claiming six (3 individual, 3 relays).     In 2015, Nesty coached Caeleb Dressel to UFs first-ever 50-yard freestyle (18.67) NCAA Championship, which he achieved on day one of the NCAA meet. Dressel became the ninth Gator swimmer under Nesty and Head Coach Gregg Troys tutelage to win SEC Male Freshman of the Year. At the conference meet, Dressel won the 100-yard butterfly title in an outstanding time of 45.28 seconds. That mark not only ranked him second all-time in school history but it was the second-quickest in the U.S. 17-18 year old age group. During the 2014-15 season, the Florida men set seven of a possible 18 school records. In 2014, the Gators finished third at the NCAA meet which was the highest finish in program history since 1991. During that season, the Florida men set 12 school records in 2014, including Brad deBorde in the 50 and 100-yard free, Dan Wallace in the 500 free, Arthur Frayler in the mile, Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and Marcin Cieslak in the 100 and 200 butterfly races. In addition, four of five relay teams set UF records as well. Cieslak won a pair of NCAA titles, becoming the first Gator since Nesty to bring home three consecutive national titles in the 100 butterfly (1990-92). Cieslak also captured UFs eighth 200 IM national championship. Sebastien Rousseau was named the SEC Swimmer of the Year and earned the SEC Commissioners Trophy after he won a trio of SEC titles. Anthony is one of the most revered coaches in college swimming, and one of the few who is considered both a great athlete and a great coach, Troy said. Hes got a great work ethic and a tremendous ability to get results. His experience at the Olympics as an athlete is instrumental in his ability to relate to our current athletes. His reputation for getting the most out of them speaks for itself. During his collegiate career at UF, Nesty won his aforementioned three consecutive NCAA crowns in the 100 fly from 1990-92. In addition at the NCAA Championships, Nesty won the 200 fly in 1990 and he was a member of Floridas 1991 NCAA champion 400 medley relay team. He held the school records for NCAA titles until 2006, when former Gator Ryan Lochte finished his illustrious career with seven such honors. For his accomplishments as a Gator, Nesty was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in April 2002. In addition to his success at the collegiate level, Nesty brings experience at the highest levels of international swimming to the Florida staff. At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, he won the first-ever Olympic medal for his native country of Suriname when he edged seven-time medalist Matt Biondi of the United States by .01 to bring home the gold in the 100-meter fly. Nesty also won the gold medal in the 100 fly at the 1990 Goodwill Games and captured a world championship in the same event in 1991. Nesty concluded his swimming career at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he earned the bronze in the 100 fly. Nesty made his return to Gainesville on June 1, 1998, to assume duties on the pool deck. Prior to that, he served as a club level coach for three years with Swim Florida in Sarasota.  Making the coaching stop at Florida has not only allowed Nesty to reach a career goal, but his post on the Gators deck has allowed him to be reunited with a close friend in Gator swimming head coach Gregg Troy, for whom Nesty swam for high school at The Bolles School in Jacksonville. Following Nestys illustrious collegiate career, he served as one of Troys assistants at Bolles, while also holding the head coaching position at Jacksonvilles Nease High School.  Nesty began his international coaching career as an assistant coach for Suriname at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. He then continued his Olympic tradition as the head coach for Suriname at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London. On the 20th anniversary of Nestys Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter fly, not only was Nesty honored as head coach of his countrys team, but he was recognized as the Suriname flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Games. Outside of the Olympics, Nesty coached internationally during the summer of 2009, when he traveled to Rome as the coach for the 2009 Cayman National Team at the 2009 FINA World Championships. At the Championships, Nesty tutored then-current Gators Brett and Shaune Fraser. In the summer of 2010, Nesty coached the Cayman National Team at the2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships, the largest international meet of the year. In 2011, Nesty served on deck as an assistant coach for the U.S. mens team at the World University Games, which was his first time coaching for the United States. In 2014, Nesty coached the Venezuelan team at the Pan Pacific games, where he tutored Olympian Andreina Pinto, who trains with the Gator swim club in Gainesville. Over the last 18 seasons at UF, Nesty has shown the ability to transfer his penchant for fast times in the water to the Gator swimmers he has coached. In 2006-07, he helped Shaune Fraser, a 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympian from the Cayman Islands, develop into a top-five finisher in the 200 fly at the NCAA Championships in his first collegiate season. His work with the Gators middle-distance and distance freestylers during that campaign also came to fruition at the 2007 NCAA Championships, as he tutored Grant Johnson and Tobias Work to earn a combined five All-America honors and record four career-best times.  Fraser returned to the NCAA Championships in 2008 to collect seven All-American honors and finally reached the highest collegiate achievement under Nesty in 2009, when he brought home his first two individual national championships in the 200 free and 200 fly (NCAA record). Fraser became the first Gator to win the 200-yard fly since Nestydid so in 1990. Fraser wrapped up his career in 2010 withseven All-America honors, giving him 27 accolades for his career, the most for a single mens swimmer or diver in school history. In 2015, Dressel earned seven All-American honors and became the first UF freshman to earn seven tributes since Shaune Fraser in 2007. In 2014, Cieslak finished his career with 25 All-America honors and three NCAA Championships, the third-most All-America honors and the 10th most NCAA titles in school history. At the 2000 NCAA Championships, Nesty saw his pupil, Duncan Sherrard, break his 10-year old school record, which he set at the 1990 SEC Championships, in the 200 fly. In 2006, he was on the pool deck when Ryan Lochte set the school records in the 100 and 200 fly at the SEC Championships. Another Nesty protégé, Ricardo Monasterio, collected four All-America honors during his career at UF and swam in the 1996, 2000, 2004 & 2008 Olympic Games for his home country of Venezuela. In addition to all the All-America honors, national championships and record breaking times that Nesty has led current and former Gators to; the Paramaribo, Suriname native has led multiple swimmers to SEC Male Swimmer of the Year and SEC Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year honors. The Anthony Nesty File Hometown: Paramaribo, Suriname Education: B.A. in Communications, University of Florida, 1994 Coaching Career: Career Highlights:

Poppell, beginning his 24th season of coaching this fall, most recently served four years as the head coach for Gulliver Preparatory School and the Gulliver Swim Club, six years as the womens head coach at the University of Arkansas and 13 years serving in head coach and assistant coach capacities with The Bolles School and Bolles School Sharks.  Through four seasons at Gulliver Preparatory School and Gulliver Swim Club, Poppells challenge was to build winning programs from the ground level up. He quickly helped launch the program to an elite status after several swimmers established themselves as top national talents, including Jana Mangimelli, who placed 5th in the 200-Meter IM at the 2013 United States World Championship Trials and US National Championships, clocking a time that ranked her among the top 25 in the world. In 2014 and 2015, he led Gulliver Preparatory to consecutive 2A FHSAA High School State Swimming Championship titles in girls swimming after winning the schools first-ever state championship in swimming in 2014. Most recently, in 2015-2016, Poppell guided Gulliver Swim Club to its first-ever Silver Medal Award, which recognizes the top 100 swimming clubs in the United States. In addition, he tutored four U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifiers, three finalists at the U.S. Summer Junior National Championships, and 10 swimmers who were ranked among the top 25 nationally in their respective age groups. During his six years as the Head Swimming Coach of the University of Arkansas, he guided the program to its best performances in school history, which included a top-five finish at the SEC Championships and a No. 17 national ranking in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America national polls. Beginning his second season at Arkansas, the Razorback swimming and diving program ranked in the Top 25 national poll for five consecutive years.   Poppell coached 16 athletes who individually qualified for the NCAA Championships and helped ten of these women earn NCAA All-American honors. One of his swimmers, Yi-Ting Siow, a three-time Olympian, became the first Razorback swimmer to win back-to-back SEC titles, claiming the SEC championship title in the 200 breaststroke in 2009 and 2010. Siows fourth place finish in the 200 breaststroke at the 2009 and 2010 NCAA Championships represented the highest NCAA Championship finish for a swimmer in Razorback history. Her time of 2:07.73 was just seven-hundredths of a second behind the SEC record held by 1999 NCAA champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Kristy Kowal of Georgia.   During the 2010-2011 season, Chelsea Franklin finished seventh in the 1650 freestyle at the womens NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors for the first time with a time of 15:59.05, which still stands as the Arkansas school record in the event. The 2009 NCAA Championships were highlighted by five different Razorback swimmers qualifying individually for the meet with four of the swimmers earning NCAA All-American status by finishing in the top 16: Yi-Ting Siow and Leah Pierce in the 200 Breaststroke, Katie Kastes in the 400 Individual Medley and 200 Butterfly and Stephanie Carr in the 1650 Freestyle. The 2008 NCAA Championships featured freshman Katie Kastes 9 th place finish in the 200 Butterfly with the 6 th fastest time recorded in the meet.       Coach Poppell had 10 swimmers qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2009, Poppell served as the Head Women's Coach for Team USA at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel. He was also a USA Swimming National Team coach from 2005-08, during which, he coached three swimmers who competed at the 2009 FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome, and two who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He guided two of his swimmers to three gold medals, one silver, two bronze, and three meet records at the Southeast Asian Games. Prior to the University of Arkansas, Poppell spent 13 years with the Bolles School and Bolles Sharks in Jacksonville, Florida, one of the country's most prominent high school and club swimming programs. At the 2006 Spring U.S. National Championships, he led the Bolles Sharks to a Top 5 Team finish where the Bolles men's 4x200 freestyle relay team won the U.S. National title and Omar Pinzon became the U.S. National Champion in the men's 200 backstroke. During the 2005-06 High School season, Poppell guided the Bolles High School boys team to its 18th consecutive Florida high school state championship and the girls earned its 15th consecutive high school state title. The boy's swimming team went on to be crowned National Prep School Champions and captured a National Runner-Up finish for Swimming Worlds National High School Championship. For his efforts, Poppell was honored with NFHS Florida High School Boy's Coach of the Year. During the 2003-2004 season, The Bolles School Girls Swimming team was crowned Swimming Worlds National High School Champions and the 2003 & 2004 NISCA National Dual Meet Team Champions for both Girls and Boys Independent School. In addition, Anja Carman was named the NISCA National High School Female Swimmer of the Year and Coach Poppell was named the NHSCA National High School Coach of the Year and Florida Dairy Farmers High School Coach of the Year for his work with the girl's high school team at Bolles. Also during that year, Anja Carman won two Silver medals at the European Long Course Championships in both the 200 Backstroke and 800 Freestyle and teammate Stephanie Carr was crowned the 18&U U.S. National Champion in the 1500 Freestyle with the 6 th fastest time in the World. Carr was also a finalist in the 800-meter free at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. As the Bolles School Head Coach from 2002-2006, he coached four swimmers ranked in the top 25 in the World and an additional seven swimmers ranked among the top 100 in the World, seventeen current or former Bolles Sharks swimmers that competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, five U.S. National Championship/U.S. Olympic Trials finalists, two U.S. National Champions, and two 18&U U.S. National Champions. Furthermore, Poppell's swimmers garnered medals at major international events such as the European Championships, Commonwealth Games, South American Championships, Southeast Asian Games, and the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships. Under current UF head coach Gregg Troy, Poppell joined the staff of Bolles in August of 1993 as an age group coach. Working his way up to associate head coach in 2001, Poppell became the head coach and aquatics director in March of 2002. As a student-athlete at University of Georgia, Poppell was a four-year letter winner and team captain for the Georgia Bulldogs' swimming team. He qualified for the NCAA Championships twice and was an Honorable Mention All-SEC and academic All-SEC honoree. He earned one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals while competing for the United States at the 1993 Maccabiah Games in Israel. To this day, the Bulldog program remembers his contributions to the team with the annual presentation of the Jeff Poppell Award for Leadership. A 1993 graduate of the University of Georgia, Coach Poppell and his wife, Joanna, have two children, Jack and Jenna. The Jeff Poppell File Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida Education: Coaching Career: