ATHENS, Ga. — Defending champion Virginia won the first event of the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships, and Florida took the lead on the first day Wednesday.
The Cavaliers opened the meet by capturing the 200-yard medley relay, an event they won last year, with a time of 1 minute, 31.58 seconds, nearly a second and a half ahead of Ohio State. Florida took third place and achieved its first top-three finish since 2014.
The Gators won the only other final of the day, the 800-yard freestyle relay for the sixth time in program history and first title since 1989. Florida finished with a time of 6:48.59, with Tennessee second at 6:53.43 and Virginia. four.
That gave Florida a 72-70 lead over Virginia, with Tennessee third with 62 points and Stanford fourth with 54.
There are four swimming finals and one diving final Thursday at Gabrielsen Natatorium's Jack Bauerle Pool.
