Auburn Men, Florida Women Hold Onto Leads On Day Three of SEC Meet

Tiger Men Build A 182.5 Lead Over Florida; Auburn Women Storm Back
The Auburn women’s swimming and diving team stormed back to within eight points on day three of the SEC Championship, cutting Florida’s lead by 33 points and passing Georgia in the process.  The Auburn men’s team continued to dominate, watching their lead grow to 182.5 over second-place Florida.

The day’s events came to an exciting end as the men’s and women’s 400 MR teams recorded huge victories.  The women’s team, 14 points back of Florida needed the win to continue chipping away at the Gator lead and keep the momentum heading into Saturday’s finale.  The relay team of Rachel Goh, Micah Lawrence, Ava Ohlgren and Ariana Vanderpool-Wallace posted an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 3:31.28 – a new SEC record.

Just minutes before, the men’s 400 MR team hit a new SEC record of their own – a 3:04.58.  The team of Pascal Wollach, Adam Klein, Logan Madson and Matt Targettt beat Georgia relay by nearly five seconds.

Ava Ohlgren got the day started as she shattered her own SEC record in the 400 IM, increasing Auburn's winning streak in the event to 10 years. Ohlgren's time of 4:03.70 is the second-fastest 400 IM of all time.  The two-time NCAA Champion has now accumulated a total of five individual SEC titles.

Ohlgren won the women’s 400 IM prelims, touching in at 4:09.21. Earlier this season, the 2008 400 IM Champion’s previous top-time was 4:06.80 at the 2008 USA Short Course Championships.  Her victory is the 12th overall for Auburn.

Auburn Olympian Matt Targett set the new SEC 100 fly record, swimming a 45.02 to undercut former Tiger Alexei Puninski's previous record of 45.60.  Targett’s time was the fifth fastest all-time.  Logan Anderson (45.70) and Tyler McGill (46.00) placed second and third, posting the third and fourth fastest times in the nation this year.  Logan Madson (46.10) and Jakob Andkjaer (46.49) placed fifth and seventh, respectively.

All five Auburn men set to compete in 100 fly prelims advanced to the A finals with four “A” cuts.  The old Auburn record of 45.51 was set by Alexei Puninski at the 2008 SEC Championships.

Junior Pascal Wollach set the new James E. Martin Aquatics Center record of 46.04 on his way to an SEC title in the men’s 100 back. Auburn has seen recent success in the 100 back after winning the title the four of the past five years. David Marsh won Auburn's first title in the event in 1980. Sophomore Kohlton Norys (46.48) placed third followed by sophomore Jared White (47.46) in seventh.

“It feels great,” said Wollach. “I should do this more often. I was struggling a little at the beginning of the year.  I took some time off. I just stuck with my training and my lifting and it paid off in the end.”

Sophomore Caitlin Geary won the 200 free with a time of 1:43.17, an NCAA automatic qualifying time and new Auburn record.  Auburn has now won the 200 free five times, including back-to-back victories in 2008 (Emily Kukors) and 2009.

Runner-up in the 2008 200 free event, junior Maggie Bird placed fifth, touching in at 1:45.27.  Chelsea Haser (1:47.33) placed 12th.

Senior Emile Ewing won the 200 free B final, touching in at 1:45.35. Five Auburn swimmers hit NCAA “A” cuts in the women’s 100 back. Two-time NCAA Champion Rachel Goh (51.46) led all Tigers in third place, followed by senior Margo McCawley (51.63) in fourth, junior Alana Dillette (52.77) in fifth and junior Melissa Marik (52.94) in sixth.

Senior Julianne McLane claimed her NCAA automatic qualifying time of 53.00 while winning the 100 back b final.

In the prelims, Goh won the third heat of the women's 100 back, tying the previous record of 51.57.  In the next heat, Tennessee's Jennifer Connolly beat Goh's record by one-hundredth of a second.  Florida's Gemma Spofforth followed in the final heat with the second fastest 100 back ever posted, a new SEC and pool record 50.43.

Auburn advanced three swimmers to the finals of the 100 breast. Sophomore Adam Klein placed second with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 52.73.  His mark was the third fastest in Auburn history.  Klein was followed by 2008 SEC Champion Michael Silva (52.88) in fourth and freshman Genaro Prono (53.94) in seventh.

Freshman Anna Aguero placed third in women’s platform diving.  The Moultrie, Ga., native hit a career high 285.55 through six dives.

The Auburn women qualified four into the finals of the 100 fly.  Junior Alana Dillette led all Tigers, finishing fourth with a time of 52.51. In the A finals, Dillette was followed by senior Margo McCawley (52.71).

Freshman Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace (53.58) finished 10th while freshmen Kelsey Winters (53.73) placed 11th.

In the men’s 200 free, Auburn sent three to the finals.   Junior Pascal Wollach led the Tigers in the A final, timing in at 1:35.82 for a sixth-place finish.  Wollach was followed by junior Will Dove (1:36.17) in seventh and junior Gideon Louw (1:35.44) in 10th.

Freshman Micah Lawrence placed third in the women’s 100 breast.  The Texas state high school champion touched in at 1:00.28 followed by sophomore Melanie Roberts in fifth swimming a 1:00.55.

Auburn sophomore Andrew Mitchell was the lone Auburn competitor in the men’s 400 IM prelims, swimming a new top time of 3:52.62 to advance to the “B” final Friday night.  Mitchell swam a 3:55.43, finishing eighth in the B final.

Lady Gators in First, Men Improve to Second After Day Three of SECs
Four SEC Championships, one SEC record, five UF records and four pool records highlighted day three of the swimming and diving 2009 SEC league meet Friday from the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala. Twenty-six Florida swimmers and two women’s divers qualified for finals on day three of the four-day Championship meet.

The Gator women maintained their first-place status after day three (534), while Auburn (526) and Georgia (498.5) are second and third, respectively. On the men’s side, Florida climbed from third place to second (405) and sits in between Auburn (588.5) and Tennessee (397.5).

“We had great effort from both our men’s and women’s programs today. We came in and had some great swims and we’re pleased with that,” head coach Gregg Troy said. “Our women ended the day on a high note with a school record in the 400-yard medley relay, but we were a little disappointed on the men’s side to swim the second-fastest time in the country and then get disqualified on an exchange. We know that we have to come in ready to race tomorrow and that we need to have a strong last day to maintain our performance so far.”

An SEC Championship and pool record in the 400-yard IM by senior Bradley Ally (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and a school record in the women’s 400-yard IM by junior Stephanie Proud (Durham, England) kicked off Friday’s finals.

Ally led the field for the duration of the race, extending his lead on the breaststroke and freestyle legs, clocking a career-best 3:41.35 to set a new James E. Martin Aquatics Center pool record and better his NCAA automatic qualifying mark. Ally was the only swimmer in the field to clock an NCAA automatic mark as he racked up his fifth individual SEC title, second 400 IM crown, after winning the same race in 2007.

Proud battled it out with Auburn’s Ava Ohlgren, the defending SEC Champion and record-holder in the women’s 400 IM, to clock a second-place finish and new UF record (4:07.56) in the event. Proud’s time marked a career-best mark and shattered a 25-year-old record, set by UF great Tracy Caulkins’ 4:07.75 in 1984.

Not only did Proud reel in a second-place finish for Florida, Gator freshmen Kirsten Smith (Cary, N.C.) and Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) placed third and fourth, respectively.

Following the stellar IM swims, Florida’s Jemma Lowe (Hartlepool, United Kingdom) turned around for UF’s second championship swim of the night in the 100-yard fly, lowering her UF record set in prelims and clocking a 51.65, the only swimmer in the finale to achieve an NCAA automatic qualifying mark. Gator Julianne Lago (Miami, Fla.) touched in third for a career-best 52.17.

The Fraser brothers struck in the 200-yard freestyle as Shaune Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) defended his SEC title in the event, clocking a 1:33.73 in the championship final. In the consolation final, Brett Fraser (George Town, Cayman Islands) swam to an even faster, 1:33.62, to finish first in the heat, ninth overall, and capture a pool record in the event.

The defending SEC and NCAA champion in the 100-yard back, junior Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) defended her SEC title with a 50.56 after clocking an SEC, pool and UF record (50.53) in prelims. Spofforth’s two swims marked the second and third-fastest all-time swims in the event and served as NCAA automatic qualifying marks.

After swimming the second-fastest time in the country in the 100-yard back and setting a new pool record in prelims, junior Omar Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia) swam to a second-place, 46.46 finish in finals, while senior Rex Tullius (Port Orange, Fla.) finished fourth with a career-best 46.49. Both Pinzon and Tullius surpassed the 46.69 to automatically qualify for the NCAA meet. After claiming the No. 1 seed in the platform diving competition heading into finals, junior Kara Salamone (Hollywood, Fla.) dove to a score of 282.55 to place fourth, while sophomore Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.) improved her prelims score (250.15) to place sixth in the evening finale with 266.40 points.

In the final event of the evening, the 400-yard medley relay, both the UF men and women swam to second-place finishes in UF record time, but due to an early exchange on the men’s side, the Gators were disqualified, surrendering their second-place, 3:06.91, NCAA automatic qualifying finish that was the second-fastest 400-yard medley relay performance in the nation.

On the bright side in the women’s 400 medley relay, the Gators eclipsed the previous UF record (3:33.94) with a 3:31.41 mark, also an NCAA automatic qualifying mark, to place second. The relay time was additionally under SEC record pace. Spofforth re-set her SEC and UF record in the 100-yard back with a 50.46 split to open the relay. Freshmen Lindsay Rogers (Fishers, Ind.), Lowe and Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) swam the breast, fly and free legs, respectively.

The final day of competition in the 2009 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships is Saturday. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. (CST), while finals are slated to start at 6 p.m. (CST).

Florida Notes
Ally’s 400 IM title was the fifth individual SEC title of his career and was his second 400 IM title after capturing the crown in 2007 (200 IM & 400 IM: 2009, 200 IM: 2008, 400 IM & 200 breast: 2007).

Gemma Spofforth won her second-consecutive consecutive 100-yard back SEC title, her third career SEC title after winning the 100 & 200-yard back events in 2008 at both the SEC and NCAA championships.

Spofforth set the SEC record in the 100-yard back in prelims (50.53) and then re-set her own record on the first leg of Florida’s 400-yard medley relay with a time of 50.46.

Shaune Fraser won his third-consecutive 200-yard freestyle title, his fifth career-title (200 free: 2009, 200 free: 2008, 200 free, 200 fly, 800 FR: 2007).

Florida has won seven SEC titles so far in the 2009 championship meet and set 13 NCAA automatic qualifying marks.

Jemma Lowe won the first SEC title of her career in the 100-yard butterfly in UF record time (51.62), setting the record in prelims and improving it in finals.

Through day three of the 2009 SEC meet, the Gators have set 11 UF records (W200 MR, M200 FR, Women’s 3M diving, W50 free, W200IM, W200 FR, W100 fly, M100 breast, W100 back, W400 IM, W400 MR), seven James E. Martin Aquatics Center pool records (W200 MR, M200 IM, W200 FR, M100 back, W100 back, M400 IM, M200 free) and three SEC records (W200 MR, W200 FR, W100 back

VOLS CONTINUE SUCCESS ON DAY THREE OF SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tennessee head swimming coach John Trembley was pleased Friday as his Volunteer squad had another strong day at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
 
“It was a great night for us,” Trembley said. “We started off strong with Michael Christy’s 400 I.M.”
 
Florida’s Bradley Ally broke Michael Phelps’ American record in the 400 individual medley to begin the third day of competition. In fourth-place (3:47.81), UT sophomore Michael Christy swam the third-fastest 400 I.M. in Tennessee history. Christy set the school record for the event (3:45..51) in November. He was the only Vol swimmer in the event.
 
“That was a great swim by Michael,” Trembley said. “This will be great for him heading into NCAA championships.”
 
In the 100 butterfly, sophomore All-America Michael DeRocco finished ninth (46.69), winning the consolation heat. Junior Jordan Walters finished 23rd (49.54) in the preliminary rounds and freshman Ricky Henehan had his career-best performance (49.84) in the event finishing 26th.

After leading the first seven pool lengths, UT senior Olympian Jonas Persson was beat out at the wall by two-time defending SEC 200 freestyle champion Shaune Fraser of Florida. Persson swam the second-best time in UT history (1:34.02) and beat Auburn’s standing pool record. Sophomore Geoff Sanders continued to excel at the championships finishing 11th (1:35.82) and moving to fifth all-time in Vol history. Senior Stephen Fortney also had a strong showing finishing 14th and boasting Tennessee’s tenth-best all-time 200 freestyle performance. Freshman Anders Storvik placed 15th (1:37.28). Storvik’s preliminary time (1:36.73) places him 12th all-time in Vol history. Sophomore Chris Winchell placed 17th in the preliminary round (1:36.96) and moved to 15th best all-time at UT. All-America senior Jimmy Dabney finished 25th (1:38.64) in the preliminary round and senior Scott Wherry was 41st (1:40.16).
 
Swimming his career-best 100 breaststroke, Barry Murphy led the Volunteers finishing third (52.86). Georgia’s Neil Versfeld won the event and Adam Klein of Auburn finished second. After swimming his career best in the preliminaries, UT sophomore Mattias Kahlin swam an even faster event in the finals finishing sixth (53.72) and becoming UT’s fifth-best all-time 100 breaststroker. Mr. Clutch Brad Craig finished ninth (54.36), winning the consolation heat. Freshman Jake Epperson just missed the championship heats finishing 17th in the preliminary round (55.30).
 
In the 100 backstroke, Pascal Wollach of Auburn set a new American record winning the event (46.04). Florida’s Omar Pinzon placed second, Auburn’s Kohlton Norys finished third and Rexford Tullius of Florida finished fourth. Tennessee’s Nolan Morrell tied for fifth (47.13) with LSU’s James Meyers. UT freshman Ricky Henehan placed 13th (47.99). Henehan’s preliminary time (47.63) ranks eighth all-time in Vol history. The versatile freshman Storvik placed 20th (49.05) in the preliminary round.
 
The final event of day three was the 400 medley relay. Tennessee’s relay team of Morrell, Murphy, DeRocco and Dabney swam the ninth-fastest time in UT history finishing in fourth (3:10.68). Auburn, Georgia and LSU were the top three. Florida’s relay team was disqualified for an early start and earned no points in the event.
 
On the eve of the SEC championship final day, Auburn has maintained the top spot with 588.5 points, Florida has taken over second with 405 points and Tennessee has moved to third with 397.5 points.
 
Alabama Goes One-Two on the Platform during Day Three of SEC Championships
Alabama continued to dominate the diving events at the 2009 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, taking first and second in the women’s platform event on the meet’s third day.
 
“Today was a very good day for us, especially on the women’s side of the meet,” Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. “To go one-two on the platform in this league is pretty amazing. We are continuing to swim fast and compete hard. We just have to come back tomorrow and finish strong.”
 
Junior Elizabeth Hughes, who finished third in this event a year ago, came in tonight and won the platform after scoring 305.80 points. Freshman Carrie Dragland, who won the SEC three-meter title on day one of the championships, was mere tenths of a point back in second place with 305.55 while the rest of the field was 20 points back.
 
Two other members of the Tide’s diving contingent, sophomores Olivia Covey and Lauren Dunn also scored off the platform tonight. Covey finished 13th with a score of 217.45 while Dunn took 15th with a 201.25 total.
 
In addition to Hughes’ and Dragland’s titles, junior Aaron Fleshner won the one-meter title on the meet’s first day while he and sophomore Adam Booher both finaled in the three-meter competition yesterday.
 
Sophomore Kate Shannon Gray finished sixth in the 400 IM with a career-best 4:14.13. Her time ranks her second all-time for the Crimson Tide, trailing only current junior Agustina de Giovanni. De Giovanni scored points of her own in the 100 breaststroke, posting a 1:01.35 good for 13th place.
 
Freshman Suzanne Schwee and sophomore Ida Persson both scored for the Tide in the 100 butterfly. Schwee finished 12th with a 53.80 while Persson took 16th place with a time of 54.39. Schwee posted a 53.71 in prelims which put her third all-time for Alabama while Persson’s 53.96 in prelims puts her fourth.
 
Juniors Riley Boulden and Luke Boutwell both scored in the 100 breaststroke with Boulden taking 11th and Boutwell 12th place. Boulden’s preliminary’s time of 54.44 ranks him sixth all-time at Alabama while Boutwell’s 54.71 in finals puts him seventh. Senior Chris Perry took 16th in finals of the 100 backstroke with a 48.61 after tying the school record in prelims with a time of 47.97.
 
Sophomore Denes Zubcsek took 12th place in the 100 butterfly, touching the wall at 47.40. Zubcsek posted a career-best 47.33 in the prelims, which ranks him second all-time for the Crimson Tide.
 
Freshman Joe Ziegler scored in the 200 freestyler with a 13th place finish, touching with a time of 1:36.31, which ranks him fourth all-time for the Tide.
 
The championships conclude Saturday.

UT’s Jamie Saffer Captures SEC Title In 100 Breast
Junior Jamie Saffer snagged the Lady Vol Swimming and Diving team’s second Southeastern Conference individual championship by coming from behind to take the 100 breast title on Friday night at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center.
 
Saffer dipped below the one-minute barrier for the third time this season – and second time of the day – in winning the event in 59.84. During the prelims, the Roswell, Ga., native broke the SEC Championship record with a swim of 59.79.
 
She joins junior Michele King (50y free, 21.90) as UT’s 2009 SEC individual champions.
 
Saffer became the 21st individual swimming SEC champion in Lady Vol history and the second UT swimmer to capture the 100 breast title. Tracy Ignatosky was the first Lady Vol to win the event in 1988.
 
“I was really nervous heading into the race because I knew there were a lot of really good girls,” Saffer said. “I really practiced being strong on my last lap and I just pushed it. I knew I had to take that last wall hard.”
 
She is now one of three Lady Vols that currently hold SEC Championship records, joining Christine Magnuson, who set the 100 fly record of 51.00 in 2008, and Stephanie Brinser, who set the 200m breast record of 2:39.00 in 1992.
 
Saffer was in third-place with 25 yards to go in the race, but surged ahead of Georgia’s Michelle McKeehan (59.42) and Auburn’s Micah Lawrence (1:00.28) to claim her first SEC title.
 
“Saffer’s performance was huge,” Kredich said. “She felt pressure all day and just pulled it out with a great finish. Hopefully this takes the pressure off her for tomorrow.”
 
The Lady Vols remain in fourth-place at 279.5 points with one day of competition left. Florida leads with 534 points, while Auburn (526) and Georgia (498.5) are within striking distance. Currently behind Tennessee are Alabama (210), Arkansas (191), South Carolina (175), Kentucky (155), LSU (152) and Vanderbilt (56).
 
Freshman Jenny Connolly also made the podium on Friday night, finishing runner-up in the 100 back with a UT record and NCAA ‘A’ cut performance of 51.34. The West Lafayette, Ind., native edged out the 2007 NCAA Champion in the event, Auburn’s Rachel Goh (51.46), but couldn’t overtake defending NCAA champion Gemma Spofforth (50.53).
 
Connolly briefly held the SEC Championship record after swimming a 51.66 in her prelim heat before Spofforth grabbed her record back with her prelim swim of 50.53.
 
Connolly also finished sixth in the 100 fly in 52.85. Her performance is an NCAA ‘B’ cut and just off her season-best clocking of 52.83 set in the prelims. Florida’s Jemma Lowe won the 100 fly in 51.65.
 
Connolly and Saffer teamed up to join King and senior Carly Mathes on the fourth-place 400 medley relay team that shattered the UT-record by over two seconds with a time of 3:34.90. The old record was 3:38.11 set at the 2007 NCAA Championships by King, Magnuson, Megan Tomes and Tiffany Clay.
 
Auburn won the relay in an SEC Championship record time of 3:31.28.
 
Wrapping up her first-ever SEC Championship meet, freshman diver Gabrielle Trudeau placed fifth on the platform with a career-best score of 273.50. Alabama teammates Elizabeth Hughes (305.80) and Carrie Dragland (305.55) went 1-2 in the tower event.
 
“To finish fifth in your first SEC Championship meet is very impressive,” UT diving coach Dave Parrington said. “Gabbie competed hard all day. She really kept her composure while doing a handstand on her third dive. That was something we worked on in training and it paid off. I’m really proud of her.”
 
Sophomore Martina Moravcikova had an impressive close to capture first in the 100 breast consolation final (ninth overall) in 1:01.20, while junior Alex Barsanti was just behind in 1:01.45 (12th overall). Both performances are career-bests and NCAA ‘B’ cuts.
 
Sophomores Tricia Weaner and Morgan Farrell placed 11th and 15th, respectively, in the 100 back. Weaner’s time was a career-best and NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 53.71, while Farrell finished with a ‘B’ cut time of 54.46 – just off her prelim swim of 54.05.
 
Senior Sarah McCall clocked a career-best time of 4:18.60 en route to finishing 15th in the 400 IM. Freshman Samara Gelb was just behind her teammate, placing 16th in 4:20.37.
 
Seniors Brittany Nauta and Mathes went 14-15 in the 200 free. Swimming in the consolation final, Nauta’s time was 1:47.85, while Mathes finished in 1:48.74. During the prelims, Nauta swam a career-best and NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 1:47.77 and Mathes finished in a season-best 1:48.19.
 
Auburn’s Caitlin Geary won the 200y free in 1:43.17.
 
“We had some great swims tonight,” Kredich said. “Sarah McCall got her first best time since her freshman year in the 400 IM, Jenny Connolly was phenomenal in putting together three great swims tonight and Tricia Weaner had an outstanding 100 back. Both Martina (Moravcikova) and Alex (Barsanti) got faster in the 100 breast tonight, too. And of course we had four very good swims on the 200 medley relay. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
 
The Lady Vols hop back in the pool for the final day of the 2009 SEC Championships for prelims at 10 a.m. with finals starting at 6 p.m. Events being contested are: the 200y back, 100y free, 200y breast, 200y fly, 1650y free, 400y free relay and men’s platform.
 
Lubenau’s NCAA Automatic Time Highlights Day Three of SECs for LSU
LSU senior Christoph Lubenau clinched a berth to the 2009 NCAA Championships with an automatic qualifying time in the 100-yard butterfly, while the men's 400-yard medley relay squad captured third-place and a host of swimmers seized top-16 finishes at the SEC Championships Friday to cap off a sensational day for LSU swimming and diving.

Lubenau, who won the consolation final of the 100 butterfly at NCAA's last season, proved that he will once again be a force to be reckoned with at this year's national meet as the German became just the seventh swimmer in the country to eclipse the 46-second mark in the race this season.

The two-time All-American shaved a quarter of a second off his school record mark with a sizzling time of 45.99 seconds to earn third-place in the preliminaries. He then followed that effort with a time of 46.03 to take fourth-place in the finals, missing the medal podium by just three one-hundredths of a second.

In addition, the men's foursome of James Meyers, Ben Decker, Lubenau and Hannes Heyl secured third-place in the event final of the 400 medley relay with a school-record time of 3:10.54. The women's 400 medley group of Monica McJunkin, Kannon Betzen, Jane Trepp and Katherine Noland also broke the program mark with a time of 3:38.47.

However, Lubenau and the medley relay swimmers weren't the only Tigers to shine on the third day of the conference meet as numerous athletes stepped up with career days and put themselves in position to secure bids to the NCAA's in March.

Meyers enjoyed the best day of his short career as a Tiger, wrapping up a tie for fifth in the 100-backstroke final with a blistering NCAA 'B' cut time of 47.13, which is the second-fastest in school history. The local product from Baton Rouge also scored points for the Tigers in the consolation final of 100 fly, placing 13th with another NCAA provisional qualifying time of 47.47.

Fellow sophomore Jane Trepp continued to etch her name in the school record books Friday after breaking the 50-free mark yesterday as she shattered Noland's 100-fly mark and improved her 100-breast record. Reaching the wall in a school-record time of 53.26 in the 100-fly prelims, the Estonian qualified for the event final and swam a mark of 53.59 to finish eighth.

After her swim in the 100 fly, she returned to the pool in the consolation final of the 100 breast and delivered a new school all-time mark of 1:01.41 to record an 11th-place finish. In addition to Trepp's performance in the breast, Betzen also placed in the top-16 and became just the second athlete in program annals to swim under 1:02 in the event, touching in 1:01.79.

Germans Julius Gloeckner and Hannes Heyl also reached the finals on Day 3. After qualifying for the final round of the 400 individual medley with a season-best time of 3:50.52, Gloeckner locked up seventh-place with a mark of 3:52.57. Heyl registered a 100-back prelim time of 47.30, the third-fastest in school history, before placing eighth in the event final with a mark of 47.90. Moreover, the sophomore took 10th in the 100 fly with a time of 46.94.

Decker also reached an event final in individual competition, posting an eighth-place finish in the men's 100 breast with a time of 54.44 after qualifying for the final with a career best of 54.23.

In the women's 100 backstroke, senior Monica McJunkin took another step toward earning a spot at NCAA's with a blistering mark of 53.07 to finish 10th. That mark is only six one-hundredths off the automatic qualifying standard and puts the Charlotte, N.C., native is great position to reach the national meet.

Senior Vanessa Duenas swam her best race of the season, touching the wall in 4:14.24 in the consolation final of the 400 IM to seize 11th-place, and junior Lauren Grandy recorded the school's third-best 200-free time with a prelim mark of 1:47.84 before placing 16th in the finals with a mark of 1:49.24.

Tiger breaststrokers Roy Chambers and Chris White also raced into the top-16 as Chambers matched his career-best time of 54.87 in the prelims with the same time in the 'B' final to finish in 13th, while White swam a personal best of 54.96 in the prelims and placed 16th in the finals.

Sophomore Clint Hallum registered a 14th-place finish in the 400 IM with a time of 3:53.05, and versatile seniors Noland and Gilmore each placed in the top-16 of the women's 100 fly.

In the morning session, freshman Morgan McGee improved her personal best in the 100 back with a mark of 54.46 as the Shreveport, La., native missed a top-16 finish by less than five one-hundredths of a second.

Lady Tigers' diver Katie Lybbert earned her top career score in the women's platform diving competition, totaling 196.70 points to finish 17th.

Senior Victoria Givens claimed the program's fifth-fastest 100-breast time with a mark of 1:03.14, while the Tigers' Luis Gonzalez moved up the men's all-time top-10 list in the 400 IM with his PR of 3:55.53.