Tennessee Invite - Day Three

ALABAMA

The Alabama Swimming and Diving teams finished off a strong showing at the Tennessee Invitational held in Knoxville, Tenn. this weekend with several lifetime best swims, seven individual wins as well as two more facility records.
 
Over the three-days of the meet, Alabama broke six Allan Jones Aquatic Center records and won 16 of the 32 individual events against top-20 opponents Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
 
“We had a great weekend here, posting career-best times and winning races against some quality opponents,” Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. “We came in here treating this as kind of a mid-term exam and I’m really pleased with how we performed.”
 
Senior Mark Randall scored his second pool record of the weekend, posting a 14:52.75 in the mile, bettering his season-best time which ranks No. 1 in the nation and taking 13 seconds off the old mark. Randall also set facility record in the 500 freestyle earlier in the weekend. Junior Catalin Cosma took second in the mile with a 15:15.72, a time that ranks him second in the nation this season.
 
The Tide went one-two in the 200 butterfly with junior Denes Zubcsek setting another pool record with a 1:46.43, more than a second faster than the old record while freshman Anestis Arampatis took second with a 1:48.82. Senior Riley Boulden posted a career-best time to win the 200 breaststroke, touching at 1:58.47, which moves him up to seventh all-time for the Tide. Sophomore Joe Ziegler won the 200 backstroke with a 1:46.18.
 
Senior Aaron Fleshner and sophomore Carrie Dragland combined to give Alabama a six-win sweep of the diving events. Fleshner finished his three-day sweep of the diving events by taking first off the platform with 387.30 points, more than 50 points better than his nearest competitor. Dragland combined with senior Elizabeth Hughes to take first and second off the platform on the women’s side of the meet, scoring 307.60 and 291.75 respectively.
 
“The divers did a great job all weekend,” McIlquham said. “There was some quality competition down in the deep end and they really got after it.”
 
Senior Agustina de Giovanni just missed the pool record in the 200 breaststroke, notching her third win of the weekend with a 2:11.62, finishing more than five seconds ahead of second place. Freshman Jenna Gallo posted a 16:36.72 in the 1650 freestyle, taking second overall and landing at fourth all-time on the Crimson Tide’s all-time top-10 list.
 
Alabama’s swimmers will take a break from competition until after the New Year, but the divers will be in action the first week of December at the Ohio State Invitational before hosting the Bama Diving Invitational Dec. 17-19.


TENNESSEE MEN

After moving out of the historic Student Aquatic Center into the new state-of-the-art Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, the Vols’ swimming and diving team had to start replacing more than forty years of memories. The last-minute Volunteer win during the 2009 Tennessee Invitational will definitely be a day that is remembered.
 
Entering the final day, The Big Orange trailed Kentucky by 10 points and faced two possibilities: snapping a 50-year winning streak over the Wildcats and losing their first meet in the new pool. But the Vols pulled out a win during the last event. Tennessee finished in first place with a score of 872.50, Kentucky in second with 868.50 points, Alabama in third with 840 points and Virginia Tech in fourth with 598 points.
 
“Our team wanted to win,” Tennessee head coach John Trembley said. “I think we surprised the Kentucky coaches and the Kentucky team. We surprised ourselves.”
 
Heading into the 400 freestyle relay, Tennessee led Kentucky by eight points. To win, Tennessee’s two relay teams had to at least finish second and third. Other scenarios had the Vols either tying or losing to Kentucky, whose sprint freestylers lead the conference and swept the 100 freestyle earlier in the meet. Before the event, the UT team gathered and decided to split their fastest swimmers onto the two teams instead of having them all on one.
 
The outcome: Tennessee raced to a second and third place finish in the event and a win in the meet.
 
The second-place squad of Anders Storvik, Ryan Harrison, Michael DeRocco and Brad Craig earned 34 points with a 2:57.98, NCAA B-Cut time. In third place was the team of Giles Smith, Jake Epperson, Ricky Henahan and Ed Walsh. They scored 32 points and also earned a B-Cut time of 2:58.25. Kentucky earned the win and fourth place in the event but came up just short, finishing in second place at the meet—just four points back from the Vols.
 
“The eight guys on our relay teams got together before the event in the team room,” Craig said. “It felt like the last day of the SEC (championships). The whole got behind us. I was thinking about the ‘Ghosts in the Rafters,’ and how much that tradition means to us. We had to defend the honor this pool.”
 
The first event of the day was the mile freestyle. Alabama’s Mark Randall swam to a first-place, pool-record time of 14:52.72. The Vols’ Carl Jones was the previous pool-record holder, and he placed third at 15:31.36. Co-captain Geoff Sanders placed sixth at 15:46.14. Junior Scott Friderichs scored in 11th (16:14.48) as did Knoxville, Tenn., native Michael Zaczyk in 16th (16:34.48).
 
Next was the 200 backstroke. Tennessee was led by sophomore Henahan in second place at 1:47.13. Behind Henahan was Storvik in third at 1:48.13. Junior Chris Winchell placed seventh (1:50.82). Junior Patrick Beasley scored in 16th (1:56.01) and Zaczyk won the C-Final at 1:55.45.
 
In the 100 freestyle, Smith continued his strong performance in fifth place at 44.73. Harrison finished right behind Smith in sixth place with a 44.92. Freshman Walsh won the consolation final with a 45.31 mark. Nashville, Tenn., native Paschall Davis placed 20th (46.94) and Herbie Behm finished 23rd (47.08).
 
The turning point in the meet was the 200 breaststroke. The Vols cut the Wildcats lead to one point after earning second through fourth places. Craig placed second at 1:59.02, Epperson finished third with a 2:01.89 mark and junior Mattias Kahlin came in fourth at 2:02.16. The three Vols finished netted 48 points for Tennessee heading into the final two events.
 
To remain in contention, the Vols had to have a strong showing in the 200 butterfly. The lone Vol in the final heat, junior Forrest Leary placed seventh at 1:52.12—a season high.  Beasley had a clutch performance, winning the consolation final and scoring in ninth place at 1:50.78. The Wildcats’ highest finisher was in 11th. Freshman Seth Wensel finished 21st (1:56.22).
 
This meet concludes the fall portion of the Vols’ schedule. Their next meet will be at Virginia on Jan. 9, 2010. At this point in the season, Tennessee is 7-0, 4-0 in dual meets and 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
 
“We have been hit so hard with injuries this year, so we were pretty fortunate to have some guys back before this meet,” Trembley said. “With this win we are now ready to accelerate our training and get back to work. We made some mistakes this week and we will work on correcting those now.”
 
The Vols entered Saturday’s platform event with some uncertain expectations. Senior co-captain Michael Muscari missed the first two days of competition due to illness, freshman Jordan Mauney competed in his first ever platform competition and sophomore Ryan Helms competing in his first, full 10-meter platform event.
 
Alabama’s Aaron Fleshner earned the sweep of the diving events with a first-place score of 387.30. Virginia Tech’s Michael McDonald placed second at 334.20.
 
Tennessee’s Helms came in third on the platform with a career-best 333.50. In fourth, Muscari came just short of a career best at 320.20. Freshman Jordan Mauney placed seventh (237.85) and Knoxville, Tenn., native Sean Letsinger finished eighth (235.95).
 
“There are more positives than negatives coming out of this meet,” Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. “Mike Muscari had an impressive performance after being sick this week. He was rusty but competed well in a really tough contest.
 
“We got some valuable experience today. Helms did well today—this is his first 10-meter list in a while and I think he will be a force to be reckoned with come championship season. Jordan did very well in his first meet and I think Sean showed a lot of improvement.”


TENNESSEE WOMEN

With a convincing victory in the 200y back on Saturday, freshman Kelsey Floyd led the 13th-ranked Tennessee women’s swimming and diving to a third-place finish at the Tennessee Invitational.
 
The Lady Vols finished with 790.5 points, while Kentucky snagged the meet title by scoring 837.5 points at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. No. 17 Virginia Tech placed second (709) and Alabama was fourth (752).
 
Floyd, of Lexington, Ky., had the swim of the day for the Lady Vols, winning the 200y back by over a second in an NCAA ‘B’ cut and season-best time of 1:58.12.
 
She also finished fourth in the 200y fly (2:02.08) and was on the second-place 400y free relay that earned a ‘B’ cut and finished in 3:23.43. Senior Michele King and sophomores Jenny Connolly and Caitlin Perks joined Floyd on the relay.
 
“One of the challenges of the meet was to race multiple times and keep a high level of focus,” Lady Vol head coach Matt Kredich said. “Kelsey did that better than anybody. There was no let up on her part. She does a great job preparing for every event.”
 
Floyd competed in a team-best 19 races over the three-day meet. 
 
King placed second in the 100y free in an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 50.08, just barely getting out-touched by Kentucky’s Megan Pulskamp (49.98).
 
Senior Alex Barsanti snagged a ‘B’ cut in the 200y breast prelims (2:16.60) and finished second in the finals of the event with sophomore Samara Gelb just behind, placing third in 2:17.16. Alabama’s Agustina de Giovanni breezed to victory in the event with a clocking of 2:11.62.
 
Junior Tricia Weaner was sixth in the 200y back in 2:01.72, while Connolly finished eighth in the 200y fly (2:04.31) and the 200y back (2:03.58).
 
“I’m happy where we are,” Kredich said. “We’re seeing progress every week. Our training has been outstanding the last three weeks.”
 
In the separate UT Diving Invitational, Gabbi Trudeau finished third (263.05) on the platform behind Alabama’s Carrie Dragland (307.60) and Elizabeth Hughes (291.75). Trudeau’s performance qualified her for the NCAA Zone B Championships and gave her a trio of third-place performances at the meet.
 
“I was really pleased today,” UT diving coach Dave Parrington said. “Gabbi did a nice job competing in her first platform event of the year. For where we are at, at this point in the season, we did really well at this meet. I feel really good about the progress we are making.”
 
Erika Hajnal of Virginia Tech won the 1650y free in a pool-record 16:09.92. She also captured the 200y fly in 1:59.18.
 
Kentucky won the 400y free relay in 3:21.43.
 
The Lady Vol divers will be back in action on Jan. 3 at the Bulldog Diving Invitational in Athens, Ga., while the UT swimmer will join the divers in Charlottesville, Va., to face Virginia on Jan. 9.


VIRGINIA TECH

The Virginia Tech H2Okie swimming and diving teams concluded their fall season with second and fourth-place finishes in the three-day Volunteer Invitational held at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Saturday. The No. 17 Lady H2Okies held their ground for a second-place finish with 799 points, while the No. 23 men took fourth with 598 points. Kentucky took first for the women with 837.5 points, with Tennessee placing third behind Tech and Alabama fourth. Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama finished first, second and third, respectively, on the men’s side, as the Vols finished with 872.5 points.

Erika Hajnal added to her already-impressive resume throughout the three-day meet, earning two titles and two additional NCAA “B” cuts in the 1650 freestyle and 200 butterfly events, supplementing a first-place finish in the 500 freestyle and second-place finish in the 400 IM earlier in the meet. Hajnal broke the pool record in the 1650 free with a top-finish in 16:09.92, 25 seconds quicker than the next finisher. The Budapest, Hungary, native was also dominant in the 200 fly, finishing in 1:59.18. Both times were season-best marks for the sophomore.

“This weekend marked a great team effort from our Lady H2Okies,” said Virginia Tech’s head swimming and diving coach Ned Skinner. “Everyone contributed against some great schools. Erika [Hajnal] and Kelly [deMarrais] were fantastic and really helped us clinch some great performances. Erika’s 1650 time has a great shot at making the NCAA Championships.”

Lauren Ritter took third in the mile freestyle behind Hajnal with a time of 16:46.45, while Laura Simon added a fifth-place finish. Alabama took the top-two spots in the men’s 1650 free, while Blake Trabuchi-Downey guided the men’s anchor with a seventh-place spot in 15:46.80, a season-best mark. Philip LaRosa, Caglar Gokbulut and Griffin Lutterbein rounded out the top-10.

“I was real pleased with the way our men raced,” added Skinner. “Our opponents were very prepared for the meet and we posted many great swims on very little rest.”

Kelly deMarrais added a top-three performance in the 100 freestyle with a time of 50.24, just missing the NCAA “B” cut, while Emily Ferguson added a sixth-place finish in 51.00, both marking season-best times. deMarrais also led the H2Okies in the 200 back with a fifth-place mark in 2:00.94. Gregory Morgan and Richard Ulatowski added season top-times in the men’s 100 free with finishes in 46.04 and 46.37, respectively.

Blake Trabuchi-Downey topped the H2Okie men with a fifth-place finish in the 200 butterfly event, touching in at 1:50.80, just ahead of teammate Matt Baumler who took sixth in 1:51.68. Addtionally, Tom Sheranek and Gregory Mahon posted top-10 finishes in the men’s 200 back.

Keri Sink captured the sixth-place position in the 200 breaststroke event with a personal-best time of 2:19.96, while Sarah Losinger closed in on a top-10 spot with a 2:20.24 finish. Scott Harkins clinched a season-best time for the men’s 200 breaststroke event, finishing in 2:06.41.

The divers competed in the platform event for the first time this season in a separate UT Diving Invitational, where freshmen Sara Mokhtari and Logan Shinholser shined and posted NCAA Zone B qualifying marks. Shinholser took the runner-up spot to Alabama’s Aaron Fleshner with a final score of 334.20, while Mokhtari placed fourth with 252.90 points.

The women and men closed the Invitational with fifth and sixth-place finishes in the 400 freestyle relay, respectively, as the women went out in 3:25.97, while the men posted their quickest time this season in 3:04.16.

Hajnal (500 free, 400 IM, 1650 free, 200 fly) earned four qualifying “B” marks throughout the three-day meet, while deMarrais (500 free, 200 free) earned two qualifying “B” marks. The two teamed with Ritter and Jace Howanitz for an additional qualifying mark in the 800 freestyle relay. Ritter also earned a qualifying mark in the 500 freestyle.

The H2Okies will return to War Memorial Pool on Saturday, Jan. 16, to race against Davidson on Senior and Parent’s Day at 1 p.m.