By Jordan OzerThe inaugural American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championship came to a close Saturday, with the host Louisville Cardinals winning the men’s and women’s titles at the Ralph Wright Natatorium. The Cardinals also had the men’s swimmer of the meet in Joao De Lucca and women’s swimmer of the meet in Tanja Kylliainen.
The night opened with the women’s 1650-yard freestyle, the longest race contested at the Championships. Louisville earned the top three spots coming out of the final heat, with Carly Munchel taking the top spot in 16:35.63. The second spot went to freshman Abbie Houck in 16:44.64, and in third was Abby Chin, who finished in 16:46.79.
In the men’s 1650-yard freestyle, Louisville sophomore Bryan Draganosky outpaced the competition to win the mile-long race in 15:13.67. UConn’s Michael Lennon finished second in 15:25.38, and Cardinal Jake Schultz came in third in 15:31.89.
In the men’s Platform diving, SMU continued their strong showing in the Championships. Burnett won his third gold medal in diving, taking first with 399.65. Teammate Hayden Hodges placed second with 313.50, with Louisville’s Sean Piner in third with 313.50.
The women’s 200 Backstroke was won by Rutgers Joanna Wu, who took her second gold of the Championships. Wu set a pool record with a 1:54.07 to finish first, ahead of SMU’s Isabella Arcilla (1:55.27) and Louisville’s Erica Belcher (1:56.35).
The men’s 200-Yard Backstroke was a sweep of the podium by the Cardinals, with Grigory Tarasevich touching the wall first. The freshman finished in 1:41.50, nearly two seconds ahead of fellow Louisville underclassmen Aaron Green and Nolan Tesone.
In the women’s 100-Yard Freestyle, Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell took her second freestlye gold of the Championships. She touched the wall in 48.47, beating Cincinnati’s Jackie Keire to the wall. UConn’s Chinyere Pigot and SMU’s Nina Rangelova tied for third with a 49.43.
In the men’s 100-Yard Freestyle, Louisville’s Joao De Lucca continued his dominance of the Championships, winning his sixth gold medal in six attempts. De Lucca set an NCAA ‘A’ Cut with the second fastest time in the nation this year, a 41.95. Teammate Caryle Blondell swam 42.72 for second, with Cardinal freshman Matthias Lindenbauer in third at 43.91.
The women’s 200 Breaststroke went 1-2 for SMU in the 200-yard breaststroke, with Tara-Lynn Nicholas winning in 2:10.10. Fellow Mustang Rachel Nicol was second in 2:10.33, with Louisville’s Andee Cottrell finishing third in 2:10.81.
In another battle between Louisville swimmers, Kameron Chastain charged late and beat Thomas Dahlia to the wall in the Men’s 200-Yard Breaststroke. Chastian reached just ahead in 1:54.68 ahead of Dahlia’s 1:54.78. Addison Bray was third in 1:55.73
Another standout swimmer for Louisville, Tanja Kylliainen picked up her third first –place finish of the Championship by swimming a NCAA ‘A’ Cut of 1:53.94 in the 200-Yard Butterfly. Devon Bibault was second in 1:57.34 and Brittany Guinee was third in 1:59.27.
The men’s 200-Yard butterfly was a Cardinals victory, with Josh Quallen beating teammate Juan Lopez. Quallen swam a 1:45.29, exactly two seconds ahead of Lopez. David Boland was third in 1:47.71.
The Women’s Platform Diving saw a Houston title, with freshman Taylor Olanski finishing first. She scored a 281.70, with Rutgers’ Taylor Scott scoring 268.55 for second and Louisville’s Andrea Acquista in third at 245. 65.
The women’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay went to Louisville, who set a NCAA ‘A’ Cut with the victory to wrap up their team championship. The Cards swam a 3:16.15, over a second ahead of SMU, with Cincinnati taking third place.
The men’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay wrapped up the title for Louisville, as they cruised to a victory in 2:50.41. SMU was second in 2:55.75, with UConn taking third.
For full coverage of the entire Championship, including video highlights and photo galleries, visit the Championship Central Page at www.theamerican.org/sd.
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year
Artur Albiero, Louisville
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year
Phil Spinello, Rutgers
Men’s Diving Coach of the Year
Jim Stillson, SMU
Women’s Diving Coach of the Year
Yulia Pakhalina, Houston
Men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer
Joao De Lucca, Louisville, Sr.
Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer
Tanja Kylliainen, Louisville, Jr.
Men’s Most Outstanding Diver
Devin Burnett, SMU, Jr.
Women’s Most Outstanding Diver
Natasha Burgess, Houston, Jr.
Men’s Team Standings
1 Louisville 1072.5
2 SMU 768
3 UConn 683.5
4 Cincinnati 535
Women’s Team Standings
1 Louisville 977
2 SMU 624.5
3 Rutgers 572
4 UConn 459.5
5 Cincinnati 431
6 Houston 337
Women’s 1,650-Yard Freestyle Final Results
1 Carly Munchel Louisville 16:35.63
2 Abbie Houck Louisville 16:44.64
3 Abby Chin Louisville 16:46.79
4 Shelly Faykes UConn 16:49.04
5 Hope Andrews Cincinnati 16:51.41
6 Milli Puth Cincinnati 16:58.50
7 Alice McCall SMU 17:01.25
8 Chelsea Rolin Rutgers 17:05.48
Men’s 1,650-Yard Freestyle Final Results
1 Bryan Draganosky Louisville 15:13.57
2 Michael Lennon UConn 15:25.38
3 Jake Schultz Louisville 15:31.89
4 Joey Ferreri Cincinnati 15:48.59
5 Joe Bott Cincinnati 15:48.74
6 Donovan Kearns Cincinnati 15:49.57
7 Eastman Holloway SMU 15:53.46
8 Cody Green Cincinnati 15:57.65
Men’s Platform Diving Final Results
1 Devin Burnett SMU 399.65
2 Hayden Hodges SMU 322.35
3 Sean Piner Louisville 313.50
4 James Parker Meinecke SMU 269.95
5 Sam Blair Louisville 254.95
6 John Brice UConn 251.95
7 Bryce Klein SMU 246.70
8 Anthony Cortright UConn 236.15
Women’s 200-Yard Backstroke Final Results
1 Joanna Wu Rutgers 1:54.07
2 Isabella Aricla SMU 1:55.27
3 Erica Belcher Louisville 1:56.35
4 Kristin Steins Louisville 1:56.93
5 Jessica Piper Cincinnati 1:59.33
6 Kenzie Buss Louisville 1:59.39
7 Christine Pedersen UConn 1:59.96
8 Ursa Bezan SMU 1:59.97
Men’s 200-Yard Backstroke Final Results
1 Grigory Tarasevich Louisville 1:41.50
2 Aaron Green Louisville 1:43.44
3 Nolan Tesone Louisville 1:43.57
4 Juan Lopez Louisville 1:45.33
5 Matas Andriekus SMU 1:45.81
6 Sawyer Franz UConn 1:47.98
7 Jeff Magin UConn 1:48.40
8 Donovan Kearns Cincinnati 1:52.83
Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle Final Results
1 Kelsi Worrell Louisville 48.47
2 Jackie Keire Cincinnati 48.92
3 Chinyere Pigot UConn 49.43
3 Nina Rangelova SMU 49.43
5 Weronika Wasiakowska Cincinnati 50.01
6 Krissie Bradnenburg Louisville 50.15
7 Breann McDowell Louisville 50.29
8 Marne Erasmus SMU 50.31
Men’s 100-Yard Freestyle Final Results
1 Joao De Lucca Louisville 41.95
2 Caryle Blondell Louisville 42.72
3 Matthias Lindenbauer Louisville 43.91
4 Ryan Koops SMU 44.11
5 Ziga Cerkovnik SMU 44.13
6 Ramon Melo SMU 44.29
7 Trevor Carroll Louisville 44.40
8 Matt Roney SMU 44.47
Women’s 200-Yard Breaststroke Final Results
1 Tara-Lynn Nicholas SMU 2:10.10
2 Rachel Nicol SMU 2:10.33
3 Andee Cottrell Louisville 2:10.81
4 Gissel Kohoyda Louisville 2:11.32
5 Allyson Perrotti Rutgers 2:13.70
6 Helena Pikhartova Cincinnati 2:14.33
7 Greta Leberfinger Rutgers 2:15.14
8 Lucy Kramer Louisville 2:19.55
Men’s 200-Yard Breaststroke Final Results
1 Kameron Chastain Louisville 1:54.68
2 Thomas Dahlia Louisville 1:54.78
3 Addison Bray Louisville 1:55.73
4 Nicolai Hansen SMU 1:58.58
5 Lachezar Shumkov UConn 1:58.77
6 Greg Baliko UConn 2:01.45
7 Julian Fletcher SMU 2:02.34
8 Hayden Corley SMU 2:02.97
Women’s 200-Yard Butterfly Final Results
1 Tanja Kylliainen Louisville 1:53.94
2 Devon Bibault Louisville 1:57.34
3 Brittany Guinee Rutgers 1:59.27
4 Morgan Pfaff Rutgers 1:59.38
5 Sophie Nothnagle UConn 2:02.51
6 Laykin Lowry Houston 2:04.14
7 Holly Gallagher UConn 2:04.17
7 Caroline Finkle UConn 2:04.17
Men’s 200-Yard Butterfly Final Results
1 Josh Quallen Louisville 1:45.29
2 Juan Lopez Louisville 1:47.29
3 David Boland Louisville 1:47.71
4 Tyler Rauth SMU 1:47.89
5 Chris Girg UConn 1:48.46
6 Ryan Walsh UConn 1:50.44
7 Hunter Pasek Cincinnati 1:50.50
8 Tucker Wells SMU 1:50.62
Women’s Platform Dive Final Results
1 Taylor Olanski Houston 281.70
2 Nicole Scott Rutgers 268.55
3 Andrea Acquista Louisville 245.65
4 Alessandra Murphy Louisville 240.95
5 Emily Stalmack Louisville 224.35
6 Danielle Shedd Houston 219.05
7 Maddy Ingmire Louisville 204.90
8 Rebecca Gross Rutgers 193.70
Women’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay Final Results
1 Louisville 3:16.15
2 SMU 3:17.20
3 Cincinnati 3:21.58
4 Rutgers 3:22.86
5 UConn 3:26.10
6 Houston 3:26.11
Men’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay Final Results
1 Louisville 2:50.41
2 SMU 2:55.75
3 UConn 2:58.40
4 Cincinnati 3:03.24
