Men
1. Auburn 177
2. Tennessee 164
3. Georgia 146
4. South Carolina 140
5. Missouri 132
6. Texas A&M 127
7. Alabama 121
8. Florida 119
9. LSU 114
10. Kentucky 98
Women
1. LSU 164
2. Georgia 148
3. Kentucky 144
4. Florida 140
5. Missouri 137
6. Texas A&M 132
7. South Carolina 120
8. Alabama 105
8. Auburn 105
10. Tennessee 104
11. Arkansas 103
12. Vanderbilt 60
Alabama
The Alabama men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams started off the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships where they left off last season, breaking four school records on day one of the Auburn-based meeting of the nation’s fastest league.
The Crimson Tide opened this year’s championships with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay with a school-record time of 1:24.43. Sophomore Connor Oslin posted the races fastest backstroke split with a 21.11 and was followed by sophomore Pavel Romanov, freshman Luke Kaliszak and junior Brett Walsh. Only a huge breaststroke leg by Tennessee kept the Tide from the win. The Tide shaved four-tenths of a second off the previous mark set at this meet a year ago.
The Tide women broke a pair of school records when the 800 freestyle relay rolled around. Junior Emma Saunders bettered her own school 200 freestyle mark for the second time this season by leading off the 800 freestyle relay with a 1:45.62, becoming the first Alabama swimmer under 1:46. Saunders joined with freshmen Mia Nonnenberg and sophomores Karolina Szczepaniak and Leah Bird to break to school 800 freestyle relay record with a 7:09.31, good for eighth place overall. The Tide shattered the previous school record set in 2003 by nearly eight seconds.
The Tide men closed out their night with a school record of their own in the 800 freestyle when sophomores Kristian Gkolomeev and Alex Gray combined with freshman Christopher Reid and junior Crews Wellford touched with a 6:22.81, good for eighth place, shaving nearly two seconds off the previous mark set last season. Gklomeev’s leadoff time of 1:34.82 ranks him third all-time at Alabama in the 200 freestyle.
The women’s 200 medley relay of sophomore Carolina Korst, senior Kaylin Burchell, senior Kristel Vourna and sophomore Bailey Scott took eighth place with a 1:37.65, just off the school mark set last season.
Individually, sophomores Brent Sagert (17th) and Dylan Marin (18th) along with freshman David Morton (24th) scored in the men’s 1-meter springboard event while sophomore Taylor Zablocki scored off the women’s 3-meter springboard, taking 10th place.
The Tide men are ranked seventh after day one with 121 points while the women are currently in eighth place with 105 points.
Arkansas
To set the tone for the opening day of the 2015 SEC Championships, the Arkansas women’s swimming and diving 800 freestyle relay team downed a program record in the James E. Martin Aquatic Center Tuesday evening.
The team of juniors Anna Mayfield, Maddie Monroe and Rachel Stoehr, and freshman Chelsea Tatlow clocked a time of 7:05.96, downing the previous record set last season (7:08.61). The time also marks the Razorbacks first NCAA ‘A’ cut of the season, automatically qualifying for the 2015 NCAA Championship.
To open the swimming competition, the 200 medley relay team of Mayfield, seniors Nikki Daniels and Susanna White and junior Nina Drolc clocked the third-best time in program history (1:38.67).
In the diving well, freshman Nicole Gillis picked-up nine points for the Razorbacks in the three-meters where she took 17th with a score of 278.30. Senior Meghan Clark collected a pair of points for Arkansas with her 23rd place with a score of 265.95.
Auburn
Auburn’s men took an early lead after the first day of the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Tuesday at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center, setting two school records in the pool and placing three divers into the men’s 1-meter final.
In the men’s 800 freestyle relay, Auburn’s Hugo Morris, Arthur Mendes, Kyle Darmody and Joe Patching set the school record in the event with a time of 6:14.15, blowing away the previous record of 6:17.29 set in 2014.
Morris also provided the Tigers with another highlight on the opening night of competition, breaking the school record in the 200 freestyle with a leadoff split of 1:33.39. The freshman’s time topped the mark set by former Tiger and three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, whose record of 1:33.80 had stood since 1981.
“We started off with diving and it really set us up for the day. Getting three up on the men’s side was huge,” Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. “It just gives the team confidence starting a meet already knowing you’re in the lead. Those guys did an outstanding job. We were strong in the 200 medley relay, but we are little conservative in some of our change overs which cost us.”
“To come back and see Rowdy Gaines’ record go down in the 200 free after all these years was great, especially since it happened on Rowdy’s birthday. It was an outstanding performance by those four guys in the 800 free relay, especially Hugo Morris.”
Auburn’s trio of Fraser McKean, Pete Turnham and Justin Youtsey scored major points for the Tigers in the 1-meter diving final to open the competition. Youtsey was Auburn’s top-finisher with a season-best score of 359.75 to take sixth. McKean placed seventh with a six-dive list of 346.80, while Turnham took eighth at 319.65.
Patching, Michael Duderstadt, Mendes and Jacob Molacek gave the Tigers a fourth-place finish in the men’s 200 medley relay, improving their NCAA ‘A’ cut time to 1:24.91.
Auburn’s men have 177 points after the first day of competition, 13 ahead of Tennessee (164).
On the women’s side, the Tigers took third in the 200 medley relay to start Tuesday night’s finals. Jillian Vitarius, Natasha Lloyd, Megan Fonteno and Allyx Purcell touched in at 1:36.70 to take bronze in the event. The time was just .59 seconds off Auburn’s school record, which was set back in 2011.
Florida
The University of Florida No. 1 men’s and No.4-ranked women’s swimming & diving teams sit eighth and fourth following day one of the Southeastern Conference Championships. This week’s meet is being held at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala.
Florida’s men captured the Gators lone SEC Championship of the day, as senior Dan Wallace, junior Pawel Werner, redshirt sophomore Nicholas Alexiou and sophomore Mitch D’Arrigo won the men's 800-yard freestyle relay in an SEC and UF-record time of 6:12.85.
Both of those broken records were set by UF a season ago at the conference meet.
In the other swimming event of the evening, the 200-yard medley relay, seniors Christian Homer and Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, junior Corey Main and freshman Caeleb Dressel finished fifth in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:24.95. That mark ranks fourth in school history.
The Gator women’s squad was led by junior diver Kahlia Warner as she placed fifth in the women’s three-meter dive finals with a career-high score of 362.25. Warner, a 2013 All-SEC Freshman honoree, will look to earn her first SEC individual title on tomorrow’s one-meter board.
In the pool, the women’s squad placed third and fifth in the 800-yard freestyle and 200-yard medley relay events, respectively. Juniors Ashlee Linn, Lindsey McKnight and Jessica Thielmann and freshman Amelia Maughan combined to clock a time of 7:00.25 in the freestyle race. Meanwhile, junior Natalie Hinds, sophomore Sophia Batchelor, redshirt freshman Theresa Michalak and McKnight recorded a mark of 1:37.12 in the medley. Each time was NCAA automatic qualifying mark and they each rank as the fifth-fastest touches in program history.
UF is back in action tomorrow for day two of the SEC Championships with prelims beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET and finals at 7:00 p.m.
Coaches Corner:
Head Coach Gregg Troy:
On his thoughts on Florida’s performance overall…
“It was a good day for us. I wish we had been better in the medley relays, but we made the NCAA (‘A’) standard in both, as they were good swims. We were just a tad shy on our touches in a couple of places. The women’s (800-yard freestyle) relay was tremendous for where we started the year, as we’ve had to piece things together with that all year. Overall, with Kahlia Warner, Emily Mosher and Zach (Hernandez) in the diving, we had a really, really good day. We’ve got our work cut out for us but it was a good start.”
On the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay team…
“They set a new school record and it’s the fastest time in the country right now and it’s an SEC record so we can’t complain. It was a great effort by all of those guys.”
Diving Coach Dale Schultz:
On Kahlia Warner…
“I was excited. In the finals, Kahlia (Warner) had missed her front three and a half long, but she went for it. She competed really, really well. It was a tough contest. The top-five divers did really well and she wasn’t that far off the school record. One-meter seems to be a little stronger event for her, but she’s competing well.”
On Emily Mosher and his excitement level for tomorrow…
“I was for Emily (Mosher). She was 16th (in the prelims) and that’s her best finish (of the season). We’re headed in the right direction and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Talking Gators:
Senior Dan Wallace:
On setting the UF and SEC record in the 800 FR…
“It's a great feeling to lower the school record and our own SEC record. It's one thing to win the event, but to get the record is always special. Florida has been so dominant over the years in the 800 free relay, so it just shows how much talent we have on this team. It sets a great tone for the rest of the meet.”
Georgia
Georgia captured an individual diving title and a relay crown and set a school record as the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships opened Tuesday at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
After the initial day of competition, the second-ranked Lady Bulldogs, who have won a school-record-tying five straight conference titles, stand second with 148 points behind LSU’s 164. The No. 8 Bulldogs are in third place with 146 points, trailing Auburn (177) and Tennessee (164).
Freshman Olivia Ball claimed the women’s 3-meter springboard title with 375.80 points. She secured the eighth and final spot in the finals with 318.80 points in prelims, just 1.5 points out of ninth.
"Olivia put me through the ringer just squeaking into finals, but she was really steady tonight," Georgia diving coach Dan Laak said. "I told her to go out and have fun and she did. She did every dive the way she's capable of doing it."
"It's really exciting to win and I'm so happy," Ball said, "I was literally shaking the entire time. I didn't know what to do, so I just kept reminding myself to stay calm and not freak out. I didn't watch anything else. I just got in my zone and listened to my music and didn't pay attention to anything else."
Georgia has won the last three SEC titles -- the first in school history -- on 3-meter as Ball joined 2013 and 2014 champion Laura Ryan.
The Lady Bulldogs also kept alive an impressive run in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Jordan Mattern, Brittany MacLean, Amber McDermott and Hali Flickinger stopped the clock in 6:55.69, the fastest time in the country this year and the sixth-fastest effort in school history. Georgia has won the 800 freestyle relay six straight years and 11 times overall.
"We're really excited about our first day," McDermott said. "I think our 800 free relay set the tone and we're excited about the rest of the meet. The key to the relay is to just have fun. We enjoy this relay and it's nice that we were able to win it again."
The Lady Bulldogs came in fourth in the 200-yard medley relay as Olivia Smoliga, Annie Zhu, Lauren Harrington and Chantal Van Landeghem touched in 1:36.88, the third-best effort in Georgia history.
The Georgia men placed third in every event on Tuesday.
The 800-yard freestyle relay of Matias Koski, Chase Kalisz, Alec Cohen and Gunnar Bentz stopped the clock in a school-record 6:18.27. The 200-yard medley relay of Taylor Dale, Nicolas Fink, Ty Stewart and Michael Trice got to the wall in 1:24.86, which ranks second in school history. Ian Forlini claimed the bronze on 1-meter springboard with 404.80 points, while Crawford Berry took 16th in prelims with 287.70 points.
"I thought it was a good night for us," Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. "You never know what to expect on the first night, and this was a little bit of a wild one. It was a really good night. Was it perfect? No, but it turned out very well. You can lose it on the first day, especially with relay exchanges, so we did a good job. The meet begins in earnest for us on Wednesday, so we'll know even more this time tomorrow."
Kentucky
The Kentucky swimming and diving team opened the 2015 SEC Championships in a big way Tuesday, with three school records and a pair of diving finalists on the first day of competition in Auburn, Ala.
In the six events on the meet’s opening day, UK notched four top-eight finishes, with senior Christa Cabot and redshirt sophomore Rebecca Hamperian advancing to the 3-meter diving finals and finishing sixth and eighth, respectively. The Wildcats placed fifth and eighth respectively in the women’s and men’s 800 freestyle relay events, both with school-record times. Senior Christina Bechtel’s lead-off time of 1:46.39 in the 800 freestyle also is a new school record in the 200 freestyle.
“Today was a complete effort from both diving and swimming,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “Breaking three school records was a great start to the competition and with Christa and Becca both going to the finals, that was huge as well. We recognize it’s just one night and we have a long way to go, but it was a really good start.”
UK earned points in all six events on the championship’s first day. Along with the men’s and women’s 800 freestyle relay and the women’s 3-meter, sophomore Noah Richter placed 10th on 1-meter and just missed a spot in the finals. The Wildcats also placed 10th in both the men’s and women’s 200 medley relay.
The Wildcats sit in third place in the women’s standings with 144 points, while the men are 10th with 98 points. LSU’s 164 points is first for the women, while Auburn, the championships’ hosts, is first in the men’s rankings with 177 points.
Kentucky posted its best finish in the last event of the day, the women’s 800 freestyle relay. The Wildcats placed fifth in 7:06.15, breaking the school record by over four seconds. In a tightly-contested race, UK edged LSU by 0.61 seconds.
Bechtel led off with a 1:46.39, a new school record in the 200 freestyle. Sophomore Danielle Galyer followed with a team-best time of 1:45.77 and senior Abby Myers swam third with a 1:47.35. Sophomore Kendal Casey anchored with a 1:46.64.
In the men’s 800 freestyle, the Wildcats won their heat with their first school record of the day with a 6:23.75. UK finished eighth overall and beat out Texas A&M by 0.10 seconds. The fifth-fastest time in the nation at the time, UK was fueled by all four individual 200-meter splits coming in 1:36.16 or faster.
Junior Scott Crosthwaite led off with a 1:36.00, the fifth-fastest time in program history. Freshman Isaac Jones swam second in 1:35.56, while sophomore Sean Gunn swam third in 1:36.16. Sophomore Kyle Higgins anchored the Wildcats with a 1:36.03.
Kentucky’s day on the diving board was headlined by Cabot, Hamperian and Richter. Cabot and Hamperian advanced to the finals in the 3-meter and finished sixth and eighth, respectively. Cabot earned a 322.60 after a 330.20 in the prelims, while Hamperian scored a 337.05, followed by a finals score of 310.50.
On 1-meter, Richter scored a 318.25 to miss out on a spot in the finals by just 8.30 points. The sophomore placed 10th, his best finish at the SEC Championships of his career.
“I’m really proud of Noah, it was his best performance of his career in the biggest moment,” head diving coach Ted Hautau said. “Christa and Becca really dove strong and steady in the prelims and did well in the finals as well. It’s good experience for them getting into the finals on the first day, especially for Becca after being out for a year and reaching the finals in her first event this year. It was a good start for us today.”
UK opened the meet with a pair of 10th-place finishes in the 200 medley relay. The women posted a 1:38.93, while the men scored a 1:28.97. The women’s time was the second-fastest in its heat.
Louisiana State
The LSU swimming team set two school records and divers Alex Bettridge and Daniel Helm captured silver medals on the first day of SEC Championships.
Helm set the school record on one-meter with a score of 411.30. Helm is the only LSU diver to eclipse the 400 mark on one-meter. It is the senior’s third medal earned at SEC’s and second on one-meter. Bettridge posted the second highest three-meter score in school history (370.60) on the way to a silver medal.
“The finals competition was at an exceptional level,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “To compete at that level and have Alex and Daniel score personal bests and silver medals is phenomenal. We had three people final and every diver scored. It’s an exceptional start to SEC Championships. We still have four more days though.”
The LSU women sit in first place after day one with 164 total points. The LSU men have totaled 114 points for ninth place.
On the swimming side, both the men and women set school records in the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Frank Greeff, Alex Linge, Jake Markham and Daniel Swietlicki set the time of 6:25.65, besting the previous record set in 2013.
“It was a great way to start the meet,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “This was by far a better first session for the entire program compared to a year ago. Three school records, two ‘A’ cuts, and two podium finishes from the divers. It’s a long meet but this definitely builds momentum for the coming days.”
The women’s team of Megan Cox, Danielle Stirrat, Devon Dabney and Kara Kopcso broke the school record, that was set last season, with a time of 7:06.76. The Lady Tigers finished in sixth place overall.
All divers scored for LSU on day one. In addition to Bettridge and Helm’s performance on the springboards, junior Cassie Weil finished fourth on three-meter with a score of 364.55. Andrew Suchla finished 19th with a score of 275.75 on one-meter. Madison Sthamann finished in 18th place on three-meter with a score of 277.40. Katie Lagarde finished 21st with a score of 269.50 and Allie Alter also finished 22nd with a score of 267.95.
The men’s team of Logan Rysemus, Silas Dejean, Frank Greeff and Marco Gonzalez also finished seventh in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:26.39.
The team of Caley Oquist, Colleen O’Neil, Amber Carter and Leah Troskot finished sixth in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:37.14.
Missouri
The Mizzou men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams set two school records during opening day action at the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala. Both the women’s and men’s teams sit in fifth-place after day one, with 137 and 132 points, respectively.
On the women’s side, LSU (164) sits in first, followed by Georgia (148), Kentucky (144) and Florida (140) and Florida (139). Auburn (177) leads the men’s field, ahead of Tennessee (164), Georgia (146) and South Carolina (140).
In the 200 medley relay, the women’s quartet of freshman Hannah Stevens, junior Abby Duncan, senior Danielle Barbiea and freshman Rachel Hayden took seventh with a school record time of 1:37.33. The time, an NCAA A qualifying standard, was just 0.01 faster than the old mark set in 2012.
The Tiger men’s 200 medley relay squad of junior Dillon Love, senior Sam Tierney, sophomore Andrew Sansoucie and junior Matthew Margritier also notched an NCAA ‘A’ qualifying mark with a 1:25.07, a time that ranks second in school history in the event.
On the 3-meter springboard, junior Lauren Reedy earned an seventh-place finish with a finals score of 313.05. She qualified for the finals session after tallying 318.95 points in prelims. Freshman Alexa Beckwith also earned points for the Tigers after finishing 11th in prelims with 284.95 points.
The final event of the night was the 800 free relay, where the men’s team dropped four seconds off their old school record with a time of 6:22.93. The foursome of senior Eegan Groome, sophomore Michael Chadwick, senior Andrew Phillips and senior Alex Glogoza were just off the NCAA A qualifying time of 6:22.81.
Missouri closed day one competition with a seventh-place finish in the women’s 800 free relay. Freshmen Erin Metzger-Seymour, Sharli Brady and Rachel Hayden and junior Anna Patterson clocked a time of 7:08.43, the third fastest time in MU history.
South Carolina
The Gamecock men finished the opening day of the SEC Championships in fourth place with 140 points, while the women are currently in seventh with 120 points.
Auburn leads the men’s competition with 177 points and LSU tops the women’s side with 164 points.
Senior Cole Miller opened day one finals with a fourth place in men’s 1-meter diving with a season-best score of 379.05; he placed sixth in the preliminary competition earlier in the day (338.35).
Sophomore Jordan Gotro finished 11th in the preliminaries with a score of 312.10 while freshman Lyle Markman came in 21st with a score of 270.05.
The Gamecock men opened the swimming portion of finals with an eighth-place finish in the men’s 200 medley relay. Sophomore Jonathan Boland, freshman Nils Wich-Glasen, redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold and junior Marwan El Kamash combined for a time of 1:26.70, which ranks second all time in school history.
In the women’s race freshmen Heather Merritt, Mairyn Branaman and Meredith Vay, along with junior Ellen Johnson set a school record with their time of 1:40.72 and finished in 11th place.
In the women’s three meter diving competition, senior Patricia Kranz advanced to finals after her fourth-place performance in the preliminary (324.15). Kranz went on to take third place in the finals with a score of 368.55. Freshmen Julia Vincent and Marissa Roth finished 12th and 15th in the preliminary with scores of 283.85 and 279.50, respectively.
In the men’s 800 freestyle relay, the team of Leithold, El Kamash, Arkram Mahmoud and Tomas Peribonio recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 6:21.05 for a fifth-place finish.
The women concluded day one with a second school-record performance in the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Taylor Worrell, Vay, Merritt and Cooper Brown posted and NCAA B cut time of 7:10.71.
NOTABLES
• The women’s team broke two school records on day one of competition.
• In the 800 freestyle relay the Gamecock women broke the previous school record, which had stood since 2004 by almost five seconds.
• Prior to the preliminary competition, Heather Merritt posted a NCAA B cut time of 1:47.53 in the 200 freestyle time trials.
• Swimming the first leg of the 800 freestyle relay, Kevin Leithold posted an NCAA B cut time of 1:35.34.
QUOTABLE
Head Swimming Coach McGee Moody
“I feel really good. We set some very specific goals for our team and so far we’re hitting them dead on. We wanted to set school records in our relays and we got it on the women’s side. Right now we’re doing exactly what we need to do. Our men got an NCAA A cut in the 800 freestyle relay so that officially puts us at the NCAA Championship.”
Head Diving Coach Todd Sherritt
“Cole (Miller) did a phenomenal job. The 1-meter is not his strong board and was just lights out today. I was very, very happy with Cole’s performance. Patti (Patricia Kranz) didn’t make finals last year, so finish third today was pretty impressive. She’s had a great career at South Carolina and to finish third in this conference is just huge for her.
Tennessee
The Vols opened the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships with a torrid start Tuesday night, winning three gold medals in the first three events and setting two school records.
Mauricio Robles started the evening by claiming gold in the one-meter springboard with a record-setting finish, and then the men's and women's medley relay teams each claimed the gold medal--the men winning in the event for the first time since 2001.
After the first day of men's and women's competition at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center, the Tennessee men are second with 164 points, 13 points behind leading hosts Auburn. The UT women sit in 10th place after day one with 104 points, 60 behind day-one leaders LSU.
"The tone was really set by Mauricio Robles' diving," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "He clawed his way back and that gave our team a lot of confidence. We had four really great swims (in the men's 200 medley relay), but Peter John Stevens getting a lead for us gives the team a lot of confidence and that gave the women's team a lot of confidence.
"Anna (DeMonte) swam in her first SEC relay and then Molly Hannis gave us a little lead, but Harper Bruens was out of this world with her fly split. That gave Faith (Johnson) a lead and no one's going to catch Faith. (Winning a relay) is great for our guys and great for our whole team."
Robles, the reigning silver medalist in the one and three-meter springboard competitions at Georgia last year, used a massive surge late in the finals to earn the gold medal in a school-record score of 421.15. An 81.60 score on dive No. 5 pushed Robles into third place and then followed that with a 90.10 in his final dive to earn the victory and an SEC gold medal for the second time in his career.
"A lot of people thought the event was over, but he got up and answered the call," said Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington. "That type of situation was very dramatic. He's a real gamer and got up and got it done. The experience from a year ago, where he came up a point shy of winning after needing a certain amount of points, was definitely beneficial."
After falling to seventh place after the first two rounds of diving, Robles stormed back in the middle two rounds of the six round final to pull within the top half of the eight-diver field. Robles earned a cumulative score of 249.45 after four dives. The win for Robles is the 22nd overall in Tennessee history in the one-meter, the most of any individual event.
"His first dive was a really good dive, just a low degree of difficulty, but then he missed his second dive, which put him in a little hole," said Parrington. "I knew he'd have to hit his next couple of dives to get to the point where he could get to his high degree of difficulty dives. He did a solid job on his third and fourth dive, which put him in striking distance. His fifth dive was key, which really put him in the fight. On his last dive, he was in a position where he was going to know what the other guys had done b/c he was diving after them."
Soon after Robles earned his gold, the Tennessee swimmers earned their first gold medal of the tournament in the 200 medley relay. The relay team of Sean Lehane, Peter John Stevens, Jacob Thulin and Troy Tillman won the event in a school-record 1:24.09. That time also qualifies as a NCAA A-cut qualifying time and is the second-fastest time in the event in the country this season.
Lehane put the Vols in contention after the first leg, but Stevens, the lone freshman on the relay team, burst ahead during the second leg with a 22.72 split, the fastest 50-yard breaststroke split in NCAA history. The Slovenian newcomer broke the 22.83 split set by fellow countryman Damir Dugonjic of California in 2009.
On the women's side, Tennessee followed up the men's gold-medal performances with a gold medal of its own in the 200 medley relay. Owning the SEC meet record in the event, the quartet of Anna DeMonte, Molly Hannis, Harper Bruens andFaith Johnson combined to win gold with a 1:35.31, good for the fastest 200 medley relay time in the NCAA this season.
Hannis, whose 26.06 split propelled the Vols into the lead, now has won 10 SEC medals -- exactly half have been gold medals. Johnson also earned her 10th SEC medal (third gold), while Bruens earned her first gold medal (fifth overall) and DeMonte won her very first SEC medal of her career.
"We all went into it with a cool, calm, collected, yet confident mindset," said Hannis. "We weren't really going in with super high expectations or any goal times, (but) Anna started us off with a really nice 50 back. I wasn't sure how I was doing. I wasn't quite racing like I have in the past. Harper gave us a blazing fly split and then Faith finished us off with a phenomenal 21.53. We were all really excited and we all really couldn't stop smiling.
"I nearly lost my voice at the second event of the meet, so that shows how loud it was," said Hannis. "Everyone was pretty much jumping out of our skin."
The competition heats up Wednesday with swimming preliminaries in the 50 freestyle, 200 IM and 500 freestyle, as well as women's one-meter diving at 11 a.m. ET and finals at 7 p.m. ET.
"There's nothing as exciting as the first day of SECs," said Kredich. "It's concentrated energy. Tomorrow is when the work really starts and that requires a lot of discipline, focus and preparation, so in some ways the challenge changes to getting the entire team ready.
"It's a really big day for us to prepare for and to also bring the kind of enthusiasm that we had today. We have confidence that the team is prepared."
MEN'S 1-METER SPRINGBOARD
Serving as the lone representative for the Volunteers in the championship's first diving final, Mauricio Robles scored a 171.70 in his final two dives to win the gold medal and break the Tennessee school record with a 421.15 score. FreshmanLiam Stone finished 13th in his first SEC Championship event (310.25), while Michael Howell (263.55) finished 23rd.
MEN'S 200 MEDLEY RELAY
The quartet of Sean Lehane, Peter John Stevens, Jacob Thulin and Troy Tillman earned the second gold medal of the evening by swimming a 1:24.09 time (NCAA A-cut) to win the 200 medley relay. Stevens' breaststroke split of 22.72 surged the Vols into the lead out of lane two and the back half of the relay carried the momentum to give UT the second fastest time in the nation in the event.
WOMEN'S 200 MEDLEY RELAY
1:35.31 may have fallen just short of Tennessee's SEC record time in the event from a couple years ago, but that time is now the fastest in the nation, and it gave Tennessee its third gold medal of the night. Anna DeMonte, Molly Hannis, Harper Bruens and Faith Johnson earned the victory for the Vols, with Hannis' 26.06 split pushing UT out in front during the second leg.
MEN'S 800 FREESTYLE RELAY
Tristan Slater, Gustav Aberg Ledjstrom, Sam McHugh, Lehane finished fourth in 6:19.37, which sets the fourth-fastest time in the country this season. Florida won the event in 6:12.85, which set a new SEC record in the event.
WOMEN'S 800 FREESTYLE RELAY
Tennessee finished the night by finishing eighth in the final relay of the first day in 7:10.32. Georgia claimed the victory, followed by Texas A&M and Florida in second and third place.
Texas A&M
Both Texas A&M swimming and diving teams stand in sixth place after the first day of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships on Tuesday at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the Auburn University campus.
The No. 5-ranked Texas A&M women scored 132 points on the strength of a pair of runner-up finishes in the two relay races, while the No. 14 men’s squad scored 127 points with 47 coming from the dive crew. LSU was the first-day leader on the women’s side followed by Georgia, Kentucky and Florida, while Auburn grabbed day one lead followed by Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina.
The women’s team were second in the 200-yard medley relay and the 800 freestyle relays. The medley relay foursome of senior Kelli Benjamin, sophomore Sycerika McMahon, freshman Beryl Gastaldello and senior Sammie Bosma touched in a season-best time of 1:36.22 but couldn’t catch Tennessee (1:35.31). The Aggie quartet’s time made them the fourth-fastest relay in school history. The Aggies’ 800 free relay of sophomore Sarah Gibson, senior Ellen Quirke, junior Meredith Oliver and senior Sarah Henry made a run at breaking the seven-minute mark but finished just shy with a time of 7:00.17, which made them the third-fastest foursome in school history.
The Aggie women received 20 points from sophomore diver Maddie Hudkins, who placed ninth in the three-meter dive with a score of 317.30.
The Aggie men’s dive crew received points from a trio of divers in the one-meter dive with freshman Tyler Henschel leading the way with a ninth place effort and a 319.55 point total. Also chipping in points were sophomore Colton Haffey (12th, 311.30) and sophomore Zachary Stockton (295.65, 15th).
The men’s squad logged a pair of ninth place finishes in the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay. The medley relay of junior Jacob Wallace, freshman Mauro Castillo, freshman Justin Morey and junior Cory Bolleter touched in 1:27.34, while the 800 free relay of senior Luke Shaw, junior Antoine Marc, junior Hunter Funk and senior Hayden Duplechain finished in 6:24.65.
