Swimcloud

Florida Men, Georgia Women Lead SEC Races

Alabama

The Alabama men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams continue to rewrite their respective record books on day three of the SEC Championships being held on the Auburn University campus this week.

Junior Brett Walsh established a new school 100 butterfly mark on Thursday while junior Emma Saunders lowered her own 200 freestyle record for the third time this season and the second time in the past three days. Alabama has now bettered school records in 10 different events here in Auburn with two more days of competition to go.

The Crimson Tide put five men in the finals of 100 butterfly, including Walsh, who set a new school record in prelims with a 46.25 before coming back to finish fourth in the championship finals. Sophomores Kristian Gkolomeev and Connor Oslin took 11th and 12th place while junior Abbas Qali and freshman Luke Kaliszak finished 14th and 18th. Between prelims and finals, all five men are now ranked in the Tide’s all-time top 10.

“We’ve got quite a bit of depth in our sprint events, which we saw again tonight,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “It’s a good group of guys and they really challenge each other to get better and the results of that was evident out there in the 100 butterfly.”

Saunders lowered her career-best time and the school record in the 200 freestyle to 1:45.90 in prelims before finishing eighth in finals.

“As good a season as she had last year, Emma couldn’t get the championship finals,” Pursley said. “This year, she’s swimming life-time bests, she’s setting school records and she’s finishing in the top eight, which is a good step forward for her.”

Freshman Mia Nonnenberg was 12th with a career-best 4:11.07 while freshman Karolina Szczepaniak 14th with a 4:13.65 in the 400 individual medley. Senior Kristel Vourna clocked a 53.65 in the finals of the 100 butterfly to take 22nd place.

Sophomore Dylan Marin led the Tide off the 3-meter springboard event, taking 11th place after tallying 319.90 points. Sophomore Brent Sagert and freshman David Morton also scored off the 3-meter, taking 22nd and 23rd place, respectively.

Junior Brian Westlake posted a career-best 3:50.86 to take 21st place while sophomore Taylor Charles swam a 3:54.78 to finish 24th in the 400 individual medley.

 

Auburn

Sixteen Tigers competed in finals on the third day of action Thursday at the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.

Auburn’s men remain in third place with 540.5 points heading into the fourth day of action on Friday. The Auburn women are in sixth with 332 points with some of its best events on its schedule over the next two days of competition.

Hugo Morris was Auburn’s top-finisher in the men’s 200 freestyle, placing fourth overall at 1:34.51. His finish is the best by an Auburn swimmer in the event since James Disney-May placed third in 2012. Josh Booth claimed 15th overall in the event at 1:36.18, while Tommy McKee was 24th at 1:37.77.

In diving, Fraser McKean posted a six-dive list of 411.30 to place fifth in the men’s 3-meter diving final. Justin Youtsey was 10th overall for the Tigers at 328.00.

Arthur Mendes finished seventh in the men’s 100 fly championship final, clocking a 46.63. Alex Hancock turned in a personal-best 46.52 to take second in the consolation final, placing 10th overall, and Luis Carlos Martinez was 15th with a 47.29. Peter Holoda tied for 18th overall at 47.21, while Allen Browning was 24th at 48.22.

Jordan Jones took 12th overall in the men’s 400 IM consolation, touching in at 3:47.14. The junior swam the third-best time in school history during Thursday’s prelim session with a 3:45.70.

For the Auburn women, Jillian Vitarius took seventh in the 200 free championship final with a time of 1:46.71. The junior posted a lifetime-best swim in the morning prelim session at 1:46.07 to pick up an NCAA ‘B’ cut time in the event.

Alex Merritt was the Tigers’ top-finisher in the women’s 100 fly at 53.14 to place 12th overall, while Megan Fonteno took 15th-place at 53.40. Maddie Martin dropped time once again in the evening session, taking 19th overall with time of 53.33.

Zoe Thatcher turned in her second-best swim of the year in the women’s 400 IM consolation, finishing 15th at 4:14.01. Sarah Peterson took 20th overall at 4:14.69, a season-best time in the event.

 

Arkansas

It took junior Anna Mayfield just 1:46.12 to rewrite an Arkansas swimming and diving 200 freestyle record that stood untouched for six years. But in the spirit of the SEC Championships, Mayfield’s record then stood for six hours before junior Maddie Monroe topped it in the 200 free finals with a time of 1:46.05. The dueling records highlighted the Razorbacks third day at the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships in the James E. Martin Aquatic Center Thursday evening.
 
The day opened in the 400 IM where freshmen Chelsea Tatlow and Chloe Hannam earned spots in the finals with times of 4:16.68 and 4:16.74, respectively. Hannam’s time marked a personal best, while sophomore Mary Margaret Soderberg shaved an incredible 12 seconds of her career-best time with a mark of 4:18.30.
 
In the 100 butterfly prelims, senior Susanna White punched her ticket to the finals with a season-best time of 53.54, while freshman Olivia Weekley clocked a career-best time of 54.50.
 
Mayfield then posted her record-breaking swim in the 200 prelims to earn a spot in the B final. Junior Maddie Monroe registered a career-best time of 1:46.83, good for a place in the finals, while junior Nina Drolc recorded a new personal-best time of 1:48.21.
 
The Razorbacks then returned to competition for the evening finals where Tatlow clocked a career-best time of 4:11.74, breaking into the Arkansas record book at No. 5 all-time. Tatlow handily won the C final heat she was bound to for 17th place, but her time ranked 14th overall. Hannam broke her career-best time again in the finals, besting her prelim mark with a time of 4:15.53.
 
White also aided the Razorbacks scoring efforts with a 21st-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.54, an identical mark to her prelim time and another Arkansas top-five time.
 
To close out the day, Monroe then downed Mayfield’s 200 freestyle record to win the C final and take 17th place. Mayfield then took to the pool to finish third in the B heat, good for 11th place.
 
The Razorbacks closed day three in 10th place with 245 points, trailing South Carolina by 10 points.

 

Florida

The University of Florida No. 1 men’s and No.4-ranked women’s swimming & diving teams sit first and third following day three of the Southeastern Conference Championships. UF freshmen Caeleb Dressel and Amelia Maughan captured Florida’s fourth and fifth SEC titles during tonight’s finals. This week’s meet is being held at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala. 

Dressel paced the Gator men, as he avenged his runner-up finish in the 50-yard freestyle last night by winning his first-career SEC crown tonight. The Green Cove Springs, Fla. native won the men’s 100-yard butterfly race in an outstanding time of 45.28 seconds. That mark not only ranks him second all-time in school history but his time is second-quickest in the U.S. 17-18 year old age group. 

In addition to Dressel in the 100 fly, senior Christian Homer and sophomore Jack Blyzinskyj placed third and fifth in times of 46.26 and 46.53 seconds, respectively. Those marks rank fifth and eighth in UF history. 

Florida put together perhaps its best race of the week in the men’s 400-yard individual medley, as the Gators captured second, third, fifth and eighth in the event. The race was highlighted by freshman Mark Szaranek’s runner-up finish by clocking the fifth-fastest mark in UF history at 3:40.22. Senior Carlos Omana was right behind him with a time of 3:40.35, which ranks him sixth in Florida history. 

In the final men’s event of the evening, Mitch D’Arrigo and Pawel Werner finished second and third in the men’s 200-yard freestyle with marks of 1:33.41 and 1:34.49.

On the women’s side, Maughan surprised everyone at the meet by winning the women’s 200-yard freestyle. Maughan, just arrived in Gainesville in January as a second semester enrollee, posted the seventh fastest time in school history, 1:44.68 in the event.

In the women’s 50-yard and 400-yard IM, juniors Natalie Hinds and Jessica Thielmann finished third and sixth with marks of 51.70 seconds and 4:07.90, respectively.

UF is back in action tomorrow for day four 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 the teams overall…
“I’m just really pleased with how everyone has stepped up to the challenge in each race. It has been a tremendous meet (thus far), almost like the NCAA meet, as some of the times have been the same as the NCAA meet last year. Our conference keeps getting better and better as there are a whole lot of teams that are in the race with a lot of good swimmers; and we’ve responded really well. We’ve gone eye ball-to-eye ball with a lot of people and we’ve won a lot of close races. We have done a tremendously good job in the mornings too.”

On the two freshmen who won SEC Championships tonight…
“Well, Caeleb Dressel is just a really, really tough kid. He’s great to work with, he has a lot of talent and he listens real well as he is not afraid to train. Amelia Maughan is a just a big-meet swimmer. She had no fear tonight, as she stepped up and was a little bit of a surprise to be in the finals. And then she was a huge surprise and shocked a lot of people.”

Talking Gators:
Freshman Caeleb Dressel:
On winning the 100 fly to earn his first SEC Championship…
“It was a good race. The 100 fly is kind of a new event for me, as I haven’t really done it a lot. I’m really happy with my time. I’ve been working on my under waters and it paid off in that event. It’s what we do in practice that pays off in a race.”

Freshman Amelia Maughan:
On winning the 200 free to earn her first SEC Championship…
“It was great. I feel great but it was definitely a surprise with me coming from lane two. But all I wanted to do is have fun and race, considering that this is my first time at SEC’s.”

 

Georgia

Hali Flickinger, Chase Kalisz and Matias Koski all won individual titles to highlight Georgia’s showing on Thursday at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center.

Following three days of competition, the Lady Bulldogs remain first with 804 points, with Texas A&M in second with 648 and Florida in third with 547. The Lady Bulldogs have won a school-record-tying five straight conference titles.

Seeking their first conference team title since 1955, the Bulldogs slipped to second place on Thursday with 634 points. Florida is first with 707.5 and Auburn is third with 540.5.

Flickinger went 4:03.42 to claim the 400-yard individual medley, becoming the first Lady Bulldog to win the league title since Keegan Walkley in 1999. Flickinger’s time is the second-fastest in school history and is the best in the nation this season.

"It feels amazing," Flickinger said. "We take a lot of pride in the 400 IM. I was able to keep it smooth on the front side. Being ahead after the breaststroke was a good sign since breaststroke is weak for me. Staying relaxed today after having yesterday off was really important for me."

Kalisz won the 400-yard individual medley for the third straight year, the first Bulldog to accomplish that feat. His time of 3:38.39 eclipsed the Martin Aquatics Center record and improved his national-leading effort this season.

"Winning again today really means a lot," Kalisz said. "The key was staying focused and swimming my own race and not worrying about what the others were doing. I just focused on the back half of the race like I always do."

Koski rolled to a time of 1:33.23 to claim the 200-yard freestyle. Koski and Mike Walsh from 1963 are the only Bulldogs to win the SEC title in the 200-yard freestyle.

“That’s a neat feeling, knowing I’m just the second Bulldog to win,” Koski said. “Winning is definitely a good feeling. It feels good to help the team as much as you can. I was disappointed in how I did on Wednesday, so I had motivation to prove myself today.”

Amber McDermott took third in the 400-yard individual medley in 4:05.57, while Emily Cameron was seventh in 4:07.45 and Annie Zhu finished seventh in 4:09.57.

Lauren Harrington paced the Lady Bulldogs in the 100-yard butterfly as she touched in 51.84 to finish fourth. Kylie Stewart came in fifth in 52.46, while Courtney Weaver placed 10th in 52.69 and Megan Kingsley finished 13th in 53.22.

Jordan Mattern led the Lady Bulldogs’ charge in the 200-yard freestyle as she placed second in 1:45.07. Brittany MacLean came in fifth in 1:46.30, followed by Anna Kolanowski in 12th at 1:47.15, Olivia Boggs in 14th in 1:47.33 and Meaghan Raab in 17th in 1:46.05.

Gunnar Bentz took sixth in the 400-yard individual medley in 3:42.72, followed by Jay Litherland in seventh with a time of 3:43.12, Jared Markham in 10th in 3:44.62, Mick Litherland in 16th in 3:47.93 and Derek Onken in 20th in 3:50.38.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Alec Cohen followed Koski in fifth with a time of 1:34.96. Kevin Litherland came in 19th in 1:36.80.

Ian Forlini placed seventh on 3-meter springboard with 366.30 points, while Crawford Berry took 19th with 283.80.

In the 100-yard butterfly, Pace Clark touched in 46.93 to win the C final for 17th.

 “It was another good day all the way around,” Georgia coach Jack Bauerle said. “My hat’s off to Flick, Chase and Matias for their wins. Winning a race in this conference is no small feat. We were good up and down the lineup today and I’m proud of our efforts.”

 

Kentucky

University of Kentucky swimmer Christina Bechtel won a silver medal in the 100 butterfly and the Wildcats broke two school records on the third day of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday.

The UK records, set by Bechtel and sophomore Brandon Flynn, give the Wildcats five program-best times in the first three days of the five-day conference championships. Bechtel’s mark came in the 100 butterfly with a 51.04, while Flynn’s record came in the 400 individual medley with a 3:44.99.

“It was great to break two more records and get another spot on the podium today,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “Christina came so close to winning, it was a really close race. Lately she’s been preparing for NCAAs, so I know she’s excited for that opportunity coming up to work towards a different result. Brandon was fantastic as well, hopefully his time will earn him a spot at the NCAA Championships. We’ve built a lot of momentum in the first three days, and that will carry over into a big day tomorrow.”

Bechtel won her second career SEC medal by breaking her own school-record time by 0.07 seconds. She was joined in the final by senior Abby Myers, who finished sixth overall with a 52.65, the third-fastest time in program history.

“It really was a great race for both Christina and Abby,” Jorgensen said. “Both personal-best times and two of the fastest times in program history. I’m really proud of Abby for her first finals appearance, she’s worked so hard for it and it is well earned. Christina and Abby work so well together every day in practice, and it’s fun to see that hard work pay off in the pool in the biggest meet of the year so far.”

Flynn got Thursday’s finals started in a big way, with a school-record time in the 400 individual medley. The sophomore recorded a 3:44.99 to finish third in the consolation final and 11th overall. Flynn beat his own record, set in the morning’s prelims, by 0.98 seconds.

The Wildcats added a pair of top-10-fastest times in program history in the men’s 200 freestyle. Junior Scott Crosthwaite earned a spot in the consolation final and posted the fifth-fastest time in UK history and finished 11th overall with a time of 1:35.89. Freshman Isaac Jones, who broke the school record in the 500 freestyle yesterday, posted a 1:36.43 to win the C final and finish 17th overall. Jones’ time marks the seventh-fastest in the event in the UK record books.

Junior Matt Roman earned a bid in the C final in the 100 butterfly with a personal-best time of 47.55 in the prelims, the sixth-fastest time in program history. In the finals, Roman touched the wall in 47.86 and placed 22nd overall and sixth in his final.

Senior Kristen Wilson crushed her career-best time with a 1:46.92 in the prelims of the women’s 200 freestyle. The second-fastest time in school history, Wilson beat her previous best by 1.67 seconds. In the finals, Wilson tallied a 1:48.83 to finish 23rd overall.

Kentucky’s top finish in the women’s 400 individual medley came courtesy of Frida Jakobsson, who finished 32nd. The junior recorded a season-best time of 4:21.86. Freshmen Allyson Dupay and Morgan Belli tied with a 4:23.02 to finish 35th.

Through the first three days of the SEC Championships, the UK women are seventh with 300 points, while the men are 10th with 220 points. Georgia leads the women’s standings with 804 points, while Florida’s 707.5 is tops among the men.

 

LSU

Senior Frank Greeff collected LSU’s fourth medal of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships and the second of his career with a second-place finish in the 100 fly (46.24) on day three of SEC’s. In addition to his silver medal, Greeff posted a career high in prelims and remains in third place on the top-10 list. 
 
“Today was a solid day and we were able to put ourselves in a position for great points,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “At night we just got to race and see if we could gain some spots from where we were seeded. We’re past the halfway point so now we have to keep the momentum into the second half of the meet. We have some strong swims ahead of us.”
 
The LSU women sit in fourth place with 404 points and the men are in eighth place with 310 points after three days.
 
Daniel Helm and Andrew Suchla made strong showings in the final of the men’s three-meter springboard. Helm finished fourth with a score of 424.75, for the second-highest score in school history. Suchla posted the eight-highest score in school history (373.80) for sixth place.
 
“This level of competition from the men and women in prelims and finals is the deepest that I’ve seen,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “Tonight’s final was just a ride. There’s not more I can ask for with Daniel and Andrew setting personal bests in both the prelims and finals. This was a huge growing experience for Andrew and it sets him up for the future. I just want to finish strong over the last two days.”
 
Alex Linge also competed in the championship final of the 100 fly along with Greeff and finished in sixth place. Linge’s time of 46.49 in prelims was enough for fourth on LSU’s top times list.
 
Brandon Goldman started off the evening by finishing seventh in the ‘C’ final of the 400 IM. Goldman’s time of 3:51.53 is tied for fourth on LSU’s top times list. Sophie Weber finished 8th in the ‘B’ final of the 400 IM with a time of 4:17.03.
 
Sophomore Logan Rysemus competed in the ‘C’ final of the 100 fly and finished fourth with a time of 47.27.
 
Amber Carter finished seventh with a time of 52.70 and Kara Kopcso finished eighth with a time  of 52.93 in the championship final of the 100 fly. Kopcso posted a career-best time of 52.73 in the swim off for the final spot in the ‘A’ final.
 
Jake Markham was the lone male to reach a final in the 200 free. Markham finished seventh in the ‘B’ final with a time of 1:36.54. The freshman posted the third-fastest time in school history during prelims (1:36.18).
 
The women wrapped up the third day of competition with the 200 free. Danielle Stirrat finished seventh in the ‘B’ final with a time of 1:47.40. In prelims, Stirrat finished with a time of 1:46.31 for second on LSU’s top time list.
 
Megan Cox touched the wall eighth with a time of 1:47.75 in the ‘B’ final. Leah Troskot also swam to a fifth-place finish with a time of 1:48.37 in the ‘C’ final. Troskot posted the fifth-best time (1:47.58) in school history during prelims. 

 

Missouri

Junior diver Clark Thomas earned runner-up honors on the 3-meter springboard and the Tigers set three new school records to highlight day three action at the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala. Freshman Sharli Brady (women’s 400 IM), junior Daniel Graviss (men’s 400 IM) and sophomore Andrew Sansoucie (men’s 100 fly) all set new Mizzou school records.
 
The Tiger men sit in sixth-place with 371 points, while the women are eighth with 292 points.
 
Florida (707) leads the men’s field, ahead of Georgia (634), Auburn (540), Tennessee (537) and Alabama (424). On the women’s side, Georgia (804) sits in first, followed by Texas A&M (648), Florida (547), LSU (404) and Tennessee (289).
 
Thomas erupted for a personal best 3-meter score of 436.50 in finals to earn runner-up honors. The total score also moved him into second all-time at Mizzou on the board, moving past former All-American Greg DeStephen. He sat in third with one dive remaining but closed with an 85.0 in the last round to move into second-place. Thomas, who recorded a 403.15 in prelims, also had the highest-scoring dive of the competition, a 91.80 on his third attempt in finals. Freshmen Elliot Cecil and Hunter Fritter earned points for the Tigers as well, as Cecil placed 14th overall with 305.70 points and Fritter was 21st with 279.95.
 
In the women’s 400 IM, freshman Sharli Brady broke her own program record in the night session. The freshman earned a spot in the championship final with a strong morning swim and finished eighth overall in finals with her record-breaking 4:10.02, 1.51 seconds faster than her old mark. Also advancing to in the 400 IM was sophomore Ellie Suek, who placed sixth in the C final and 22nd overall in 4:15.95.
 
On the men’s side, Graviss broke the Mizzou men’s 400 IM record twice in one day. He began his outing with a 3:45.52 in prelims, 0.06 faster than the old mark) to earn a spot in the consolation final. Thursday night, Graviss dropped almost a second and took third in the B final (11th overall) with a new school record of 3:44.86. Senior Mack Darragh, also swimming in the consolation final, finished 15th after an evening swim of 3:47.50.
Sansoucie, who entered the meet ranked second all-time at Mizzou in the 100 fly, moved into the top spot with a consolation final-winning 46.50. His previous best time was 47.11, set last season. In prelims action, sophomore Martin Wallace just missed a spot in the C final after a personal best 47.74 to place 25th.
 
The Tigers also claimed top honors in the women’s 100 fly consolation final, where senior Danielle Barbiea beat the B final field in 51.92. Freshman Erin Metzger-Seymour placed 18th in the event after a career best 53.25 in the C final.
 
Missouri also earned finishes of 10th, 18th and 22nd in the men’s 200 free. Sophomore Michael Chadwick led the way placing second in the consolation final with a 1:35.40, while senior Eegan Groome was second in the C final (1:36.65) and senior Andrew Phillips took sixth in the C final (1:37.00).

 

South Carolina

Freshman Meredith Vay highlighted the Gamecocks’ third day at the SEC Championships with her third-place performance in the women’s 200 freestyle final. Vay set a personal record of 1:45.94, which is just .14 seconds shy of the school record. 

The Gamecock men remain in seventh place with 324 points. The women’s squad also stayed put in ninth place with 255 points. Florida leads the men’s competition while Georgia has the edge on the women’s side. 

Freshman Tomas Peribonio placed 14th overall in the men’s 400 IM with his personal-record time of 3:47.32, which ranks second in school history. Peribonio finished sixth in the B final after his 16th-place performance in the preliminary. 

Freshman Bryce Kananowicz just missed the C final of the 400 IM as he placed 25th overall in 3:53.81. Senior Alex Vance and freshman Jeremiah Bohon both posted career-best times and finished 29th and 30th overall, respectively. 

Sophomore Megan Carlson swam in her first finals at the SEC Championship and finished 24th overall with a time of 4:20.58. In the preliminary competition she recorded a career-best time of 4:17.39, which is a NCAA B cut and fifth fastest in school history. 

Seniors Elisabeth Worrell and Annika Jonsson finished 29th and 33rd with times of 4:18.30 and 4:22.07, respectively in the preliminary of the women’s 400 IM. Freshman Kersten Dirrane finished 43rd overall with a personal-record time of 4:32.09. 

Redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold turned in an 18th-place performance in the preliminary of the men’s 100 butterfly with a time of 47.22, which moved him up to third all-time in school history. He finished 23rd overall with a time of 48.06, swimming in the C final. 

Sophomore Jonathan Boland set a personal record in the men’s 100 butterfly preliminary with his time of 48.38, earning him a 32nd-place finish. Senior Michael Covert, junior Bobby Bittner and freshman Caleb Tosh placed 42nd, 45th, and 47th, respectively. 

Mairyn Branaman represented the Gamecocks in the women’s 100 butterfly. She finished the preliminary in 55.56, which is a personal record and put her 45th overall. 

Cole Miller took eighth place in the men’s 3-meter diving final with a score of 325.20. He finished the preliminary in fifth place with a score of 375.55. 

Sophomore Jordan Gotro and freshman Lyle Markman placed 13th and 26th with scores of 310.70 and 253.90, respectively, in the men’s 3-meter diving preliminary. 

Marwan El Kamash swam a career-best 1:35.14 in the A final of the men’s 200 freestyle, earning him sixth place. He also finished sixth in the preliminary competition with a time of 1:35.27. 

In the men’s 200 free preliminary, freshman Patrick McCrillis finished 30th overall in 1:37.42 while sophomore Robert Gilchrist placed 33rd overall with a tine of 1:37.72. 

Taylor Worrell finished 22nd overall in the women’s 200 freestyle with a time of 1:48.57. She advanced to the C final with her PR of 1:47.43 in the preliminary. Vay finished the preliminary in sixth place with a time of 1:45.98.  

With a personal record of 1:49.78, sophomore Cooper Brown finished 39th overall in the women’s 200 freestyle preliminary. Freshman Sarah Smith also recorded a career-best time as she finished in 1:51.34 and 51st place.   

NOTABLES
•       Through three days of competition the Gamecock men have recorded seven times that rank in the top-5 in school history, including a school record. The women have recorded five times that rank in the top-5 in school history, including two relay records. 
•       Six Gamecocks recorded NCAA provisional in today’s three events. 
•       Cole Miller advanced to finals in both of his events (1-meter and 3-meter) thus far. 
•       Freshman Tomas Peribonio has advanced to finals in both of his events (500 freestyle and 400 IM) thus far. 
•       Marwan El Kamash has advanced to finals in both of his events (200 and 500 freestyle) thus far.
•       Elisabeth Worrell’s time of 4:18.30 in the 400 IM is a personal record.
•       Michael Covert’s time of 49.27 in the 100 butterfly is a career best. 
•       Caleb Tosh recorded a career-best time in the 100 butterfly finishing in 49.72. 
•       Both Patrick McCrillis and Robert Gilchrist recorded career-best times in the 200 freestyle. 

QUOTABLE
Head Swimming Coach McGee Moody
“Tonight was good night. We’re in the middle of big team battle right now. We had some big swims today, we had some people step up and move up but we have to be great tomorrow if we’re going to move up in the standings.”

Head Diving Coach Todd Sherritt
“We did a good job today. Jordan (Gotro) was 13th and he stayed steady and Cole (Miller) made another final. Top eight in the conference is awesome. I think he (Cole) was off for him tonight, but he still has another event to go. I think that it’s hard to continue to stay sharp in a meet like this, you have to really pace yourself. I think he just got a little bit quick tonight; he wasn’t his normal self in terms of being smooth. On the other hand, I’m really happy he made it into finals. It was a very tough event and very difficult to make it into the top eight today so I’m really happy. 

 

Tennessee

Tennessee sent 17 athletes to the finals, but its two divers once again showed its prowess Thursday night at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.

After three days, the Tennessee women have a total of 389 points, putting them in fifth place. The UT men sit in fourth place as well with 437.5 points.

Once again, the Volunteer Diving program made their way to the podium for the Vols, with Liam Stone and Mauricio Roblesearning the gold and bronze medals in the three-meter springboard championship after earning the top two spots during the preliminary session.

After falling behind in the first two rounds, Stone scored a 78.00 or higher in the remaining four rounds to win his first SEC medal and break both the SEC record and UT school record with a 463.50. Robles, who won the gold medal in the one-meter on Tuesday, earned his second medal of the week with a 432.20 score.

"This morning I felt really good and wanted to have fun," said Stone. "(The first round) wasn't the start I was looking for and I knew I needed to pick it up a little. I was hitting those last four dives in training. "Consistency is always the key. I knew I just needed to try to repeat (preliminaries) again and I tried to get into that same state of mind. I was pretty shocked to be honest. Winning the prelims was a good feeling and then it was tough knowing that I had to try to do it again, but I just stayed focused and did my dives."

Tennessee's individual medley racers broke school records during the preliminary session and continued that pace in the night session. Sam McHugh (3:40.64) and Amanda Carner(4:07.27) both finished in fourth place, just shy of the podium, but they both dropped more time on their school record.

"The 400 IM is an event that we made a commitment to a few years ago that we really wanted to get better at," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "It takes some time to develop the skill set and the endurance to swim a great 400 IM. Nobody embraces the combination of hard work and skill work as well as Tristan Slater and Amanda Carner.

"Sam McHugh came in and basically has been a sponge all year in trying to pick up skills and work ethic and those guys swam some really high-level swims. We look at the 400 IM as being a strength for us now, so I think it was a really good night for the program in general."

Senior Jacob Thulin finished eighth in the A final of the 100-yard butterfly in 46.97 after posting the third-fastest time in UT history during the morning preliminaries. Thulin qualified for the A final after failing to qualify for a finals race last year in Athens at the 2014 SEC Championships.

Women's 400 IM

Amanda Carner had already broke the school record in the 400 IM during the preliminary session Thursday morning, and that trend continued during the finals. Carner finished fourth overall, swimming a time of 4:07.27, good for a NCAA B-cut.

Lauren Driscoll finished second in the B final (10th overall), cementing her No. 2 spot in UT history with a career-best 4:10.01. Colleen Callahan, who had claimed the No. 5 spot in school history earlier in the day, finished fifth in the B final (13th overall) in 4:13.64. Micah Bohon finished 23rd (7th in the C final) in her first SEC final with a time of 4:15.99. All three swimmers in the consolation finals earned B-cuts.

Men's 400 IM

After setting the school record with a blazing 3:41.32, freshman Sam McHugh improved on his school-record performance by finishing in fourth (3:40.64). McHugh fell .29 seconds out of earning the bronze medal, but did earn a NCAA automatic qualifying time.

In a thrilling B final, Tristan Slater won his final SEC 400 IM race by winning in 3:44.54, edging out Markham of Georgia on the final touch. Slater jumped into second place in UT history with that time, just behind McHugh's effort earlier in the preliminaries.

Women's 100 Fly

Tennessee sent a trio of flyers to the 100 Fly finals, led by Harper Bruens, who swam the tenth-fastest qualifying time in preliminaries. The junior finished 14th overall (6th in B final) with a B-cut time of 53.37. Anna DeMonte and Heather Lundstrom both earned B-cuts as well in the C final, where DeMonte (53.35) finished fourth and Lundstrom (53.82) finished eighth.

Men's 100 Fly

Three more Vols swam in the three men's finals, all of them earning a NCAA B-cut. Jacob Thulin (46.97) and Ryan Coetzee(47.49) finished eighth in the A and B finals, while Tyler Mills (47.49) finished fifth in the C final.

Men's 200 Free

Sean Lehane represented the Vols in the 200 freestyle and finished seventh (1:35.76), a shade off his preliminary time that was .01 seconds off his career-best time. Gustav Aberg Ledjsgtrom (1:35.99) and Troy Tillman (1:36.23) finished 12th and 14th overall (fourth and sixth in the B final), earning B-cuts in the process.

Men's 3-meter Dive

Liam Stone and Mauricio Robles earned the two best preliminary scores Thursday afternoon and the duo finished within the top half once again, giving the Vols two more medals. Stone, competing in his first SEC final, won the gold medal by scoring a 463.50, breaking both the school and conference record. Robles (432.20) earned his second medal of the week by finishing with the bronze medal. 

 

Texas A&M Men

Texas A&M senior Luke Shaw became the third Aggie to break the 47-second barrier in the 100-yard butterfly to highlight the men’s swimming and diving team’s day three at the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships on Thursday.
 
Shaw, from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, threw down a quick 46.98 clocking to finish fifth in the B final in the 100 fly to join the other sub-47 Aggies – Boris Loncaric (45.53 in 2009) and Henrik Lindau (46.50 in 2013). Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Famer Chris O’Neal, the school’s first male athlete to be a four-time All-American, held the 100 fly school record at 47.10 for more than 20 years from 1986 to 2009, but now three Aggies have gone faster than O’Neal in the last seven years.
 
“You have to give a lot of credit to Luke for his hard work and for (assistant coach) Ryan Mallam’s belief that Luke could be a 100 flyer,” Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. “He was our best 200 freestyler but we needed a 100 flyer and Luke did a great job of absorbing what Ryan was teaching him. What Luke has been able to do this year is just a testament to hard work.”
 
Senior Hayden Duplechain, from A&M Consolidated High School in College Station, got the meet started off right for the Aggies by winning the first race of the night – the “C” final of the 400-yard IM. Duplechain led from start-to-finish in the dominating win, touching the wall in a lifetime best time of 3:46.51. Also in the C final, freshman Gonzalo Carazo was sixth in 3:51.19 after posting a lifetime best of 3:49.22 in the morning session.
 
The Aggies received 32 points from the dive crew with freshman Tyler Henschel taking ninth in the three-meter dive with a score of 368.75 and sophomore Colton Haffey finishing 15th with a 304.70 point total.
 
The Aggies closed out the night with a trio of swimmers in the 200 freestyle “C” final. Junior Hunter Funk led the way with a fourth place finish (No. 20 overall) in a time of 1:36.82, while junior Mateo Muzek and junior Antoine Marc were right behind in fifth (1:36.94) and seventh (1:37.14).

 

Texas A&M Women

Texas A&M freshman Beryl Gastaldello won the Aggies’ first championship of the 2015 Southeastern Conference with a record-shattering victory on Thursday at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the Auburn University campus.
 
The Aggies strengthened their hold on second place in the team standings with 648 points, which is 101 points ahead of third-place Florida. Two-time defending team champions Georgia leads the way with 804 points, followed by Texas A&M, Florida, LSU (404), Tennessee (389), Auburn (332), Kentucky (300), Missouri (292), South Carolina (255), Arkansas (245), Alabama (240) and Vanderbilt (90).
 
Gastaldello, just a night after setting the school record in the 50 free, electrified the crowd by breaking the SEC meet record and Texas A&M record with a time of 50.87 while holding off top-seed Elizabeth Bechtel of Kentucky for the win. The French National Team member’s time was also the fastest in the collegiate ranks so far this year. Gastaldello, from Miramas, France, broke the A&M record of 51.32 set by Triin Aljand at the 2008 Art Adamson Invitational in College Station.
 
“That was a heck of a swim…we thought Beryl had a chance to break Triin’s record, but 50.87 is even faster than we thought could happen here,” Aggie head coach Steve Bultman said. “That’s a time that we thought she would get to down the road. It’s sweet that it happened here.”
 
Led by Gastaldello’s win, the Aggies rolled up 68 points in the 100 fly. Freshman Laura Norman was third in the consolation final (11th overall) in a lifetime best time of 52.88, which made her the seventh-fastest 100 flyer in school history. Senior Sammie Bosma was eighth in the B final in 53.46, and senior Emily Neubert won the C final with a lifetime best time of 52.87, which made her the sixth-fastest flyer ever at Texas A&M.
 
With senior Sarah Henry leading the way, the Aggies scored 48 points in the 400-yard IM. Henry, from Garner, N.C., earned All-SEC honors after taking second in the Championship final with a time of 4:04.44 behind Georgia’s Hali Flickinger (4:03.42). A few minutes earlier, freshman Lisa Bratton won the consolation final with a lifetime best time of 4:08.09.
 
The Aggies closed out the night with 90-point effort in the 200 freestyle. A&M had a pair of swimmers in the A, B and C finals. In the Championship final, sophomore Sarah Gibson placed fourth in 1:46.13 and senior Lili Ibanez was sixth in 1:46.41. Junior Meredith Oliver won the consolation final in a lifetime best time of 1:45.70 and senior Ellen Quirke was fifth in the B final in 1:47.24. Rounding out the scoring were senior Kelli Benjamin (20th, 1:47.32) and freshman Kristin Malone (24th, 1:49.07).

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