Alabama
Alabama swimming and diving finished strong at the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships, piling on two more event titles on the meet’s final day, for a total of seven on the week – five for the men and two for the women.
Kaylin Burchell continues to pour it on her senior season, adding the SEC 200 breaststroke championship to the 100 breaststroke title she won Friday. On the men’s side, sophomore Kristian Gkolomeev extended his reach on Saturday, adding the 100 freestyle title to the 50 championship he won Wednesday. He was also part of the Tide’s SEC champion 400 medley and the 200 freestyle relays.
After their outstanding performance this week, Burchell and Gkolomeev were voted the Southeastern Conference Men’s and Women’s Swimmers of the Meet by the league’s coaches. Burchell is the first Tide women to earn the honor while Gkolomeev is the first member of the Tide men’s team to earn the honor since Arne Borgstrom in 1982.
Burchell was in fifth place at the 150-yard mark of the 200 breaststroke before reeling in the field over the last 25. It marked the first time that a member of the Alabama women’s team has claimed a pair of league titles in the same season since Lane Bassham won the SEC 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving championships in 2004. The last time Alabama won the 100 and 200 breaststrokes in the same season was 2002 when Olympic bronze medalist Anne Poleska managed the feat.
The defending NCAA 50 freestyle champion, Gkolomeev continued his domination of the sprint freestyle events, winning the 100 with a school-record 41.68, becoming the fastest 100 freestyler in the nation this season and the first swimmer in school history to go under 42 seconds.
Gkolomeev came close to a fifth SEC title when he combined with junior Brett Walsh and sophomore Alex Gray and Connor Oslin to take second in the 400 freestyle relay with a school record 2:50.20 in the meet’s last event. Alabama’s men were first or second in four of the five relays contested this week.
The women also finished the week out with a school record when junior Justin Panian, freshman Temarie Tomley, sophomore Bailey Scott and junior Emma Saunders combined to take eighth place in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:18.59.
Sophomore Anton McKee, who spent the fall recovering from a broken collarbone suffered at the end of the summer, made it back to the podium in the 200 breaststroke, taking third place with a 1:52.92.
Alabama’s men finished fifth with 911.5 points, more than a hundred points more than last year’s tally. On the women’s side of the slate, the Tide finished in ninth place with 535 points.
Over the course of the five-day championship, the Tide men and women combined to break the school record in 18 different events, with the men bettering all five relay marks for the second year in a row. The Tide broke 17 records at last year’s SEC Championships.
Arkansas
Led by program records set by juniors Anna Mayfield and Maddie Monroe, Arkansas women’s swimming and diving closed competition at the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships in the James E. Martin Aquatic Center Saturday evening.
“This morning was one of our best sessions overall,” said head coach Sean Schimmel. “To go top eight in the 200 back, 100 free and 200 breaststroke – that was so outstanding.”
After posting a program-best 200 backstroke in the prelims (1:52.98), Mayfield highlighted the Razorbacks scoring efforts with a sixth-place finish in the finals. The finish marks the highest finish for the San Antonio, Texas native who finished seventh last season.
“It was really exciting making it to the A finals,” said Mayfield. “Especially seeded that high in the prelims, then coming back at night and walking out, having my whole team yell for me was really exciting and I’m glad I finished higher than I did last year.”
In five days of action, Monroe added her name to the Arkansas record books five times at the championship. After downing Mayfield’s 200 free record on the third day of action, Monroe notched a program record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.71 in the prelims on the final day of the SEC Championships. In addition to her two records, Monroe also helped the Razorback 800 free, 200 free and 400 medley relays to program bests.
Monroe swam to a seventh-place finish in the 100 freestyle finals after entering the competition as the No. 8 seed.
Mayfield added her name to the top of the Arkansas record books four times at the 2015 Championships. Mayfield aided in three relay records (800 free relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay) and a pair of individual records (200 back, 200 free). In the final day of competition, Mayfield set the 200 backstroke record with a time of 1:52.98.
In the final day of the conference championship, senior Nikki Daniels followed up her impressive performance in the 100 breast with a second spot in the ‘A’ finals in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:09.89. To close the SEC Championship individual events, Daniels took to the ‘A’ 200 breast final where she touched the wall eighth place with a time of 2:11.88.
To open the prelims, Mayfield downed the 200 backstroke record and secured a spot in the A finals with a time of 1:52.98. Freshman Chelsea Tatlow followed Mayfield into the finals with a place in the C final with a time of (1:56.81).
Monroe was next to earn a spot in the top heat of the championships in the 100 freestyle. The junior touched the wall third in the final heat of the prelims with a time of 48.71 to place into the A final of the event as the No. 8 seed. Junior Nina Drolc also punched a ticket to the 100 freestyle C finals with a time of 49.43.
Sophomore Mary Margaret Soderberg then notched her fourth personal best of the championships with an NCAA B cut time of 2:15.89 in the 200 breaststroke while freshman Maddie Edwards clocked a career-best time of 2:22.99.
In the 1,650 freestyle, sophomore Aiden Lister snagged 19th place (16:35.18) while freshman Chloe Hannam set a personal best time of 16:49.00.
Tatlow clocked a new career-best time in the 200 backstroke in the ‘C’ final with a mark of 1:55.70 while Drolc handily won the ‘C’ final in the 100 freestyle, flirting with her career-best time of 48.28 with a time of 48.29.
The Razorbacks closed the 2015 SEC Championships with a fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay where Monroe, senior Susanna White, Drolc and Tatlow swam the second-fastest time in program history with a mark of 3:17.30.
Arkansas closed the competition in tenth place with a total of 465 points, the third-most points in school history.
Florida
Florida’s men’s swimming & diving team won the program’s third-straight and 36th overall Southeastern Conference Championship behind three SEC titles at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala. The program’s 36 SEC team championships ranks second amongst all sports in the history of the SEC (Kentucky Men’s Basketball, 45).
The Gators finished in front of second place Georgia (1,134.5) and third place Auburn (1,084) with a total score of 1,314.5 points. Florida was strong in all events, capturing individual victories in the 100-yard butterfly (Caeleb Dressel) and the 500-yard freestyle (Mitch D’Arrigo) and earned a relay gold in the 800-yard freestyle event (Wallace, Werner, Alexiou, D’Arrigo). The Gators pulled away on the last day of competition after entering the final day up only 132 points.
On the women’s side, the Gators ended their conference championship in third place behind Georgia (1,450) and Texas A&M (1,166) for the second year in a row. UF’s women won four SEC championships, as Florida captured the 100-yard (Natalie Hinds), 200-yard (Amelia Maughan) and 1,650-yard freestyle (Jessica Thielmann) titles and the 200-yard individual medley crown (Theresa Michalak).
Overall, Florida won seven SEC championships, broke three school records and registered 25 NCAA automatic qualifying marks as each team will now prepare for next month’s NCAA men’s and women’s championships.
Coaches Corner:
Head Coach Gregg Troy:
On the men winning the SEC Championship…
“It was a great week. We stood up and raced tough the whole way. It (tonight) was a great way to finish. It was five days of tough racing.”
On who was the surprise of the meet was and who had the swim of the week for the Gators…
“The surprise of the meet was Amelia Maughan winning to 200 freestyle. I think the swim of the meet was either Jessica Thielmann’s mile tonight, or Natalie Hinds 100 free swim.”
On getting ready for the NCAA meet…
“In the end, this is just another swim meet, as we have to go back to work on Monday and make sure we’re ready for the next one.”
Talking Gators:
Junior Jessica Thielmann:
On her race plan in the mile and when she knew she won her first-career SEC Championship…
“It was a good race. I had a plan and for probably the first time ever, I stuck to my own plan, as I waited and bided my time. Then I made my move at the right time. I didn’t know I won until I touched the wall. I knew those girls had a very fast back-end, so once I made my move, I knew I had to keep going.”
Junior Natalie Hinds:
On winning the 100-yard freestyle…
“I was nervous going in, but what I learned from the 50 (freestyle) is that I need to relax. That’s what Coach Troy told me. In the prelims this morning, I just needed to do what I know I can and tonight, I just needed to stay relaxed. I just wanted to do the best that I could and I was really hurting towards the end so I just went as fast as possible.”
Day Five Finals Recap:
Florida set itself up for a great night in the first event of the finals, as the Gator men finished second and third in the 1,650-yard freestyle race, as sophomore Mitch D’Arrigo and junior Arthur Frayler clocked times of 14:39.90 and 14:40.05, respectively. The runner-up finish was D’Arrigo’s second of the week and his time ranks him second all-time in school history.
In the women’s event, junior Jessica Thielmann avenged her runner-up finish in the 500-yard freestyle a few day ago by winning her first-career SEC crown tonight. The Newcastle, England native won the women’s mile in an outstanding time of 15:47.95. Winning the mile ended a 12-year drought for the Gator women without a championship in that event. In addition, Thielmann’s mark ranks her second all-time in school history.
Freshman Caeleb Dressel and junior Natalie Hinds followed their lead by finishing the 100-yard freestyle in the same fashion. In the men’s race, Dressel clocked a school record time of 41.90 seconds but earned his second runner-up finish of the week.
In the women’s race, Hinds broke her own school record and placed first with a mark of 47.26 seconds. This was her second-career SEC title, as she won her first as a freshman at the 2013 championships in the 100-yard butterfly.
In the men’s and women’s 200-yard backstroke, juniors Corey Main and Ashlee Linn paced the Gators as they finished in eighth and fourth place with times of 1:43.16 and 1:52.62, respectively. Linn’s mark ranks sixth in UF history.
Seniors Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez and Matt Elliott capped off their outstanding week at SEC’s by finishing fifth (1:54.31) and sixth (1:54.42) in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke.
Florida’s men (Caeleb Dressel, Mark Szaranek, Pawel Werner, Dan Wallace) and women (Natalie Hinds, Ashlee Linn, Amelia Maughan, Lindsey McKnight) placed third and second in the lone relay event of the evening, the 400-yard freestyle. The men’s time was 2:50.31, which ranks second in school history, meanwhile the Gator women clocked the sixth-fastest mark in UF history, 3:14.12.
Georgia
The Georgia women’s swimming and diving team claimed its sixth straight league title on Saturday at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
The championship is Georgia’s 12th overall, all under Coach Jack Bauerle. The six consecutive championships is a new school record as Georgia had a five-year run from 1997-2001 and extended the one that began in 2010. The Lady Bulldogs also won in 2006.
“I’ve said it many times, but it bears saying again: This is a feeling that never gets old,” Bauerle said. “But at the same time, every championship has its own unique qualities. Every team puts its own stamp on a championship and this team is no different. We’ve been able to develop depth this year, so we’re getting points up and down the lineup. This feels great. We’re going to enjoy this one.”
“I’m glad that my class wasn’t the one to break the streak. That would not have been good,” senior Amber McDermott said with a laugh. “This is an amazing feeling. I’m so proud of all my teammates. We have great chemistry on this team and everyone did her job this week. That’s what it takes to win a title.”
The Lady Bulldogs rolled up 1,450 points over the five-day meet, outdistancing Texas A&M (1,166) and Florida (963.5). Next month, the Lady Bulldogs will be vying for their third consecutive and seventh overall national championship.
On the men’s side, the Bulldogs came in second for the 17th time in school history but their first since 1998. The Bulldogs had been third four of the past five seasons. The Bulldogs posted 1,134.5 points to trail only Florida’s 1,314.5 Auburn was third with 1,084.
The first- and second-place efforts gave Georgia the best combined program at the meet.
Hali Flickinger and Chase Kalisz earned the Commissioner’s Trophy for high-point honors. Flickinger finished first in the 400-yard individual medley and second in the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard butterfly. Kalisz won the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard individual medley and came in fourth in the 200-yard individual medley.
“This was a big meet for Georgia,” Kalisz said. “The guys are really proud of our women, but we’re proud of what we did too. It shows that we’re making progress and that we’re getting where we want to be.”
McDermott led the Lady Bulldogs’ effort in the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday as she placed second in 15:49.79. Brittany MacLean took fifth in 16:09.15, while Rachel Zilinskas came in sixth in 16:14.49 and Stephanie Peters claimed 16th in 16:27.84.
Flickinger earned her silver medal as she stopped the clock in 1:51.68 in the 200-yard backstroke. Kylie Stewart placed fifth in 1:52.82 and Jordan Mattern was 14th in 1:55.59.
Chantal Van Landeghem and Maddie Locus medaled for Georgia in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing second and third, respectively, in 47.95 and 48.17. Olivia Smoliga won the B final for ninth with a time of 48.90, while Meaghan Raab came in 22nd in 49.84.
The Lady Bulldogs capped the meet with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Locus, Smoliga, Lauren Harrington and Van Landeghem stopped the clock in 3:12.97.
Matias Koski opened the meet for the Bulldogs by winning the 1,650-yard freestyle in 14:38.72. Kevin Litherland placed sixth in 14:54.79, followed by Garrett Powell in eighth at 14:59.56.
"I actually just decided to do the mile (Friday) night,” Koski said. “It was between the 100 and the mile, and I had a good feeling for the mile so I went with that. Not thinking about it too much during the meet, not psyching myself out, was probably a good thing. I just said, 'Let's do it and see what happens.'"
Nicolas Fink gave the Bulldogs their second crown of the night as he defended his 2014 title in the 200-yard breaststroke in 1:51.79. During the morning prelims, he broke the SEC record with a time of 1:51.58. Gunnar Bentz took 12th in 1:56.70.
“I have felt great today,” Fink said. “It’s the last day of SECs, so the adrenaline is really pumping. I’m happy with my breaststroke today. We practice so hard all day every day, so I’ve learned how to race. I really appreciate the way my coaches and teammates push me.”
Ty Stewart was the Bulldogs’ top finisher in the 200-yard backstroke as he touched in 1:42.35 to take sixth. Jared Markham finished seventh in 1:42.91, while Jay Litherland placed 10th in 1:42.57, Pace Clark came in 13th in 1:43.35 and Powell took 16th in 1:44.70.
The 400-yard freestyle relay of Koski, Fink, Bentz and Michael Trice came in fourth with a school-record time of 2:51.68. Koski’s leadoff split of 42.96 eclipsed the school record.
The Bulldogs came in fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Koski, Fink, Bentz and Trice touched in a school-record 2:51.68.
Trice tied for 14th in 43.74 as the Bulldogs’ lone entry in the 100-yard freestyle.
Ian Forlini came in 19th on platform diving with 277.85 points and Crawford Berry placed 23rd with 228.65.
The Lady Bulldogs won eight events during the conference meet: Van Landeghem in the 50-yard freestyle, McDermott in the 500-yard freestyle, Smoliga in the 100-yard backstroke, Flickinger in the 400-yard individual medley, Olivia Ball on 3-meter springboard, and the 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays.
The Bulldogs earned six victories: Kalisz in the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard individual medley, Koski in the 200- and 1,650-yard freestyle, Fink in the 100-yard breaststroke and Stewart in the 200-yard individual medley.
The postseason will continue for Georgia next Saturday and Sunday as it hosts the Bulldog Last Chance Meet at Gabrielsen Natatorium. Georgia’s divers will compete March 9-11 in the Zone B Championship, also in Athens. The NCAA Championships will take place March 19-21 for the women in Greensboro, N.C., and March 26-28 for the men in Iowa City, Iowa.
LSU
Senior Daniel Helm collected his second silver medal of the meet, this time on platform, with a personal best score and the second highest in school history (416.80).
LSU concluded SEC Championships with nine school records, seven medalists, one SEC record and the highest point earner in school history. LSU was also the only school to have a diver in every final for both men and women.
Senior diver Alex Bettridge was also named SEC Female Diver of the Meet after an incredible performance. Bettridge collected gold on one-meter, silver on three-meter and bronze on platform. The Austin, Texas native was one point shy of earning the most points on the women’s side for the meet.
“I couldn’t ask for more from our divers from the beginning to end,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “I don’t think there was anything else we could have done. We had the most medals this week than any other LSU team at SEC Championships. I couldn’t be prouder of this team and now it’s time to focus on NCAA Championships.
LSU finished fifth on the women’s side and ninth on the men’s side. The finish of fifth is the best finish since the 2011-12 season.
“I’m thrilled with the performance from these athletes throughout the week,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “Placement wise I thought there was more opportunity for us. Regardless we move on and pick up our training for NCAA Championships.”
Sophomore Devon Dabney swam to the second-fastest 1650 free time in school history on the way to a 14 place finish. Dabney’s 1000 free split of 9:54.02 also sits at third on the school’s top time list.
Michael Young and Daniel Swietlicki competed in the ‘C’ final of the 200 back. Young finished third overall with a time of 1:44.28. Young’s time is a personal best and the third-fastest time in school history. Swietlicki finished eighth in the final.
Danielle Stirrat touched the wall fifth in the ‘B’ final with a time of 1:55.42. Caley Oquist finished third in the ‘C’ final of the 200 back with a time of 1:56.52.
Alex Linge finished in a tie for sixth in the 100 free ‘C’ final with a time of 43.74. The junior’s time was of 43.51 in prelims was enough for fourth on the top times list.
Silas Dejean touched the wall third in the C final of the 200 breast with a personal-best time of 1:58.80. Harry Ackland also finished fourth in the ‘C’ final with a time of 1:58.96.
Colleen O’Neil wrapped up the individual swimming events with an eight-place finish in the ‘B’ final of the 200 breast. O’Neil’s time of 2:13.24 in prelims was the third-fastest time in school history.
LSU returns to Baton Rouge in preparation for NCAA Championships. Divers travel to Iowa City, Iowa for the NCAA Diving Regional. Swimming and diving qualifiers for the women compete in Greensboro, North Carolina March 19-21, while the men compete in Iowa City, Iowa March 26-28.
Missouri
The Mizzou men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams completed action at the five-day 2015 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday, with the men finishing in sixth-place with 768 points and the women taking eighth with 594 points.
Florida won the men’s title with 1,314.5 points, while Georgia (1,134.5) took second and Auburn was third (1,084).The Georgia women claimed their sixth consecutive SEC crown after scoring 1,450 points. Texas A&M was second (1,166) and Florida placed third (963.5).
Over the course of the Championships, the Tigers set 10 school records, including two from freshman Sharli Brady (200 fly and 400 IM). Individuals also setting marks were seniors Mack Darragh (200 fly) and Sam Tierney (100 breast), junior Daniel Graviss (400 IM) and sophomores Carter Griffin (200 back) and Andrew Sansoucie (100 fly). Mizzou also set program records in the women’s 200 medley relay, men’s 400 medley relay and men’s 800 free relay.
The Tigers also recorded 13 top-eight finishes, including second-place showings from Griffin (200 back), Tierney (100 breast) and junior Clark Thomas (3-meter springboard).
Griffin highlighted Saturday action with his runner-up finish in the 200 back. After breaking his school record with a 1:40.55 in prelims, Griffin dropped his time to 1:40.17 in finals, lowering his program mark and notching an NCAA A cut.
Tierney followed up his second-place showing in Friday’s 100 breast with a fourth-place finish in the 200 breast on Saturday with a finals time of 1:53.86. Senior Igor Kozlovskij easily won the consolation final in the event, placing ninth overall in 1:55.00, while freshman Jordy Groters took 21st in 1:59.03.
In the women’s 200 breast, junior Abby Duncan placed sixth (2:10.67) in the championship final, joining her fifth-place showing in the 100 breast. Sophomore Katharine Breast took home the consolation final win in a season best swim of 2:11.11.
Also swimming a championship final on Saturday was sophomore Michael Chadwick. The Charlotte, N.C., native qualified for the top final in the 100 free, ultimately placing seventh in 43.19. Also earning points for the Tigers in the event was junior Matthew Margritier, who took second in the C final with a 43.80.
In the diving well, freshman Hunter Fritter used a personal best prelims score of 352.40 to advance to Saturday night’s platform finals session. He scored 341.65 points in finals to place eighth in the event, which included dives of 79.20 and 72.00
In the women’s 1650 free, freshman Kira Zubar just missed Mizzou’s school record after a 16:25.49, less than a second off the program mark. Her time was good enough to earn her 13th place in the event.
Also earning top-13 finishes were freshman Hannah Stevens and junior Anna Patterson. Stevens took 12th in the 200 back in 1:55.10, while Patterson was 13th in the 100 free after a 49.05.
On the men’s side, senior Eegan Groome and sophomore Nick Davis had finishes of 16th and 19th respectively. Groome’s 15.18.36 was a season best, while Davis set a new personal best of 15:26.74, moving into fourth all-time at Missouri in the event.
The men and women had finishes of sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 400 free relay to close out the meet. The men’s team of Chadwick, Margritier, senior Alex Glogoza and Tierney clocked a time of 2:54.29, while the women’s squad of Patterson, senior Danielle Barbiea, Hayden and Stevens swam a 3:18.12.
South Carolina
The Gamecocks wrapped up the SEC Championships with a medal and four school recording-setting swims from freshmen Tomas Peribonio, Bryce Kananowicz, Nils Wich-Glasen and Meredith Vay.
The final day of competition was highlighted by Wich-Glasen’s second-place finish in the final of the men’s 200 breaststroke. He finished in 1:52.97, breaking his own school record for the second time today. Peribonio recorded the top time in school history in the 1,650 freestyle (14:50.25), breaking Akram Mahmoud’s record from earlier this season and earning him a fourth-place finish. Kananowicz set the school record in the 200 backstroke with his time of 1:44.21. Vay broke a 10-year-old 50 freestyle record with her time of 49.17 in the preliminary and then broke her own record in the final as she finished in 49.16.
The South Carolina men wrapped up the Championship in seventh place with 567 points while the women finished in 11th place with 357 points. Florida won the men’s title, totaling 1314.5 points and Georiga takes home the women’s title with 1450 points.
Peribonio placed fourth overall in the men’s 1,650 freestyle and freshman Akram Mahmoud followed with a fifth-place finish and a career best of 14:51.27. Junior Marwan El Kamash took 12th in the event with a personal record of 15:13.34.
In the women’s 1,650 free, freshman Sarah Smith placed 27th with a personal record of 16:47.42 and senior Charlotte Ward finished in 16:50.69 and 29th place.
Freshman Bryce Kananowicz finished 17th overall and first in the C final of the men’s 200 backstroke. In the preliminary, sophomore Jonathan Boland (1:45.91) placed 28th overall and senior Michael Covert (1:46.66) placed 34th. Freshman Caleb Tosh set a personal record of 1:48.28 to finish in 40th place.
Freshman Heather Merritt (1:58.63) and junior Ashleigh Ferguson (1:58.87) finished 23rd and 24th, respectively, in the 200 backstroke final. Both recorded career-best times in the preliminary, 1:58.11 and 1:57.30 to advance to the C final. Sophomore Megan Carlson placed 30th overall with her time of 1:58.91.
Leithold finished 11th overall in the men’s 100 freestyle with a personal record of 43.47. He advanced to the B final with his prelim time of 43.78. Robert Gilchrist, Joshua Clothier, Patrick McCrillis and Evan Mahoney placed 38th, 41st, 42nd and 49th, respectively, all with career-best times.
Sophomore Cooper Brown, senior Rachel Elliott and sophomore Carolina Petrone placed 47th, 54th, and 60th, in the women’s 100 freestyle.
Senior Alex Vance (1:58.25) and freshman Jeremiah Bohon (2:01.47) finished 18th and 24th overall, respectively in the men’s 200 breaststroke. The pair advanced to the C final after recording times of 1:58.67 and 2:00.88, respectively in the preliminary. Freshman Thomas Hang finished 32nd overall with a personal record of 2:04.25.
Freshman Kersten Dirrane led the Gamecocks in the women’s 200 breaststroke, finishing 25th overall with a personal record of 2:15.80. Junior Ellen Johnson (2:16.60) and freshman Brittany Oxley placed 29th and 30th overall, while junior Elise Weisert (2:20.97) finished in 40th place.
Senior Cole Miller placed eighth in the men’s platform diving finals with a score of 383.70, which is a school record. Sophomore Jordan Gotro finished 10th overall with a score of 339.00, which is a career best.
The men’s team wrapped up the competition with a ninth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (2:56.83) while the women placed 10th with a time of (3:20.68).
NOTABLES
• At the conclusion of the SEC Championships, South Carolina has 20 swimmers with at least one NCAA provisional cut
• Ashleigh Ferguson’s time of 1:57.30 ranks second in school history.
• Jeremiah Bohon set a personal record of 2:00.88 in the prelim of the 200 breaststroke.
• Both the men and women’s 400 freestyle relay times are the fourth-fastest in school history.
• Cole Miller advanced to final in all three diving events.
• Cooper Brown and Caroline Petrone set personal records in the 100 freestyle.
QUOTABLE
Head Swimming Coach McGee Moody
“I’m extremely proud of our men and women, they fought all week long. We had a lot of stuff to overcome along the way. They were in situations along the way where they were forced to step up and swim faster that I think even they thought they could, tonight especially. We were in a very tight team race and I thought they responded really well. We had some outstanding individual performances. Meredith Vay broke record after record all week long. She had and outstanding meet and I’m looking forward to continuing on with her at NCAAs. The men were faced with a very, very tight team race with Texas A&M and LSU and we saw some races today that I think were a product of that. Tomas Peribonio has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the country, he broke our school record in the mile and until Akram (Mahmoud) broke it a few weeks ago, it stood for a very long time. He (Peribonio) had an outstanding meet an he’s going to punch his ticket to NCAAs, same thing for Arkram. We’ve set a huge number of school records this year and I’m very proud of that. Nils Wich-Glasen had a huge, huge swim tonight. He qualified sixth out of prelims, broke the school record an then demolished his own swim from this morning. I think this is a testament to the direction our program is going. We have a great coaching staff here, one of the best in the country and we’re ready to take this, keep growing and keep moving up in the SEC.”
Freshman Meredith Vay
“I was pretty shocked (about winning a medal) and I’m really excited for the next three years.”
Freshman Nils Wich-Glasen
“Of course I was expecting to have a good meet but I wasn’t expecting (to win a medal). “
Head Diving Coach Todd Sherritt
“Preliminaries today went pretty well. Jordan (Gotro) did an awesome job. He didn’t make finals but he finished 10th and he’s a sophomore so he’ll do what he need to do to get there (to finals) next year. It was a very tough final to make. Of course, any time you make the final coming from a school that doesn’t have a 10-meter platform, its very special and when you finish sixth (as Cole Miller did) its even more special. He broke a record this morning and then broke it again tonight. He’s had a great, great career at South Carolina.”
Senior Cole Miller
“It was really good (making finals in all three events). I was happy with how I perfomed this week. I have made the platform finals since freshman year so it was good to be back up there.”
UP NEXT
The Gamecock divers will be back in action March 10-11 at the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Athens, Ga. The South Carolina swimmers will await word on who will be going to NCAA Championships. After the SEC Championships the men’s 800 freestyle relay recorded an automatic qualifying time while 20 Gamecocks have provisional cuts. The women’s (March 19-21) will be held in Greensboro, N.C. and the men’s (March 26-28) will take place in Iowa City, Iowa.
Tennessee
Junior Sean Lehane defended his 200-yard backstroke title and senior Molly Hannis took home another breaststroke silver Saturday as Tennessee's men and women both finished fourth at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday night at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center.
In the women's team standings, Tennessee finished fourth with 793.5 points, 68.5 points ahead of fifth-place LSU. Georgia led throughout and rolled to another SEC title with 1450 points. As a team, the men finished in fourth place with 918 points, 7.5 points ahead of fifth-place Alabama. Florida wins with 1314.5 points, their third straight conference title.
"It's a really full week with 22 athletes on each team, with three performances each and five relays, so there are so many stories," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "The cool part is that it isn't the last chapter for everyone, so there's still a lot to improve upon. I feel like we accomplished some great things. We competed really well and it's great to pick up several championships."
After the meet concluded, Mauricio Robles was named the Male Diver of the Meet after his performances across all three diving events this week. Robles made all three championship finals and reached the medal podium in two of the three events.
Robles started the week by claiming the gold medal in the one-meter springboard, the first of three-straight gold medals Tuesday night for Tennessee. The redshirt junior won the event with a score of 421.15, using a late-round surge to come from behind to win. He earned his second medal on the three-meter, where he earned the bronze medal behind teammate Liam Stone, who won the gold medal.
Lehane won his second consecutive gold medal in the 200 Back after coming from behind in the final 100 yards to defeat Missouri's Carter Griffin and Auburn's Joe Patching in 1:39.65. The A-cut time is the fourth time under 1:40.00 this season and is .01 seconds slower than the time Lehane swam in his winning effort in Athens, Ga., in 2014.
"I knew I had to come back in the last 100 yards and that's what I've done all year," said Lehane. "My legs were hurting so bad during the last 50 yards, but I tried to push really hard to try and get my hand on the wall first."
"It was really his best race of the year," said Kredich. "He's done it a lot of different ways. Considering this season and the competition he had, he handled the race situation like a pro. He let the Auburn guy get out ahead of him and he didn't panic. He executed everything really well and it was a great step for him to win it and prepare him for the NCAAs."
Hannis collected the 13th SEC medal of her storied career by earning the silver medal in the 200 Breast, her first medal in the event. After finishing the preliminary session with the fastest qualifying time, Hannis finished in second place with a time of 2:08.31, just behind Alabama's Kaylin Burchell. Hannis finished her final SEC Championships with four total medals: two silver medals in the 100 and 200 Breast and two gold medals in the 200 and 400 medley relays.
Women's 1650 Fly
In 15:59.64, Madeline Tegner set the Tennessee school record in the 1650 Freestyle and improved on her previous career-best time by almost 18 seconds, ending her SEC Championships with an fourth-place result in her first 1650 Free competition since November's Nike Cup. Teammate Morgan Dickson gave UT two swimmers in the top eight, finishing eighth in 16:15.89.
Men's 1650 Fly
Tennessee earned points in the mile thanks to its four male distance freestylers. David Heron finished seventh with a career-best time of 14:55.82, as well as a career-best 1000 Freestyle time of 9:02.64, maintaining his No. 2 spot in both events in UT history. Evan Pinion earned 10th overall, finishing in 15:01.29. In other action, Ben Miller (15:33.21) finished 24th, while Trevor Leland (16:11.29) finished 34th.
Women's 200 Back
After finishing 10th after the preliminary session, Amanda Carner finished in the same position during the B final, thanks to a time of 1:54.67. Madison Hahn represented the Vols in the C final and finished fifth with a time of 1:57.17.
Men's 200 Back
For the second consecutive year, Sean Lehane earned the gold medal in the 200 Back, finishing with the fastest time in the A final (1:39.65). Lehane won his third consecutive medal in the event, having won a silver medal his freshman season. After Auburn's Joe Patching led halfway through the 200 yards, Lehane used his experience to come from behind and take the lead in the final half to claim the gold medal. With the win, Lehane joined Tripp Schwenk (1992, 93) and Marc Foreman (1978, 79) as 2-time SEC champs in the 200 backstroke
Women's 100 Free
UT placed two sprinters in the top five after the morning preliminary session and Harper Bruens remained in the top five after the night session, finishing fifth with a personal best time of 48.84. Teammate Faith Johnson finished eighth in the A final with a time of 49.15. Both swimmers earned NCAA B-cuts after the A final concluded.
Men's 100 Free
Troy Tillman represented the Vols in the B final of the 100 Free and earned 14 points by finishing fifth (13th overall) with a time of 43.59 in his final individual SEC race of his UT career. The Vols sent four sprinters to the C final, where Gustav Aberg Ledjstrom tied for third (19th overall, 43.95) to lead the Vols. Austin Hirstein (44.11) finished 21st, while Ryan Coetzee(44.25) and Jacob Thulin (44.66) finished 23rd and 24th. Aberg Ledjstrom, Hirtstein and Coetzee all achieved career-best times.
Women's 200 Breast
Molly Hannis earned the first SEC medal (and 13th of her career) in the 200 Breast, receiving her second silver medal of the week by finishing with a 2:08.31. Hannis finishes her SEC career by making the podium four times: two gold medals in the 200 and 400 medley relays and two silver medals in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Colleen Callahan moved up the UT record board after finishing second in the B Final in 2:11.03. Callahan now sits fifth in UT history, passing Alex Barsanti
Men's 200 Breast
The Vols sent the British duo of Tristan Slater and Ross Dibblin into the 200 Breast finals and both secured important points for UT. In the A final, Slater finished eighth in 1:54.99, improving on his career-best set during the preliminary session, while Dibblin finished in sixth place in 1:57.80.
Men's Platform Diving
Mauricio Robles could not achieve three medals in three diving competitions at Auburn, finishing in seventh place with a 359.60 score. Robles earned high scores on the first two and last two rounds, but earned 34's during rounds three and four which moved him down the standings. Robles still leaves Auburn having won both a gold medal in the one-meter and a bronze medal in the three-meter springboard competitions.
Women's 400 Free Relay
In 3:17.45, the quartet of Harper Bruens, Alex Cleveland, Faith Johnson and Amanda Carner earned sixth place to wrap up the 2015 SEC Championships. Tennessee finished .15 seconds behind Arkansas, but beat out LSU by .50 seconds to secure fourth place overall.
Men's 400 Free Relay
Tennessee's quartet of Joshua Romany, Troy Tillman, Gustav Aberg Ledjstrom and Sean Lehane finished fifth in the final men's event by posting a 2:53.70 time, the ninth fastest relay time in UT history. Tillman (42.93) led the Vols by swimming the only UT split under 43.00 seconds.
Texas A&M Men
Boosted by a bronze medal finish by senior diver Ford McLiney on Saturday, the Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team finished eighth at the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the Auburn University campus.
The Aggies scored 555 points through the five-day competition and trailed three-time defending team champion Florida (1,314.5 points), Georgia (1,134.5), Auburn (1,084), Tennessee (918), Alabama (911.5), Missouri (768) and South Carolina (567). Rounding out the team standings were LSU (538.5) and Kentucky (407).
McLiney, who missed a large portion of the 2014-15 season due to an injury, returned to action in a big way with a third place finish in the platform dive. McLiney, last year’s SEC Diver of the Meet, held the lead through four rounds but couldn’t hold off Auburn’s Fraser McKean and LSU’s Daniel Helm. McLiney finished with 414.55 points, which was just off his A&M best of 415.20 from last year’s SEC meet. The Aggies also got big points from freshman Tyler Henschel, who placed fifth with 385.30 points.
The Aggies got a huge swim from freshman Brock Bonetti, who lowered his own 200 backstroke school record with a blistering time of 1:42.11 while earning the win in the consolation final. Bonetti came to Auburn with a season best of 1:44.85, but broke the old school record of 1:43.66 by Simon Frank twice at the SEC Championships. He broke it on Tuesday in a time trial with a time of 1:43.13 before breaking it again on Saturday. The Aggies also received points from junior Mateo Muzek, who placed fourth in the “C” final in 1:44.94.
A pair of team captains, junior Cory Bolleter and senior Luke Shaw, combined to score 32 points in the 100 freestyle with a strong performances in the consolation final. Bolleter touched the wall in second place (10th overall) in lifetime best 43.46, while Shaw was right behind in fourth (12th overall) in 43.53. Bolleter’s time put him in a tie for eighth on A&M’s all-time list in the 100 free, while Shaw’s prelim time of 43.38 put him in a tie for fifth.
In the 200 breaststroke, a trio of Texas A&M freshmen combined to score 17 with school record holder Mauro Castillo leading the way with a seventh place finish (15th overall) in the consolation final in a time of 1:58.68. In the “C” final, Jonathan Tybur took sixth (22nd overall) in 1:59.28 and Gonzalo Carazo placed seventh (23rd overall) with a time of 1:59.78.
The Aggies closed out the meet with an eighth-place finish in the 400 free relay with the foursome of Shaw, Bolleter, sophomore Turker Ayar and junior Antoine Marc finishing in 2:55.55.
Texas A&M Women
The No. 5-ranked Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team displayed top front end talent and depth while placing second at the 2015 Southeastern Conference Championships on Saturday at Auburn University.
The Aggies were runners-up at the SEC meet for the third straight season to the six-time defending conference champion Georgia Bulldogs, and the two teams were the only two teams to surpass the 1,000-point plateau. Texas A&M scored 1,166 points but couldn’t catch the Bulldogs, who piled up 1,450 points over the five-day competition. Rounding out the team standings behind the Bulldogs and Aggies were Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Kentucky, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
The Aggies opened the fifth day of action by scoring 70 points in the 1,650 freestyle with a trio of of top 11 finishes. Leading the way was senior Sarah Henry with a bronze medal effort in 15:53.43, while sophomore Sarah Gibson placed 10th in 16:20.47 and junior Colleen Konetzke took 11th in 16:22.14.
Freshman Lisa Bratton kept the strong start going by taking down the school record in the 200 backstroke. Bratton touched the wall in 1:52.60 to break the old mark of 1:52.84 by Paige Miller from the 2014 NCAA Championships while placing third in the Championship final. Also contributing points in the race was junior Claire Brandt with a 15th place finish in 1:55.84.
Texas A&M had five swimmers in the 100 free finals and the group combined to score 64 points. Senior Sammie Bosma led the way with a sixth place finish in 48.96, followed by senior Lili Ibanez (12th, 49.01), freshman Kristin Malone (14th, 49.09), junior Meredith Oliver (18th, 49.37) and senior Kelli Benjamin (20th, 49.55).
The Aggies scored their biggest point total of the day with an impressive 74 points in the 200 breaststroke. Two Aggies were in the Championship final with junior Ashley McGregor grabbing fourth in 2:09.20 and sophomore Franko Jonker placing seventh in 2:11.00. In the consolation final, freshman Bethany Galat placed 14th in 2:12.15 and sophomore Sycerika McMahon was 15th in 2:12.16.
The Aggies closed out the night with a third-place finish in the 400 free relay with the foursome of freshman Beryl Gastaldello, Malone, Ibanez and Bosma touching the wall in 3:14.57. Gastaldello led off with a 100 free time of 47.59, which makes her the third-fastest in school history.
