Coach Jack Bauerle reached another milestone on Saturday as Georgia's swimming and diving teams swept Tennessee at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.
The top-ranked Lady Bulldogs (10-0, 5-0 SEC) posted a 166.5-131.5 victory over the No. 7 Lady Volunteers (6-4-1, 2-2-1), while the No. 2 Bulldogs (7-2, 4-0) recorded a 154-146 decision against the No. 11 Volunteers (6-5, 3-2).
The Lady Bulldogs' victory was the 300th in Bauerle's career. In 36 seasons with the Lady Bulldogs, he is 300-33-2, joining Boston College's Tom Groden as the lone members of the 300-wins club. Bauerle has an additional 212 victories with the Bulldogs, giving him a combined 512. That figure ranks first all-time in the SEC, second among active coaches and fourth on the all-time list.
"I am very proud of the 300 wins," Bauerle said. "It may have my name next to it, but this is a program accomplishment. No one person reaches a total like this. It's due to a lot of great swimmers, divers and coaches that have been a part of the program. I'm thankful for and appreciative of everything they've done for Georgia. … I think the two wins today were well earned. We really had to fight them out. Tennessee has a quality program with great athletes. It was a tough, tough meet, just like we expected."
Hali Flickinger won three times to pace the Lady Bulldogs. She claimed the 200 freestyle in 1:46.99, the 200 backstroke in 1:56.77 and the 200 individual medley in 1:59.94. Her 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley times were season bests.
Lauren Harrington and Olivia Ball were double winners for Georgia. Harrington swept the butterfly events, taking the 100 in 53.38 and the 200 in 1:57.00. Ball won each springboard, posting 293.70 points on 1-meter and 334.50 on 3-meter.
Amber McDermott won the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.96. The 400 freestyle relay of Meaghan Raab, Olivia Smoliga, Harrington and Chantal Van Landeghem touched first in 3:18.60.
Michael Trice and Matias Koski controlled the freestyle events for the Bulldogs as Trice won the 50 (19.97) and the 100 (44.41) and Koski won the 200 (1:36.70) and the 500 (4:23.46). Nicolas Fink also won twice for Georgia, taking the 100 and 200 breaststroke in 53.98 and 1:58.99, respectively.
Chase Kalisz touched first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:46.17.
Georgia will cap the regular season next Saturday at Gabrielsen Natatorium against Emory. Georgia's next competition will be the SEC Championships Feb. 17-21 at Auburn.
On what had been defined as a bittersweet day for the senior class, the Tennessee Volunteers Swimming and Diving team pushed the SEC leaders to the final event.
Erin Gaeckle, Molly Hannis, Ryan McFall, manager Arden Pitman, Tristan Slater, Cherelle Thompson, Jacob Thulin and Troy Tillman were honored prior to the meet, but for the second straight season, the Georgia Bulldogs pulled away late in the meet to earn a sweep of the Vols Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.
The No. 11 UT men (6-5, 3-2) narrowed the final score by taking three of the top four spots in the 400 Free Relay, but ultimately fell to No. 2 UGA (7-2, 4-0), 154-146. The No. 7 UT women (6-4-1, 2-2-1 SEC) took on the No. 1 Bulldogs (10-0, 5-0 SEC) and also kept their dual meet tight throughout, even though the Vols fell 166.5-131.5.
"In order for us to be really great competitors, we've had a lot of growing to do," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "They should be proud. They took some great shots at Georgia and they knocked the team back on their heels. For us, I wanted them to see it as progress and I asked them whether it was enough and they said no. We're still looking for an identity and this is a great opportunity to show that we're great. I was really impressed with how they came out and how we raced throughout the meet."
Hannis finished her home career by once again sweeping both breastroke events, the seventh time she has accomplished the feat this season. Hannis outouched UGA's Emily Cameron in 1:01.23 and then had to come from behind midway through the 200 to beat Cameron in 2:12.52.
During her final home meet, fellow senior Gaeckle set a new career-best time while winning the 100-yard backstroke in 54.64, breaking her previous best time set at Nike Cup in November. The senior from Charlotte swam the opening leg for the winning 200 medley relay team.
The men's senior class also had a great showing in their final home meet. Thulin and Tillman swam on the winning teams for both the 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay. Individually, Thulin won the 100 Fly for the third straight time in a season-best 47.87, while Tillman earned a pair of top-three finishes in the two sprint freestyle events.
Slater finished with three individual third-place finishes and was the highest Vol finisher in the 200 Free, 200 Breast, 200 IM. He also swam the anchor leg of the 400 free B relay team, which finished third. Finally, McFall capped his home career by finishing fourth in the 100 Fly in 49.30, breaking his previous career-best set at SEC preliminaries in 2012.
"The seniors are awesome," said Kredich. "This is as good of a senior outing as I think you could script. It's not the focal point of the season, but it's the focal point of right now. Today, they brought their best and each of them had their own challenges today. I asked the team after if they were inspired by any of their teammates and they all raised their hands. Each of the seniors had a magnificent moment or more and each of them also had something to remind me that we've got things to work on, which is good."
Tennessee closes out the regular season on the road next Saturday, when they face the Florida Gators in Gainesville. The final regular-season home event at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center will be a platform-only diving competition against Western Kentucky on Feb. 7.
Inside the Men's Scoring
No. 11 Tennessee earned nine victories in 16 events, including both relays and both diving events.
The men started the meet with a victory in the 200 medley Relay. Seniors Jacob Thulin and Troy Tillman swam the final two legs for the A team, which won in 1:38.91. UT's B relay team (Jimmy Dagley, Ross Dibblin, Gustav Aberg Ledjstrom andJoshua Romany) finished in third in 1:28.83, while the C team (Sam McHugh, Austin Hirstein, Chris Sadsad and Ryan Coetzee) finished fifth 1:30.62.
Thulin earned the lone individual win for the senior men, winning the 100 Fly for the third straight time this calendar year in 47.87, a new season-best. Fellow senior McFall finished fourth in 49.30, setting a new career-best time, while Ryan Coetzee(49.49) and Chris Sadsad (49.51) finished in sixth and seventh place.
Tillman earned a pair of top-three finishes in the two sprint events on either side of the first diving break. The native of Chattanooga, Tenn., finished the 50 free In 20.25, good for third place, while Sadsad (20.40), Coetzee (20.86) and McFall (21.11) finished in fourth, fifth and seventh for the vols.
After the diving break, Tillman placed second in the 100 Free (44.57), just .16 seconds behind winner Michael Trice. Thulin (45.07) finished fourth en route to setting a new season-best. Felllow Swede Aberg Ledjstrom (45.39) finished sixth for the Vols.
David Heron set a new career best in the 1000 Freestyle, passing the Litherland brothers in the 34th length to win in 9:04.42, breaking his previous best set at UNC Wilmington to start the season. Evan Pinion (9:16.23) finished fourth, whileBen Miller (9:28.36) and Trevor Leland (9:39.95) finished sixth and seventh.
Junior Sean Lehane earned four total victories to lead the Vols Saturday, bookended by a pair of relay victories. In between, Lehane swept the two backstroke events, winning both in the same dual meet for the third time this season. He won the 100 back in 47.39 and then claimed the 200 back in 1:43.95. The win in the 200 was his sixth of the season and second in consecutive dual meets.
After a fantastic road trip to Texas A&M and LSU, freshman Sam McHugh tallied another individual victory, winning the 200 Fly for the seventh time this season and third time in 2015. The Chattanooga, Tenn., native finished in 1:44.30, finishing ahead of UGA's Chase Kalisz, who currently holds the event's fastest time this season.
UT earned their final victory of the afternoon in the final event. After Tillman, Thulin and Romany swam neck-and-neck with Georgia's A relay team throughout the first three legs of the 400 Free Relay, Lehane bolted off the platform and swam a career-best 43.96 anchor split to give the Vols the win. The time was the fastest among the entire field en route to an overall time of 2:57.11, the fastest time in the event this season in a dual meet for the Vols.
Inside the Women's Scoring
No. 7 Tennessee earned seven wins in 16 events, three individual victories earned by seniors.
The women opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay. Seniors Erin Gaeckle and Molly Hannis, along with Harper Bruens and Faith Johnson led the A relay team to a victory in 1:38.91. Cherelle Thompson anchored the B relay team (including Anna DeMonte, Colleen Callahan and Heather Kiger), which finished third in 1:41.45. UT's C relay team (Christina Leander, Amanda Carner, Amy Lubawy and Alex Cleveland) finished sixth.
Hannis won both the 100 and 200 breaststroke in the same dual meet for the seventh time this season--and eighth wins overall in each event. Hannis beat out Georgia's Emily Cameron placed in both races, winning the 100 in 1:01.23 and the 200 in 2:12.52.
After her opening relay leg, Gaeckle won the 100 back in 54.64, the first time she has recorded a victory in the event all season. That time also breaks Gaeckle's career-best time, set last November at the Nike Cup in Chapel Hill, N.C. Leander (55.04), Madison Hahn (55.18) and DeMonte (55.44) finished second, third and fifth respectively.
Madeline Tegner earned the first individual victory for the Lady Vols by taking first in the 1000 Free in 9:49.88, a new career-best time. She has now won three straight 1000 Free races this year, starting back at Texas A&M. Teammate Morgan Dickson finished fifth in 10:06.97.
After helping the A relay team win, Johnson swept the sprint events, winning both the 50 and 100 free. UT swept the top-three spots in the 50. Senior Thompson finished second in 22.76 behind Johnson and freshman Amy Lubawy (22.92) tied for third place with UGA's Madeline Locus.
Johnson and Bruens led the Lady Vols after the first diving break with a 1-2 sweep in the women's 100 Free. The High Point, N.C., junior finished in 49.65 and has now won the event four times this season, including two in a row starting at LSU on Jan. 10. This also mark the fourth time she has swept both events in one dual meet.
Inside Diving
Tennessee's men excelled on the diving boards Saturday afternoon, thanks to a pair of 1-2 finishes from Mauricio Roblesand Liam Stone. Robles swept both for the fourth time this season, winning for the fifth and sixth times in the one and three-meter competitions respectively.
The duo scored high from the opening round, each earning a 72 within the first two rounds to place them on top of the five-man field early in the competition. Both consistently scored within the high 60s and low 70s for much of the event, with Robles finishing on top with a 402.53, the only diver to crack the 400-point mark. Stone finished in second with a career-best score of 396.83.
Robles continued his torrid diving in the one-meter springboard competition, winning the event by breaking the 400-point barrier for the first time in his career. His 405.98 score broke his previous career-high score of 395.20, set at last year's SEC championship. Stone, meanwhile, also set a career-high (355.05) in a second place effort, a score which also sets a new personal best in all competition. UGA diver Ian Forlini finished in third to lead the way for the Bulldogs.
"Their No. 1 diver is a strong diver and our guys had to step up to make sure that they were going to beat him and they did," said Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington. "Anytime you break 400 on one-meter is a real big deal and he left some points on the table. To be able to go 1-2 against a fine Georgia squad on both boards was my personal goal for the guys. To be able to get it done was awesome and we're continuing to build for Florida and then SECs and NCAAs."
