The Alabama swimming and diving teams kicked off their two-day, long course meet at home against Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee Friday evening. The Crimson Tide men ended the day in a close battle, with the Vols leading 86.5-82.5, while the Tide women trail Tennessee 96-54.
“As you always expect in competitions at this time of the year, coming off of an extra heavy training load, you’re going to get a mixed bag,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “Some are a little more beat up than others and feeling the effects of the heavy training. We had some strong swims, but overall it was a mixed bag. It’s going to be a meet that comes down to the wire on the men’s side. The Tennessee women are a little stronger than we are at this point, but we want to try to whittle away at that lead a little if we can.”
Senior Brett Walsh secured the Tide’s first victory of the night with a 24.23 in the men’s 50m butterfly. Junior Kristian Gkolomeev came in just behind Walsh in the butterfly event before winning the 50m freestyle with a 22.50.
The Tide men swept the top-three spots in the men’s 200m freestyle, with senior Crews Wellford leading the pack with a 1:54.39, followed by junior Alex Gray (1:55.93) and sophomore Matthew Adams (1:56.74).
“Our men’s team captain, Crews Wellford, really had some great swims,” Pursley said.
Sophomore Christopher Reid placed first in the men’s 100m backstroke, touching the wall at 55.76.
On the women’s side of the meet, junior Bridget Blood won the 100m breaststroke with a 1:12.31 while freshman Justine Macfarlane took second with a 1:14.42.
Senior Emma Saunders took second with a 2:05.16 while sophomore Mia Nonnenberg nabbed third with a 2:05.47 in a down-to-the-wire women’s 200m freestyle race. Nonnenberg later took top honors in the women’s 400m individual medley, clocking in at 4:50.96.
The Tide finished with a win in the men’s 400m medley relay. Junior Pavel Romanov joined Reid, Walsh and Gkolomeev to out-touch the Volunteers in the final race of the night.
The meet concludes Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CT in the Alabama Aquatic Center.
