Alabama
Members of the Alabama Swimming and Diving teams posted a pair of second place finishes and broke a pair of school records on day two of the Southeastern Conference Championships being held in Athens, Ga. this week.
As a team, Alabama's men are in fourth place with 171 points. With 291 points, Auburn currently enjoys a nine point lead on Florida at the top of the standings. On the women's side of the slate, Alabama is in fifth place with 145 points while home-standing Georgia leads the pack with 300 points.
"We're sitting in good position on both sides of the meet and tomorrow's a big day for us," Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said.
Senior Mark Randall shaved nearly a second off his own school record in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall at 4:14.82 on his way to a runner-up finish, just a quarter of a second behind Florida's Conor Dwyer. Junior Catalin Cosma also scored in the 500, taking sixth place with a time 4:20.57.
"It was a great race, all the way down the way," McIlquham said. "Mark was running him down there at the end and just ran out of room."
Junior diver Adam Booher scored 397.05 points on his way to second place off the one-meter board, less than four points behind Auburn's Kelly Marx. It was Booher's best finish at the SEC Championships. Senior Aaron Fleshner, who won the three-meter board on the championships' first day, took fourth place with 388.60 points.
"Adam likes performing at night, when the crowds there and really into it," McIlquham said. "He did a great job. Both he and Aaron were right there going into the last dive with a chance to win. They came up a little short, but this league is tremendous and for those guys to be placing where they're placing consistently is great for us."
Senior Riley Boulden finished 15th in the 200 IM with a time of 1:47.87. His swim in the preliminaries, a 1:45.54, shattered the school record, bettering the 1:47.14 mark set by Jens-Peter Berndt in 1986. Berndt's school mark in the 400 IM, also set in 1986, now stands as the oldest record on Alabama's books.
"Riley has done such a good job this season," McIlquham said. "He's put the time and the effort in and coach Sonya (Porter) and coach Stefan (Ghergel) have been working with him a lot and he's been taking it all in. He's really bought into the program and the results speak for themselves. He's got some big swims ahead of him in the breaststrokes."
Senior Elizabeth Hughes took fifth and sophomore Carrie Dragland was sixth off the three-meter board, scoring 351.55 and 349.00 points respectively. It marked Hughes' best three-meter finish at the SEC Championships. It was Dragland's second championship final of the meet after taking fifth off the one-meter board on Wednesday.
Juniors Olivia Covey and Lauren Dunn also scored off the one-meter, taking 10th and 11th place respectively. Covey tallied 297.60 points while Dunn came away with 297.10 points.
"Diving has been phenomenal for us," McIlquham said. "Coach Pat (Greenwell) has been done a great job with those kids and they respond very well."
Junior Kate Shannon Gray and sophomore Suzanne Schwee both scored in the 200 IM. Gray touched with a season-best 1:59.64 to take 10th place while Schwee was 15th with a 2:02.76. Schwee's time in prelims, 2:01.64, ranks her fifth all-time for Alabama.
The Tide's top swimmer, senior Agustina de Giovanni, who came into the week as the No. 5 seed in the 200 IM has been battling the stomach flu all week and was unable to go today. She is also the second seed in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.
"Agustina has been doing everything she can to get back and be ready to swim," McIlquham said. "Right now, for the rest of the way, she's a meet-time decision."
Arkansas
Arkansas senior Yi-Ting Siow set a school record on the way to a top-five finish in the 200-yard individual medley Thursday night at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships inside the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Siow recorded a school-record time of 1 minute, 56.59 seconds in a 200y IM qualifying heat, breaking the previous school record of 1:57.82 that she set in last year's NCAA championships.
In Thursday's final, she touched in at 1:56.75 to finish fourth.
After the second day of competition, the 20th-ranked Razorbacks are sitting in ninth with 90 points, after scoring 44 points Thursday. Georgia leads the field with 300 points, followed by Florida in second with 266.
Freshman Chelsea Franklin picked up a 14th-place finish for Arkansas in the 500y freestyle with a career-best time of 4:46.93, bettering the 4:47.09, she swam in the preliminaries. Jamie Marks touched in at a career-best 4:47.99 to finish in 15th.
In the consolation final of the 50y freestyle, junior Megan Haskins stopped the clock at 23.22 to place 15th. Haskins represents the first Arkansas swimmer to qualify in the top 16 in this event under Poppell.
The 200y freestyle team of Haskins, Lynette Ng, Dannica Brennan and Katie Whitbeck finished seventh with a time of 1:33.21.
In the women’s 3-meter diving preliminaries, sophomore Alex Roman earned a 13th-place finish with a mark of 283.85. That mark showed just over a 70-point improvement from her score at last year’s SEC championships. Liana Bugslag posted a 242.75 to place 21st.
In the morning’s action, Arkansas set a total of five personal best times in the 200y IM. Along with Siow, Brennan (2:02.97), Lisa Lunkeheimer (2:04.75), Leah Pierce (2:04.86) and Katie Davis (2:05.01) all posted the fastest times of their careers. Freshman Haley Smith touched in at 2:06.37 in the fourth of seven preliminary heats.
Juniors Ashley Largo (4:52.33) and Erica Totten (4:52.38) each posted NCAA provisional qualifying times in morning 500y freestyle action. Largo’s time earned her a first-place finish in her heat. Sophomore Alison Templin touched in at 4:52.34 as did Jillienne Schilling in 4:51.66, Sigrun Sverrisdottir in 4:55.13 and Sarah Howard in 4:56.19.
In the preliminaries of the 50y freestyle event, Ng touched in at 23.51.
Auburn
The Auburn swimming and diving team find themselves in a great position at the end of day two of the 2010 SEC Championships at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia.
The men hold a slim lead over Florida, sitting in first with 291 points to Florida’s 282 points. The women put themselves in a great spot and hold third with 248 points, while Georgia is in first with 300 points and Florida second with 266 points.
“It was a great day for this team,” head coach Brett Hawke said. “People came to compete and we saw a team of women today that we haven’t seen most of the season. They fought hard to the end; we’re still in this and have a great chance going into the third day.
“The men were really strong. We were solid across the board and we held our positions. We need to come in every day, hold our positions and move forward.”
The team got a huge boost in the first event of the evening. On the 1-meter springboard, diver Kelly Marx entered the sixth and final round of competition sitting in third place. Marx wasn’t fazed as the senior hit his final dive to capture the title with a school-record score of 400.90. The win is Marx’s second conference title in the event, having won it in 2008.
“I wasn’t planning on setting any record at all,” Marx said. “It wasn’t going through my mind. I wanted to come in and win this event for the team. I had to take it one dive at a time and stay consistent. I’m just very, very happy I came out on top.”
“Kelly put his self in a position to force the issue on the last dive,” head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “He stepped up and did what he needed to do to put the pressure on. What Kelly did throughout the contest is something we have been focusing on all season and I’m so proud of him”
Setting a new career-best score was freshman Thad Ellis on the 1-meter. The Atlanta product finished fifth with 382.90 points.
Also putting together a top-performance was diver Vennie Dantin. The sophomore from Conroe, Texas, recorded her first SEC title on the 3-meter springboard with a school and conference-record score of 371.65. The win marks just the third time an Auburn diver has won the event and the first title in three years.
“I had been putting together personal-best scores the entire meet so far and I knew I had it in me,” Dantin said. “Jeff had so much confidence in me and that really helped push me even more. I have never considered myself a springboard diver, but with Jeff’s help and the team’s support, it all came together for me.”
“I’m so excited for her,” Shaffer said. “She has worked really hard all season and you can see it all coming together more and more each day. What a great way to end the night.”
Sophomore Anna Aguero also reached the 3-meter final, coming in eighth with 323.20 points.
“Overall, it really was a just great day for us,” Shaffer said. “Our philosophy is to be consistent, step up and compete and minimize mistakes. When you do that, you maximize your opportunity to be successful. We did that from dive one today on both the men and women’s side.”
Five athletes represented Auburn in the men’s 50 free championship final and, for the fifth-straight year, the Tigers came away with a 1-2 finish in the event. Senior Gideon Louw became the eighth-consecutive Tiger to win the conference title, finishing in a NCAA “A” cut time of 19.18.
“It’s an awesome feeling to win, but it isn’t just a victory for me,” Louw said. “I’m here to score points for my team and support all my teammates. That is all that matters right now.”
Finishing in second was sophomore Adam Brown, touching the wall with a career-best and “A” time of 19.25.
“I knew it was going to be tough racing Gideon and I’m so happy we went 1-2,” Brown said. “It was great race and I’m glad we were able to score a lot of points for our team.”
Swimming in his first-ever championship final, sophomore Karl Krug took fourth in 19.56. Senior Michael Silva was seventh (19.78) and junior Jared White was eighth (19.95).
Competing in the consolation final of the men’s 50 free was sophomore Christopher Fox and junior Kohlton Norys. Fox took 13th in 20.01 and Norys was 16th in 20.32.
“The 50 free was a key race for us,” Hawke said. “It really pushed us ahead and gave us great momentum going into the last race.”
After the strong finish in the 50 free, the Auburn sprinters weren’t done as the team of Brown, Krug, Fox and Louw ran away with the evening’s final race, the 200 free relay. The quartet finished over a second ahead of second-place Kentucky, clocking the nation’s fastest time of 1:16.16 in route to Auburn’s eighth-consecutive win in the
event.
“Our sprinting philosophy is to do something extremely well and then take to the next level as best as we can,” Louw said. “We wanted to push it as hard as we could and it was great to come out on top and win big.”
Representing Auburn in the women’s 50 free championship final was sophomore Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and freshman Hannah Riordan. The pair each recorded season-best times as Vanderpool-Wallace was fifth (22.34) and Riordan seventh (22.53).
Senior Melissa Marik competed in the consolation final of the 50 free, taking 10th overall in 22.86.
The team of junior Caitlin Geary, Vanderpool-Wallace, Riordan and Marik ended the meet strong for the Auburn women, taking second in an extremely tight 200 free relay race with a B time of 1:29.06. That mark was just .05 seconds of Georgia’s third-place time of 1:29.11.
“The last relay was so exciting,” Hawke said. “Our team out-split the tough Georgia team and it was a fantastic performance.”
Swimming in her fourth-consecutive 200 IM championship final was senior Ava Ohlgren. It was a tight race for the top spot throughout the race and the captain came out with a third-place finish in a B time of 1:56.42. Geary swam in the consolation final, coming away with a 13th-place finish in a B time of 2:00.92
Senior Tyler McGill was the men’s top finisher in the 200 IM, finishing sixth in 1:45.07. Junior Andrew Mitchell took seventh in 1:46.80, while freshman Kyle Owens was 11th (1:46.50) and junior Adam Klein was 14th (1:46.87).
Freshman Katie Gardocki, competing in her first-ever championship final, led the Tigers in the 500 free as she finished fourth in a career-best and NCAA “B” cut time of 4:42.36. Senior Maggie Bird took sixth in 4:44.28, while sophomore Stephanie Horner was eighth in 4:45.94.
“I’m really proud of Katie,” Hawke said. “To come into the finals as a freshman and take fourth was huge for both her and the team.“
Senior Will Dove represented Auburn in the 500 free, taking 14th in season-best time of 4:24.10.
Auburn Top Finishers - Women: 500 Free - 4. Gardocki (4:42.36); 200 IM
- 3. Ohlgren (1:56.42); 50 Free - 5. Vanderpool-Wallace (22.34); 3-meter
- 1. Dantin (371.65); 200 Free Relay - 2. Geary, Vanderpool-Wallace,
Riordan, Marik (1:29.06).
Men: 1-meter - 1. Marx (400.90); 500 Free - 14. Dove (4:24.10); 200 IM
- 6. McGill (1:45.07); 50 Free - 1. Louw (19.18); 200 Free Relay - 1.
Brown, Krug, Fox, Louw (1:16.16).
Florida
After leading the league field tied for first entering Thursday’s finals session on both the men’s and women’s sides, the Gators held strong on the second day of competition, bringing in three more individual SEC Championships and one relay title to bring UF’s two-day total to six titles. Florida junior Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) and seniors Shaune Fraser (George Town, Grand Cayman) and Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) all turned in individual Championship swims, while the UF women’s 200 free relay defended its title to lead both Florida squads to a second-place standing following day two in Athens. On the men’s side, Auburn leads the field with 291 points, UF is second (282 points) and Georgia third (205 points). In the women’s competition, Georgia grabbed the lead (300), Florida stands in second (266) and Auburn finished day two in third (248 points).
“We started off a little rocky, up and down in this morning’s session,” head coach Gregg Troy said, “but tonight we came out here and swam fantastic. Once finals started and we got going, I have absolutely no complaints. We did very well. We’ll rest tonight and come back tomorrow ready to race again.”
Dwyer kicked off the title trend by swimming a NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 500-yard free (4:14.58), the fastest time in the NCAA this season, to clinch his first SEC title as a Gator. Dwyer additionally took down the Florida record, held by fourth-place finisher Balazs Gercsak (Budapest, Hungary) and became the first Gator to win the 500 since Michael Kiedel won the event for UF in 1996.
“It was a really exciting race – it was my first individual race at SECs,” Dwyer said. “It’s also an honor that it was a Florida record because Balazs (Gercsak) is an amazing swimmer, both here and internationally. It was a really good first day individually for me, but we still have two days left and we have a lot more to focus on.”
Both Spofforth and Fraser contributed to the Gator domination in the 200-yard IM races, Spofforth swimming the fastest 200 IM in the country this year (1:55.39), to automatically qualify for the NCAA meet. Spofforth’s title was the first 200 IM title for the Gators since 1999 when Jennifer Hommert won.
“This morning, I swam my prelim race pretty hard, so I was surprised at how fast I was able to go tonight,” Spofforth said. “It felt pretty smooth the first couple 50s, but on the last 25 I thought I bombed it. I was relieved when I got to the wall. It was a good swim, but now I’m just looking ahead to my next race.”
While Fraser took the top spot in the men’s 200-yard IM race (1:43.53), it was a team effort as senior Omar Pinzon (Bogota, Colombia) rallied for second place, just a tenth of a second behind Fraser (1:43.63). UF freshman Sebastien Rousseau (Cape Town, South Africa) touched in fourth for the Orange and Blue (1:44.35) to round out the 200 IM championship heat finishers. Fraser and Pinzon swam the fastest and second-fastest times in the nation so far this season as Fraser continued the winning tradition for the Gators in the 200 IM after 2008-09 senior Bradley Ally claimed the title last year and in 2008. The individual SEC win was Fraser’s sixth individual title, while Pinzon improved from third at last year’s SEC meet to second.
“It was a really good, close race,” Fraser said. “Moreso, it was good for us as a team because myself, Omar and Sebastien all improved our times from our morning swims to finish first, second and fourth. It’s good for us because right now, we’re also trying to set ourselves up for success at NCAAs.”
The Gators’ diving corps represented the Orange and Blue well Thursday with four finals qualifiers, two each from the men’s and women’s squads. UF sophomore diver Anthony Lewark (Davie, Fla.), who scored a 9.5 on his second dive in the championship session of the men’s one-meter board, rallied for a final score of 364.20, .05 off his career-best mark of 364.25 set at last year’s SEC Championship meet. Sophomore counterpart Colin Bell (Coral Springs, Fla.) placed eighth after scoring a 9.0 on his final dive of the evening, finishing with a career-best 332.50.
Florida’s Kara Salamone (Cooper City, Fla.) and Monica Dodson (Franklin, Ind.), who competed in the women’s three-meter springboard, built off the success of the men’s divers, Salamone turning in a third-place, 354.85 finish, while Dodson dove a career-best 340.75 to finish seventh overall in the championship final.
The Florida 200-yard free relays closed out the night on a high note as the women’s team took its second straight SEC title, thanks to the efforts of sophomores Shara Stafford (Topeka, Kan.) and Sarah Bateman (Orlando, Fla.) and seniors Gemma Spofforth (West Sussex, England) and Stephanie Napier (Chattanooga, Tenn.), who collaborated for a 1:28.71 finish.
UF’s men’s 200 free relay, composed of Fraser, Brett Fraser (George Town, Grand Cayman), junior Matt Norton (Port Orange, Fla.) and senior Roberto Gomez (Weston, Fla.) closed out the night with a third-place finish in the last event.
In addition to their contributions on the 200 free relays, Brett Fraser, Stafford and Bateman all swam career-best marks in Thursday finals of the 50-yard free.
LSU
LSU swimmer Jane Trepp broke her own program record in the 50-yard freestyle, and men’s diver Brian Gemberling posted his second consecutive sixth-place finish to spearhead the men’s and women’s teams Thursday at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga.
Trepp swam to a school-record mark and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 22.34 seconds in the prelims of the 50 free before delivering a sixth-place finish in the finals with a clocking of 22.46. Her record-breaking prelim mark is currently seventh in the nation.
Gemberling delivered a sixth-place finish in the men’s one-meter with a career-high score of 364.60, which is third all-time at LSU.
In relay competition, both the men’s and women’s 200 free relay teams swam to top-five finishes with NCAA ‘B’ cut times. The Lady Tiger foursome of Trepp, Amanda Kendall, Samantha Goates and Morgan McGee registered fourth with a 1:29.66 clocking. The men’s group of Andrei Tuomola, Hannes Heyl, Sean LeNeave and James Meyers earned a tie for fifth with a time of 1:18.88.
The freshman trio of Tuomola, Kendall and Craig Hamilton and sophomore Mary Beck also qualified for second swims with provisional times on the second day of the meet.
Tuomola recorded a personal best of 19.90 in the 50 free, eighth in program history, to tie for 10th overall. Kendall placed 13th in the women’s 50 free, touching the wall in 22.89 after reaching the finals with a prelim time of 22.80, third all-time at LSU.
Hamilton swam to a 16th-place finish in the 500 free (4:25.88) and moved into third all-time in school history with his prelim mark of 4:25.34. Beck finished 14th in the 200 individual medley (2:01.59).
In addition, freshman diver Rebecca St. Germain tallied 12 points for the Lady Tigers with her ninth-place finish in the women’s three-meter. The San Antonio, Texas, product finished just outside the top-eight with a score of 309.15. Fellow freshman Elle Schmidt was 16th with a 271.65 score.
Men’s freshman Jesse Lyman claimed 16th in the one-meter dive with a 276.45 total.
Senior Lauren Grandy continued to enjoy a solid conference meet. After spearheading the Lady Tigers to a fourth-place finish in the 800 free relay Wednesday, the Humble, Texas, native registered a personal best and ‘B’ cut mark of 4:48.99 in the 500 free to finish 17th.
Goates just missed a spot in the consolation finals of the women’s 50 free. The freshman tied for 16th in the prelims with a personal best of 23.16, eighth in program history, but fell to Kentucky’s Kelsi Hall in a swim-off. LeNeave and Meyers finished 24th and 28th, respectively, in the men’s 50 free with season bests of 20.25 and 20.45.
Junior Clint Hallum and freshman Sean Roddy led the Tigers in the 200 I.M. Hallum moved into fifth all-time in school history with his personal best of 1:49.57 to place 19th, while Roddy swam the sixth-fastest mark in program history, 1:50.20 to take 21st.
Lady Tigers Kannon Betzen and Kaelee Mader also recorded season bests in the 200 I.M. Betzen emerged with a time of 2:03.11 to finish 22nd, and Mader swam to a mark of 2:03.18, eighth in school annals, to come in 24th.
Following Day 2, the Lady Tigers sit in sixth place with 119 points, while the men’s team is seventh with 116.5 points.
South Carolina
Freshman jitters? Not a problem.
South Carolina freshman Michael Flach put together an incredible race in the 500 freestyle to win the bronze medal on Thursday night at the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships.
Flach swam the best race of his young career, clocking in with a time of 4:19.37 to earn a spot on the medal stand in his first championship race as a collegian. Sitting in fifth place with 150 yards to go, Flach ran down Florida's Balazs Gercsak and Kentucky's Tyler Reed and charged down the home stretch to claim the bronze. He improved his NCAA 'B' cut time and also lowered his own mark as the second-fastest time in school history.
In the diving well, junior Taryn Zack fell just short of the medal stand for the second straight night as she turned in a fourth-place finish on the 3-meter board with a score of 352.85. In prime position after four rounds, she missed on her fifth dive - a reverse 2 ½
somersault - and dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard. However, she recovered with a strong effort on her final dive to salvage a fourth-place showing and 15 points for the Gamecock team effort.
Junior Bridget Halligan, in the Gamecocks' other individual final of the evening, finished third in the consolation final of the 50 freestyle to take 11th place overall and earn six points for South Carolina. Halligan touched in 22.88, lowering her own personal record
from the 22.93 she swam this morning and earning a better NCAA provisional qualifying time.
The evening wrapped up with the 200 freestyle relay. The men's team of Dominique Lendjel, Andrew Seiler, Alex Fitton and David Livsey took seventh place with a 1:21.66, an improvement of 2.5 seconds over their previous best this season and coming up just .09 seconds short of an NCAA provisional qualifying time. It was also the 10th-fastest time in school history. On the women's side, the team of Sharntelle McLean, Megan Sparks, Halligan and Kristina Delp took eighth place in 1:32.87, a season-best by two seconds and the seventh-best mark in Carolina history.
Through two days, the South Carolina men sit in eighth place with 111 points while the women are seventh overall at 107 points. Georgia leads the women's competition with 300 points while Auburn stands first in the men's meet with 291.
Tennessee Men
On the second day of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, the Tennessee Volunteers saw two upperclassmen step up and lead the team with strong performances.
The day’s slate of competition did not highlight the Vols’ best events, but thanks to the leadership of juniors Brad Craig and Michael DeRocco, the UT team enters day three with a more spirited step.
“We showed some life tonight,” head coach John Trembley said. “Brad Craig swam the best thus far with a great 200 I.M. and Michael DeRocco hit his start better and continues to be one of our leaders.”
Craig swam his best 200 I.M. of the year Thursday night. His 10th place 1:46.40 B-cut time was more than a second faster than his preliminary mark.
In the next event, DeRocco stepped up with another 10th place finish for the Big Orange. The Niskayuna, N.Y., native swam a B-cut 19.90 time.
Sophomore diver Ryan Helms also lifted the Vols with his second bronze finish of the meet. Helms placed third on the one-meter springboard behind a career-best 392.25 score. That mark moves Helms to second all-time in the Big Orange record books.
“Our divers had a better day today,” Trembley said. “It was great for Ryan to hit his career best tonight.”
The Vols enter day three with a better lineup of events that should showcase the team’s strengths.
“Tomorrow can be a great day for us,” Trembley said. “The event slate offers our strongest opportunities.”
After day two, Tennessee is fifth with 160.5 points behind first-place Auburn (291), Florida (282), Georgia (205) and Alabama (171). Kentucky is sixth (146), LSU is in seventh (116.5) and South Carolina rounds out the field in eighth (111).
Other Vols scoring on Thursday included co-captain Geoff Sanders in the 500 freestyle. Sanders swam a season-best 4:23.93 time to a 13th place finish. That mark is also an NCAA B-cut. Ryan Harrison also scored in the 500 free with a 15th place 4:25.16 B-cut mark.
Senior co-captain Michael Muscari placed ninth in the one-meter behind a 309.50 mark. Freshman Jordan Mauney scored in 13th place at 286.55.
Tennessee tied for fifth in the 200 freestyle relay with LSU at 1:18.88. The team of DeRocco, Anders Storvik, Giles Smith and Ricky Henahan swam to Tennessee’s first B-cut in the event this season.
“Our 200 free relay was OK,” Trembley said. “That 1:18.8 mark shows continued improvement.”
Tennessee Women
A year ago Michele King tied for first in the 50y free at the SEC Championships. The York, Pa., native had mixed emotions, however. Despite earning a gold medal, King didn’t like sharing the small stage at the top of the awards platform. This season, King’s goal was to stand alone atop the podium.
On Thursday night at the Gabrielsen Natatorium, she got her wish. King was crowned the 50y free champion at the 2010 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. She touched the wall in a season-best readout of 22.06 – the nation’s leading time.
“It’s complete,” King said, minutes after her victory. “I couldn’t have done it without my team and coaches, I know that. It’s nice to be up on the podium alone. My plan was to get out fast the first 15 yards. Both my coaches (Matt Kredich and Jen Arndt) said that I have speed coming home and all I needed to do was get out ahead. That’s what I did. You never like to tie. I’m just glad to have the championship to myself this time.”
King, who touched the wall at the exact same time as Georgia senior Anne-Marie Botek at the meet last year, led from the start of the race. She said she could feel the other swimmers chasing her which gave her the motivation to push even harder leading up to the finish.
Her performance paced the 13th-ranked Lady Vols team to fourth-place (155 points) after two days of competition. No. 1 Georgia, the meet host, leads with 300 points, with No. 6 Florida (266) and No. 8 Auburn (248) chasing. Alabama is fifth (145), while No. 25 LSU sits in sixth (119).
King, who also was on the winning 200y medley relay on Wednesday night, now has four conference titles, putting her one behind 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Christine Magnuson’s UT record of five SEC championships.
Junior Aleksa Akerfelds and freshman Breanna Folk took top honors in the ‘B’ finals of the 500y free and the 200y IM, respectively, taking ninth overall in each.
Akerfelds dropped two seconds off her prelim readout to touch the wall in a season-best and NCAA B-cut time of 4:43.74.
Folk cruised to victory in the 200y IM ‘B’ final, swimming a season-best time of 1:59.00. That performance makes her the second-fastest Lady Vol ever in the event. Junior Martina Moravcikova placed 12th in the 200y IM, touching the wall in a career-best 2:00.67. Sophomore Samara Gelb also competed in the consolation heat, but was disqualified. Her prelim time of 2:00.56 was a season-best. All three Lady Vols captured NCAA B-cuts in the event.
“We won two consolations and a final, so it would’ve been hard to have the night go any better,” Kredich said. “Michele’s win was great for us. She took control of that race early on. Breanna and Martina were phenomenal in the IM, too, and Aleksa swam a brilliant race in the 500. I feel really good about our performances tonight.”
Tennessee capped the second evening of the conference meet by finishing fifth in the 200y free relay with a season-best and NCAA B-cut performance (1:30.36).
King anchored the relay and was joined by sophomores Jenny Connolly and Caitlin Perks and freshman Sloane Pitman. Pitman led off the relay with a season-best clocking of 23.38.
Florida won the relay 1:28.71.
Georgia swept the 500y free behind a 1-2-3 performance from sophomores Wendy Trott (4:38.21) and Allison Schmitt (4:38.33) and junior Chelsea Nauta (4:38.85).
Florida’s Gemma Spofforth edged Georgia Morgan Scroggy for first in the 200y IM with readout of 1:55.39.
Earlier in the day, Tennessee placed two divers in the top 16.
Sophomores Gabrielle Trudeau (296.50) and Jodie McGroarty (275.00) placed 12th and 15th, respectively, on the 3-meter board. McGroarty ends her 2010 conference championships with a pair of top-16 finishes. Trudeau will be back on the board, along with junior Jill Pierce and freshman Skye Sanders, on Saturday in the platform competition.
Auburn junior Vennie Dantin captured the conference championship in the 3-meter competition with a meet-record score of 371.65.
