As the swimmers finished their warm-ups and prepared for the day three finals of SEC’s, the swim fans set the tone for the meet with team cheers echoing back and forth across the stands. The meet started with Auburn on top of the men’s title race and Florida with the most team points for the women. It was an exceptional night, with four new SEC records and many close races!
As Conor Dwyer and the men in the championship final of the 400 IM were paraded to the blocks, the entire Florida fan section rose to their feet, waving blue and orange pom poms. These fans cheered for the next 3 minutes and 37 seconds, as Dwyer proceeded to set his third SEC record of the meet, taking down a record set by Olympian Ryan Lochte in 2005. Dwyer was followed by Bill Cregar, 3:42.24 and Michael Joyce, 3:44.07. As promised, the women’s 400 IM was an exciting race, with all the swimmers fairly close together until the Florida’s Elizabeth Beisel took off during the breaststroke, setting herself ahead of the pack and finishing with a new SEC record of 4:00.83. Melanie Margalis of Georgia swam a great race as well, posting 4:05.65.
The men’s 100 butterfly was perhaps the closest meet we have seen thus far, with all
eight men fighting for the title. At the end the title went to Florida’s Marcin Cieslak,
in a time of 46.03, with Georgia’s Mark Dylla taking the silver in a time of 46.33. And
the women’s fly was just as close and exciting a race. Tennessee’s Jenny Connolly
swam an amazing race, taking down the 50 free champion from last night Arianna
Vanderpool-Wallace. As Connolly touched at a 51.64, the Tennessee fans broke out into an enthusiastic rendition of “Rocky Top”.
Tennessee kept it going with an amazing swim by Ryan Harrison, 1:32.38. With the
entire crowd on their feet, Florida’s Brett Fraser was out fast, leading at the halfway
mark. Harrison made a second half charge, taking the title, and resulting in yet another rendition of “Rocky Top” in Gainesville. The women’s 200 free was a great event for the Georgia Bulldogs. UGA took 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th with Morgan Scroggy leading the way in a time of 1:42.46, lowering the SEC record she had set on Wednesday night leading off the 800 free relay.
The Tennessee fans were having a lot of fun and celebrating a great night of Vol
swimming. And there was a lot to cheer about with three Vols in the top eight heat of
the 100 breaststroke. The Vols put up a good fight, going 2nd, 3rd, and 5th, but Auburn’s Stuart Ferguson swam a great race and came away with the title in a time of 53.01. In the women’s 100 breast, LSU’s Jane Trepp had a truly remarkable swim from start to finish, touching in a blazing 58.94, setting a new SEC record. Trepp was bombarded by her LSU teammates as they rushed to congratulate her.
With the start of the men’s 100 back, it was Auburn’s turn to get excited, with four
swimmers in the final heat. But despite Auburn’s depth in the event and Tiger Tony
Cox’s blazing first 50, Florida’s Marco Loughran came back strong and took the win in a time of 45.70. Cox finished 2nd with a 45.99.
What a fantastic night for Tennessee’s Jenny Connolly! Less than an hour after her 100 fly victory, Connolly returned to the 100 back, winning the heat handedly and posting a 51.64, the fastest time in the country thus far! Second place went to Georgia’s Megan Romano in a 52.72.
The night ended with some thrilling 400 medley relays. On the men’s side, Florida came away victorious in a time of 3:04.99. The Gators were aided by a great breaststroke leg by Conor Dwyer. Dwyer split a 51.87, the fastest breaststroke split in the event by far. The Auburn Tigers were second with a time of 3:06.52. And how else could the night end but with another singing of “Rocky Top”. The Tennessee Lady Vols swam a truly outstanding relay, setting a new SEC record in the time of 3:30.90. The Lady Vols got a great start with a 51.50 backstroke leg swam by champion Jenny Connolly. Second place went to Auburn in a time of 3:32.79.
The SEC swimmers put on quite a show tonight, with 4 new SEC records and lightning fast swims! With one more day left to swim here in Gainesville, the race for the team title has gotten intense. The pressure is on tomorrow morning for swimmers to get into the top heats, guaranteeing their teams much needed points. At the end of day three, the team scores stand as follows:
Men:
Auburn 574
Florida 547
Tennessee 443.5
Georgia 347
LSU 215.5
Alabama 182
Kentucky 165
South Carolina 153
Women:
Georgia 515
Florida 463
Auburn 425
Tennessee 314.5
LSU 295
South Carolina 203
Kentucky 179
Arkansas 149
Alabama 141.5
Vanderbilt 64
