Alabama
The Alabama swimming and diving teams started the 2016 SEC Championships off with a podium finish in one relay and a top-five finish in one of the diving events on Tuesday evening at the Mizzou Aquatic Center on the Missouri campus.
Juniors Connor Oslin, Pavel Romanov and Kristian Gkolomeev combined with senior Brett Walsh to take third in the men’s 200 medley relay, making it onto the awards podium with a time of 1:23.75, an NCAA “A” cut. E ca
“That was a little bittersweet,” UA head coach said of the relay. “On the one hand, we were only about four-tenths off the school record which is a very good swim, but we were six-hundredths of a second out of first. You look at the race and you can see a 1,000 and one ways to make that up that six-hundredths. But they made it to the podium with one of the fastest times in the nation this year, so it was a good start.”
Junior Brent Sagert posted the best SEC Championships finish of his career, taking fifth place off the 3-meter springboard after scoring 387.60 points in finals. Sagert was sixth coming out of prelims after scoring 360.30. His previous best finish was ninth off the platform in 2015.
“Brent’s performance was something we were half expecting, half hoping to see,” Pursley said. “If you train long enough with (diving coach) Pat (Greenwell), you’re going to get better, you’re going to progress, so it was great to have a diver in the finals and see Brent compete like that.”
Sophomores David Morton and Dylan Marin also scored off the 3-meter board, with Morton taking 14th with 308.45 points and Marin taking 21st with 288.25 points.
The men’s 800 freestyle relay of sophomore Christopher Reid, junior Alex Reid, freshman Christian Arseneau and senior Crews Wellford took eighth place with a time of 6:28.56.
On the women’s side of the meet, juniors Caroline Korst and Bridget Blood combined with sophomore Hannah Musser and senior Justine Panian to take seventh in the women’s 200 medley relay with a 1:38.15.
In the 800 freestyle relay, senior Emma Saunders along with sophomores Temarie Tomley, Hannah Musser and Mia Nonnenberg turned in a 7:09. 67 to take 10th place.
“The 800 has been a weak relay for us in recent years, and just like the program in general, we’ve been making progress. They were more competitive than we’ve seen in recent years in that relay and it was another relay where we were very close to the school record, so it was a good start for them.”
In the women’s 1-meter diving event, junior Taylor Zablocki took 11th place with 271.10 points while sophomore Kara Fredlock took 22nd with a score of 238.05.
After day one, the Tide men are in fifth place with 140 points while the women are in 11th place with 99 points. Alabama returns to action on Wednesday with the first full day of individual events, including the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and men’s 1-meter diving as well as the 200 freestyle relay.
“Were going to go back in the team meeting this evening and look at where we can get better going into tomorrow,” Pursley said. “It was a solid start, but you want to find those fireworks in the championship competition and I think we can find more in that respect.”
Arkansas
Bolstered by a top-five finish in the 1-meter diving finals and an NCAA 'A' cut in the 800 free relay, the Arkansas swimming and diving team sits tied for eighth with 112 points following day one of the SEC Championships.
After the first round of the 1-meter diving preliminaries, Nicole Gillis found herself in 38th place. But the sophomore came back with five strong dives, totaling 283.50 points en route to a sixth-place finish and a spot in the finals.
In the finals later in the evening, Gillis turned in an even better performance. She placed fifth with a personal-best 310.00 points, tallying 25 points for the Razorbacks.
“We’re all really proud of Nicole’s performance today,” Arkansas swimming and diving head coach Sean Schimmel said. “After being down early, she continued to get better throughout the day. So it was great to see her finish strong like that.”
The 200 medley relay team of senior Anna Mayfield, freshman Madison Strathman, junior Natalie Burnett and senior Nina Drolc opened the swimming competition with a ninth-place finish, clocking the third-best time in program history (1:38.63).
The Razorbacks closed out the first day of competition in the 800 free relay. The senior trio of Anna Mayfield, Maddie Monroe and sophomore Chelsea Tatlow placed seventh in the event (7:06.08), the second-best mark in program history, and the squad’s first ‘A’ cut of the season.
“All four of our relay swimmers swam really well,” Schimmel said. “Getting that ‘A’ cut is a big deal and will definitely help us this week. It was a really good first day for us, and I’m proud of our overall performance.”
Auburn
One session, two relays, two podiums. For the Auburn men’s swimming and diving team, the 2016 SEC Championships had a pretty good start to it.
Auburn jumped out to a day one lead of 19 points in the men’s race as it claimed second-place finishes in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay and also picked up a seventh, ninth and 12th-place finish from its divers on the 3-meter.
“It was a really good start for us,” junior Kyle Darmody, who swam on both relays, said. “It’s the first time since I’ve been here where we got on the podium in the 200 medley relay. Then Justin (Youtsey) backed it up with a strong performance on 3-meter. In the 800 free relay, people always overlook us and we always like to surprise them.”
Swimming in lane six for the men’s 200 medley relay, Darmody kicked off Auburn’s night with a 21.54 backstroke split. Michael Duderstadt, Arthur Mendes and Peter Holoda took over from there, racing to a second-place finish in 1:23.74. Duderstadt’s breaststroke leg of 23.22 was second-fastest in the field while Holoda’s 18.57 anchor was the fastest.
Darmody and Mendes would return 45 minutes later for another second-place finish, swimming the final two legs of the 800 free relay. Joe Patching led off in 1:34.85, eighth-fastest in school history, before giving way to Hugo Morris, who split 1:33.33. Mendes (1:33.70) and Darmody (1:33.71) would bring it home for a total time of 6:15.59.
“We still have to get four swims together,” Auburn associate head coach John Hargis said. “It seems every year on this one day we get three good and one mediocre (swims). Getting four guys on at the same time is difficult. I think tonight again, on both sides, we had three men really good and one man was not where we wanted it. But at the same time we were very good. That’s good as we move forward in the meet.”
On the men’s 3-meter, Youtsey earned his first career top-eight finish, scoring a 366.05 in prelims and a 364.90 in the finals to place seventh. Scott Lazeroff just missed a top-eight finish, scoring 351.65 to finish ninth, missing the finals by 1.60 points, while Pete Turnham scored a 325.50 to finish 12th.
“You come into the season and it’s really just for one goal and that goal is SECs and NCAAs. As a senior you just come out and enjoy the experience,” Youtsey said. “We picked up a ninth, a 12th and my seventh and that’s huge for the swimmers and it’s huge to be ahead of Florida and Georgia. Our divers are really good and it’s great to see them improve.”
In the women’s championship Auburn stands in 10th with 106 points. Kentucky and Tennessee are tied for the lead with 154 points.
Auburn touched in 1:37.09 to finish fifth in the women’s 200 medley relay. Ashton Ellzey anchored in 21.92, one of only two anchors to go sub-22.
Auburn touched in eighth in the women’s 800 free relay in 7:07.74. Freshman Erin Falconer led off in 1:45.83, a personal-best and the 10th-fastest time in school history.
On the women’s 1-meter, Maddie Cox earned Auburn’s first points of the championships with a 15th-place finish, scoring a 256.00. Morgan Mullins finished 29th (232.95) and Carly Scheper was 35th (224.05).
Florida
The University of Florida men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams claimed three SEC Championship Titles and set two school records on Tuesday night in Day One action at the 2016 SEC Championships. The Gator men currently sit in third place with 145 points while the Gator women hold a sixth-place position with 127 points.
Senior Kahlia Warner was quick to put UF in front on Tuesday, taking the top spot in the women’s 1-Meter springboard competition. The 2015 All-American strung together a six-dive score of 346.10 to break Kara Salamone’s seven-year standing school record of 328.30.
But the fun didn’t stop there. On the ensuing race, the Florida men brought home of a title of their own, this one coming in the 200-Yard Medley Relay. The quartet of sophomores Caeleb Dressel, Jan Switkowski, junior Jack Blyzinskyj, and senior Corey Main swam a remarkable relay -- touching out with a time of 1:23.69.
Their first-place mark not only sets a new UF school record and tied the SEC Meet record from 2009, but it also stands as the nation’s top time among collegiate swimming this season.
The Gators ended their night on a high-note, taking a third SEC crown in the men’s 800-Yard Freestyle relay. The foursome of sophomores Switkowski and Mark Szaranek, junior Mitch D’Arrigo, and senior Pawel Werner swam a top time of 6:13.64, which also ranks first nationally among collegiate swimming and was good for a new pool record.
Georgia
A victorious and record-setting women’s 800 freestyle relay highlighted Georgia’s showing on Tuesday at the Southeastern Conference Championships at Mizzou Arena.
The No. 2-ranked Lady Bulldogs landed in third after the first day of competition with 133 points, trailing the 154s posted by Kentucky and Tennessee.
On the men’s side, the No. 3 Bulldogs stand seventh with 122 points. Auburn opened in first with 170 points and Missouri followed with 151 points.
“Any time you have swimmers and divers on the podium, it’s a good day,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “We had all three of our women’s events go top three and a guys’ relay go top three, so it’s hard to be disappointed in that. This meet is a grind for several days, but we got off to a good start today and I think we’re ready to keep it going.”
The Lady Bulldogs capped Tuesday’s session as Hali Flickinger, Meaghan Raab, Shauna Lee and Brittany MacLean turned in a pool-record 6:55.56, which is the fastest time in the season. Flickinger led off in a personal-best 1:43.19, also the country’s fastest time this year.
Georgia has won the 800 freestyle relay seven straight years and 12 times overall.
“I’m just so proud to be part of such an incredible relay tradition,” Flickinger said. “It’s an honor to swim that event for Georgia and with three amazing teammates. Our team enjoys competing in this relay and it means a lot that we were able to win it again.”
The women’s 200 medley relay of Olivia Smoliga, Emily Cameron, Kylie Stewart and Raab stopped the clock in 1:36.28 – the second-fastest time in school history.
Olivia Ball posted a third-place finish on women’s 1-meter springboard with 324.95 points. Madison Duvall came in 21st with 245.20 points.
The men’s 800 medley relay of Matias Koski, Pace Clark, Jay Litherland and Gunnar Bentz reached the wall in a school-record 6:17.40 to come in third.
The Bulldogs’ 200 medley made up of Taylor Dale, Bentz, Clark and Michael Trice touched in 1:25.68 to finish sixth.
In the men’s 3-meter springboard competition, Crawford Berry paced the Bulldogs with a 16th-place effort with 301.55 points, while Ian Forlini took 17th with 293.45 points.
Kentucky
At the close of the first day of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, Kentucky’s women are tied for the lead with 154 points while the men are tied for eighth with 114 points. Both sides saw success, with the team winning two medals while posting three school records and three top-10 marks on UK’s all-time list.
“First and foremost, our divers were fantastic,” commended head coach Lars Jorgensen. “Becca (Hamperian) and Seb (Masterton) were both really, really good. And the girls’ relays were really phenomenal…Overall, a fantastic day for the Cats. Like I said, Ted (Hautau) did a great job with the divers, and I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Hamperian started things off on the right foot for the Wildcats with a reprise of her performance from last year when she finished runner-up in the 1-meter dive. Hamperian had the second seed going into the finals and stayed consistent, hitting a personal best of 333.75 to earn silver. Her mark now stands as second on UK’s all-time list, behind only Taryn Ignacio’s 2007 score of 337.60. The women had a solid showing across the board, with Courtney Clark and Kailey Francetic placing 12th and 13th with 268.80 and 266.65 points, respectively, while Maddie Gordon finished 20th with 245.45 points.
“I think our young guys, our freshmen, just came out here and had a good mental outlook on the meet. They were consistent and they had fun,” noted diving coach Hautau.
The women started off the meet with the 200 medley relay, in which Danielle Galyer, Kendra Crew, Haley McInerny and Geena Freriks finished eighth overall in 1:38.58. Three of the four swimmers teamed up later in the evening for the 800 free relay, which saw the lineup of Galyer, Freriks, Kendal Casey and McInerny break Kentucky’s record in the event and notch an NCAA A cut in 7:05.68, earning a sixth-place finish overall. Furthermore, Galyer’s leadoff 200 free split of 1:46.29 was a personal record for the junior that broke UK’s standard in the event by a tenth of a second.
The men also earned a silver medal when freshman diver Masterton finished second on the 3-meter springboard with a personal-best 408.10 points, just over three points away from claiming the overall title. Masterton moves up to second on UK’s all-time list behind Greg Ferrucci, and breaks his freshman record of 400.55 points set in 2011. Also scoring for the men in the 3-meter was Noah Richter, who placed 19th with 290.40 points.
“Seb, you could see right from the beginning of the year that he’s just got a real good mental edge,” said Hautau. “For him just to go in there and go on his head six times, it was awesome. And he was in a position to win, and he was going for it, so I loved that. The way he looked in that moment, he liked it, and I told him he would like this environment.”
Kentucky placed 10th in the 200 medley relay behind the lineup of Walker Thaning, George Greenhalgh, Matt Roman and Cobe Garcia in 1:27.18. Earlier in the day, Greenhalgh and Garcia had both competed in time trials and posted impressive times in the 100 breast and 50 free, respectively. Greenhalgh shattered his own record in the 100 breast by a second, finishing in 52.51 seconds and moved up to ninth in the nation in the event with an NCAA B cut. Garcia went sub-20 for the first time in his career, swimming a 19.86 that is just .06 seconds outside UK’s top-10 list but places Garcia at 31st in the nation and second among collegiate freshmen with a B cut.
The men capped off the meet with another NCAA B cut in the 800 free relay, with the quartet of Sean Gunn, Scott Crosthwaite, Kyle Higgins and Isaac Jones just missing out on the UK record by a second in 6:24.65, good for sixth in the meet. Additionally, Gunn’s leadoff time of 1:35.82 moves the junior up to fifth on Kentucky’s all-time list.
LSU
LSU combined to break three school records on the opening day of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Tuesday evening at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The LSU relay team of Danielle Stirrat, Megan Cox, Kara Kopcso and Leah Troskot set the school record, finished fourth and earned an NCAA ‘A’ Cut in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:04.77.
The men’s team of Logan Rysemus, Silas Dejean, Alex Linge and Joao Mescolote broke the school record in the 200-medley with a time of 1:25.92.
Sophomore Jake Markham closed out the first day with a 200 free split time of 1:35.09 to set the school record. The men finished the 800 freestyle relay in 10th place with a time of 6:28.64.
“When you walk away from the first night with three school records there isn’t a lot to complain about,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “We were also able to put some freshmen in position to gain valuable experience not only for the rest of the week but for their future development. It’s a long week and there is a ton of racing left, but we certainly started with some positive momentum.”
The LSU women sit in fourth place with a total score of 133. The men are in 10th place with a score of 105. The squad returns to action for prelims at 10 a.m. CT Wednesday.
LSU opened the swimming portion of SEC’s with the Lady Tigers finishing sixth overall in the 200-medley relay. The team of Caley Oquist, Colleen O’Neil, Kopcso and Haylee Knight finished the event in 1:37.69.
On the diving side, the men and women competed on three-meter and one-meter respectively. Allie Alter led the Lady Tigers with a score of 261.20 for a 14th-place finish. Senior Cassie Weil finished 16th with a score of 252.55 and sophomore Madison Sthamann finished 17th with a mark of 252.15.
For the men, junior Andrew Suchla just missed returning for finals with an 11th-place finish and a score of 332.95. In their first postseason appearance as Tiger divers, Matt McClellan finished 22nd (284.55) and Matthew Phillip finished 28th (259.20).
“We had some missed opportunities and took advantage of some others,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “We had some spots where we were in a position to get into the finals. We are looking forward to building off of today. This is the hardest day, and we can focus on one event at a time from here on out.”
Missouri
The Mizzou men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams set two school records Tuesday (Feb. 16) during day one action of the 2016 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatics Center. The men sit second 151 points, while the women are seventh with 122 points.
The Auburn men (170) lead the field, followed by Mizzou, Florida (145), Tennessee (141), Alabama (140), Texas A&M (136), Georgia (122), Kentucky (114), South Carolina (114) and LSU (105). On the women’s side, Kentucky is in first with 154 points, while Tennessee is second (154), Georgia third (149), LSU fourth (133), Texas A&M fifth (132) and Florida sixth (127). After Mizzou in seventh are South Carolina (112) and Arkansas (112) in eighth, Auburn in 10th, Alabama in 11th and Vanderbilt in 12th.
Mizzou opened the meet with a good day in the diving well, as three Tigers advanced to Tuesday night finals. On men’s 3-meter, senior Clark Thomas placed sixth and freshman Kyle Goodwin finished eighth, with finals scores of 386.95 and 364.25, respectively. In prelims, Thomas notched a season-high 418.75 points, his highest total on the board since last year’s SEC Championships.
The Tiger women earned points from sophomore Madeline McKernan in the women’s 1-meter final, as she took eighth with a score of 293.10, which bettered her prelims tally of 280.15.
In the first swimming race of the event, the women’s 200 medley relay team of junior Nadine Laemmler, redshirt senior Abby Duncan, freshman Maddie Gehrke and sophomore Hannah Stevens clocked a school record time of 1:36.42 to place fourth overall.
Mizzou’s men’s 200 medley relay team of senior Dillon Love, juniors Fabian Schwingenschlogl and Andrew Sansoucie and redshirt senior Matthew Margritier finished fifth after a swim of 1:24.88.
The Tiger men clocked their first school record of the meet in the 800 free relay, where junior Michael Chadwick, freshman Mikel Schreuders and juniors Nick Davis and Carter Griffin recorded a time of 6:19.17, more than three and a half seconds faster than the old mark.
In the women’s 800 free relay, the squad of senior Anna Patterson and sophomores Sharli Brady, Rachel Hayden and Kira Zubar placed ninth overall in an NCAA ‘B’ time of 7:08.65.
South Carolina
A school record swim and three strong diving performances highlighted the University of South Carolina's opening night on day one of the 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, hosted by the University of Missouri. After the first of five days of competition, both Carolina teams sit in eighth place.
The Carolina men are tied for eighth with Kentucky, at 114 points. Auburn leads the men's competition through four events, with 170 points.
On the women's side, the Gamecocks share eighth with Arkansas, at 112 points. Tennessee and Kentucky share the lead, at 154, with Georgia's 149 right on their heels.
Carolina's school record came in their next-to-last event of the night, the women's 800-yard freestyle relay. Heather Merritt, Emma Barksdale, Meredith Vay and Taylor Worrell set the mark with a cumulative swim of 7:10.28.
HEAD SWIMMING COACH McGee Moody - "We were okay. We've got to be better, I think. We were good in some areas. The women's 800 free relay was a school record, which we were proud of, but I think we've got some areas we need to improve on." -- On his team's overall effort on the first day
"I thought our diving was outstanding tonight. The ladies did a great job, placing fourth and sixth, and Jordan did a great job. He went into finals seeded eighth and came out of finals seeded fourth. So I am proud of those guys. They kept us in the battle tonight." -- On the great finishes by the divers
"We've got to be sharp tomorrow. This is the SEC Championships. If you're off even the slightest little bit, it shows up in a big way. We'll be ready to go tomorrow." -- On the improvements that need to be made tomorrow
"We have to view prelims (on Wednesday) like it's a championship final. If you're not at your best in the morning here, you're not going to come back at night. You don't get to put points on the board. So we've got to be sharp in the morning. We've got to wake up and get going and be ready to race, and I think we will." -- On the keys to Wednesday's competition
HEAD DIVING COACH Todd Sherritt - "It's a great day and a great way to start off. We had some phenomenal performances today. Lauren Lamendola did a great job today. The field was much stronger than last year, but she did great to put together two lists. Julia Vincent -- same thing. She was very, very solid. I'm pretty happy; a lot of the objectives we were working on, we accomplished. Jordan Gotro -- what a great finish he had. He snuck into finals and then worked his way into fourth. It's a lot of fun to see someone like him do that, because he's worked really hard this year." -- On his three finalists from Tuesday
MEN'S RECAP
Carolina started the SEC Championships with a ninth place result in the 200-yard medley relay. Jonathan Boland, Nils Wich-Glasen, Kevin Leitholdand Patrick McCrillis swam the race in 1:26.79, the third-best mark in program history.
Jordan Gotro rallied twice on Tuesday for a fourth place finish in the 3-meter dive. Gotro's final score was 389.20, and he rose from eighth to fourth on the strength of his final two dives, with his last effort, a Reverse 1 1/2 Somersault 3 1/2 Twist Free, chalking up a 78.75. Gotro also staged a comeback in prelims, advancing from 16th after four rounds to the last finals position after two strong closing dives.
The last race of the night was the 800-yard freestyle relay, where Carolina placed sixth. Kevin Leithold, Akaram Mahmoud, Tomas Peribonio and Wich-Glasen combined for a time of 6:24.43, fourth-fastest in program history.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Two Gamecocks advanced to the finals of the first women's event, the 1-meter dive. Lauren Lamendola led the way for Carolina with a fourth place result, scoring a total of 317.45. Her best dive of finals was her Forward 2 1/2 Somersault Pike, which received a 59.80. Julia Vincent finished sixth in the event with a cumulative score of 308.95, paced by a Reverse 1 1/2 Somersault 1 1/2 Twist Free that received a 58.50.
Carolina finished 12th in the meet's first swimming event, the 200-yard medley relay. Ashleigh Ferguson, Kersten Dirrane, Mairyn Branaman and Taylor Vincent finished in 1:41.46, the third-fastest time in school history.
The Gamecocks came through with a school record in the final swim of the night, the 800-yard freestyle relay. Merritt, Barksdale, Vay and Worrell's time of 7:10.28 beat the previous Gamecock record by less than a second.
Tennessee
The Tennessee women's team kept its winning tradition going in the medley relays to open the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Tuesday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Tennessee's team of Kira Toussaint, Madeline Banic, Harper Bruens and Faith Johnson won the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute, 35.86 seconds over Texas A&M and Georgia to defend their title in the event and set a pool record.
The Tennessee women have had a the winning edge in medley relays in recent years. Since 2010, the team has won SEC titles the 200 medley relay five times and the 400 medley three times. A veteran on the anchor freestyle leg, Johnson has been a part of three 200 medley relay winners in her career.
"It's nice to see that the team expects to win," Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich said. "That's been an evolution. They've passed that on to the freshmen who come in. We've been fortunate to have people with skill in 50s of strokes. We had four great splits."
Through the first six events of the meet, Tennessee is tied with Kentucky for first in the women's standings with 154 points. In the men's team standings, The UT men are fourth with 141 points and Auburn is ahead with 170 points.
Tennessee's men were represented on the podium opening night by Mauricio Robles, who surged in the second half of his diving list to take bronze on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 402.85.
After missing his second and third dives, Robles found himself in eighth place. He dove his way back into competition in the last three dives -- including a 86.70 on his fifth dive -- to earn his seventh career SEC medal.
"It just shows what he's made of, his character and competitiveness to bounce back and get on the awards stand," Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. "It was great for him to do that, given the circumstances."
The Vols took fourth in the men's 200-medley relay, but the team of Sean Lehane, Peter John Stevens, Tyler Millsand Kyle DeCoursey matched the school record of 1:24.09 that they set last year when they won the event.
Women's 1-Meter Springboard: Qualifying for her first final in her first collegiate conference competition, freshman Rachel Rubadue placed seventh on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 296.60. Senior Sarah Chewningmissed out on the evening finals by less than eight points, giving the Vols a 10th-place finish with a score of 272.70.
"I was very pleased with Rachel's performance getting in that final and finishing seventh, where she was in the prelims," Parrington said. "It was a real stead performance from her all day. I know she learned a lot of lessons.
"Sarah did a phenomenal job. She missed a dive that was uncharacteristic that knocked her out of the final, but she still did a nice job finishing 10th and putting points on the board."
Women's 200 Medley Relay: The team of Kira Toussaint, Madeline Banic, Harper Bruens and Faith Johnsonsuccessfully defended their title in the 200 medley relay, winning in 1:35.86. Johnson has won the 200 medley relay three times in her four-year career while swimming the anchor leg. It is the fifth fastest time in program history.
Additionally interesting? Banic stepped up to swim the breaststroke leg, an event the freshman does not compete in individually.
"I've been working on the breaststroke a lot in practice," Banic said. "It's definitely a new thing. I don't swim that individually, but stepping up on the blocks and having no pressure because it's my fun stroke. I just love doing it, and I don't do it very often. It makes the relay so much better."
Kredich said: "The breaststroke is her fourth-best stroke, but she happens to have great pullouts and good speed and she's a quick learner."
Men's 200 Medley Relay: Tennessee team of Sean Lehane, Peter John Stevens, Tyler Mills and Kyle DeCourseyfinished fourth in 1:24.09 to match the program record set last year when the Vols won the event. It is an NCAA automatic qualifying time.
"The fact that we got fourth shouldn't overshadow four good performances," Kredich said. "Tyler Mills being able to put his name in the school record book is a great story. He's a walkon from Johnson City and just wanted a chance. Now he's setting a new standard for our team.
"Kyle DeCoursey's split at the end (18.86) is something you'd expect from a senior, but the fact we got that from a freshman is pretty awesome."
Men's 3-Meter Springboard: With a strong finish on his last three dives, Mauricio Robles bounced from eighth to third place with a final score of 402.85. Robles missed his second and third dives and found himself in eighth at the midway point. His final three dives were for 70 points or higher, scoring 86.70 on his fifth dive. He now has seven career medals in the SEC meet.
"It was an uncharacteristic miss by Mauricio on his second dive, which put him in a hole," Parrington said. "Then he missed his third dive a little bit, which is a bit iffier. It put him in a big hole, but he had a furious comeback."
Nick Rusek finished 18th (293.00) and Michael Howell was 20th (290.20) in the prelims to score a combined 13 points for the Vols.
Women's 800 Freestyle Relay: The team of Madeline Tegner, Faith Johnson, Harper Bruens and Mary Griffithfinished fifth in the 800 freestyle relay in 7:04.89, an NCAA automatic qualifying time.
Men's 800 Freestyle Relay: The Tennessee team of Joey Reilman, Sean Lehane, Sam McHugh and Gustav Aberg Lejdstrom closed out the night with a fifth-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay in 6:24.34, an NCAA B-cut time.
Texas A&M Men
Texas A&M freshman diver Sam Thornton struck gold with a win in the three-meter springboard to highlight the Aggies’ first day at the 2016 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Tuesday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Thornton, from Baildon, United Kingdom, tallied the Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team’s third SEC individual championship since joining the league in 2012. The other two SEC crowns came from diver Ford McLiney on his way to SEC Diver of the Meet honors in 2014.
Thornton posted a score of 411.15 to edge out Kentucky’s Sebastian Masterton by 3.05 points. Thornton was amazingly consistent in the final with five of six dives producing a 60-point plus score, including three 70-point plus efforts. Thornton iced his victory with a dazzling 72.20 score on his final dive of the night.
“It’s really hard to believe,” Thornton said. “There are so many great divers in the SEC and to being able to get the victory at my first conference meet is a huge honor. I missed on a couple of dives in the prelims, but I was able to feed off the extra adrenaline and pressure in the finals to put together a clean list. It’s an honor to be able to add to the great diving tradition that guys like Ford McLiney and Grant Nel have built at Texas A&M.”
After day one at the SEC Championships, the Aggies stand in sixth place with 136 points. The Aggies were chasing first-day leader Auburn (170 points) followed by Missouri (151), Florida (145), Tennessee (141) and Alabama (140). Rounding out the leaderboard were Georgia (122), Kentucky (114), South Carolina (114) and LSU (105).
The Aggies’ 200-yard medley relay turned in one of the fastest times in school history with the foursome of sophomore Brock Bonetti, sophomore Mauro Castillo, sophomore Justin Morey and junior Jacob Gonzales touching in 1:25.06 while finishing in eighth place. The time ranks No. 4 in school history.
A&M’s 800 freestyle relay of freshman Angel Martinze, senior Antoine Marc, senior Mateo Muzek and junior Turker Ayar placed 10th in a season-best time of 6:29.78.
Texas A&M Women
The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team scored a pair of runner-up relay finishes to highlight the Aggies’ first day at the 2016 SEC Championships on Tuesday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The No. 5-ranked Aggies stand in fifth place in the team standings with 132 points. Ahead of the Aggies in the standings were Kentucky (154 points), Tennessee (154), Georgia (149) and LSU (133). Rounding out the standings were Florida (127), Missouri (122), Arkansas (112), South Carolina (112), Auburn (106), Alabama (99) and Vanderbilt (62).
The Aggies opened the evening finals with a narrow second-place finish to Tennessee in the 200-yard medley relay. The A&M foursome of sophomore Beryl Gastaldello, junior Sycerika McMahon, junior Sarah Gibson and freshman Lexie Lupton touched in a time of 1:36.13 just behind the Lady Vols’ winning time of 1:35.86. The time moved the A&M quartet to No. 3 on the school’s all-time performers list.
A&M were also second in the 800-yard free relay with the foursome of freshman Claire Rasmus, senior Meredith Oliver, sophomore Kristin Malone and Gibson turning in a season-best time of 7:01.00.
The Aggies also received first-day points from junior diver Madison Hudkins, who placed ninth in the one-meter dive with a score of 274.80.
