2017 SEC Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2017 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, February 14 – Saturday, February 18
• Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, TN (Eastern Time Zone)
• Prelims 10AM / Finals 6PM
• Defending Champion: Florida men (4x), Texas A&M women (results)
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live results
• Live Video (finals)

The first session of the 2017 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships kicks off tonight in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. Swimmers are set to compete in the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay, while divers will compete in the men’s 1-meter and women’s 3-meter.

The Florida Gator men will be looking to extend their streak with a 5th-straight SEC Championship title, with star sprinter Caeleb Dressel returning after smashing American Records last season. We’ll also get a first look at freshman standout Maxime Rooney in his first conference championship meet.

On the women’s side, the Texas A&M Aggies are seeking back-to-back titles after dethroning the Georgia Bulldogs last season. The Aggies will field returning SEC champions Bethany Galat, Lisa Bratton, and Sarah Gibson, to name a few. Georgia will be tough to beath, though, as the Bulldogs look for redemption after having their conference title streak snapped last season. Leading the charge will be NCAA sprint champion Olivia Smoliga and All-American Chantal Van Landeghem.

MEN’S 1-METER DIVING

1. Liam Stone, Tennessee, 468.30
2. Juan Hernandez, LSU, 467.05
3. Tyler Henschel, Texas A&M, 420.65

In an extremely close contest down to the final dive, Tennessee’s Liam Stone was able to edge out LSU’s Juan Hernandez to win the first event of the SEC Championships. LSU got a huge boost from diving, as they had 3 finalists tonight. Texas A&M, who had Tyler Henschel make the medal stand with a bronze, also had 3 in tonight’s final to get off to a great start.

WOMEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY

1. Georgia- 1:35.28
2. Texas A&M- 1:35.33
3. Tennessee- 1:35.45

Texas A&M and Georgia wasted no time setting up the team battle with their performance in the 200 medley relay. The Aggies had the lead at the 150 after a 26.59 breast split from Jorie Caneta and a 23.02 fly split from Sarah Gibson, but Chantal Van Landeghem roared back for Georgia with a 21.18 anchor split to just out-touch the Aggies at the finish. Tennessee was a close 3rd, with Madeline Banic churning out a 22.74 on the fly split.

The Kentucky women were just one place shy of the podium, finishing in 1:36.76. Breaststroker Madison Winstead had a stellar performance, clocking a 26.88 on the breaststroke leg.

There were as many as 4 DQs in the 2 heats of 200 medley relays, the biggest of which was LSU, as the Tigers would’ve placed 5th. Arkansas, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt were also disqualified. Live results initially indicated that Missouri had also been disqualified, but they have since been corrected to reflect the Tigers’ 5th place finish.

MEN’S 200 MEDLEY RELAY

1. Florida- 1:23.44
2. Alabama- 1:23.52
3. Texas A&M- 1:23.91

The Florida Gators were in 7th place before Caeleb Dressel dove into the water as their freestyle anchor. Swimming fans watched as Dressel tore through the water, making his way to the finish in an incredible 17.90 50 freestyle split. At the touch, he had successfully brought the Gators back, as they won the race in 1:23.44 over Alabama (1:23.52). Bama freshman Zane Waddell threw down a fast split of his own, clocking an 18.59 free split to help the Crimson Tide earn silver.

The Texas A&M men also fielded an 18-mid anchor, as senior Cory Bolleter clocked an 18.62 to win a tight race for bronze ahead of Tennessee (1:24.08) and Missouri (1:24.11).

WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVING

1. Julia Vincent, South Carolina, 400.50
2. Lizzie Cui, LSU, 391.40
3. Madison Hudkins, Texas A&M, 365.05

South Carolina senior Julia Vincent started out her final SEC meet on a high note, winning the women’s 3-meter diving title. Texas A&M will get a boost in the team points after Madison Hudkins took bronze behind LSU’s Lizzie Cui. Auburn was the only team to have 2 in the final, with Maddie Cox and Alison Maillard picking up 7th and 8th place points respectively.

WOMEN’S 800 FREE RELAY

1. Texas A&M- 6:57.90
2. Kentucky- 6:59.33
3. Georgia- 7:00.44

The Texas A&M women snapped UGA’s winning streak in the 800 free relay, winning with a 6:57.90. Sarah Gibson led off in a quick 1:43.64, while Claire Rasmus brought it home in 1:43.31. The Kentucky Wildcats impressed with a 2nd place finish in 6:59.33. Freshman Asia Seidt led the charge, clocking a 1:43.89 on the 2nd leg. Georgia wound up 3rd in 7:00.44 after getting  1:44.37 leadoff split from Meaghan Raab.

MEN’S 800 FREE RELAY

1. Florida, 6:12.18
2. Auburn, 6:16.78
3. Georgia, 6:17.17

Florida closed the session with a new SEC meet record in the 800 free relay. Freshman Maxime Rooney had the fastest split of the field, turning in a 1:31.54 on the 2nd leg. Auburn came from behind to take 2nd place ahead of Georgia, with sophomore Zach Apple clocking a 1:33.74 on the 3rd leg. Georgia wound up in 3rd after a 1:33.83 leadoff from Jay Litherland.

MEN’S TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1:

  1. Texas A&M University              188   2. Florida, University of          165.5
  3. Louisiana State University        154   4. Tennessee, University of, Knox  144.5
  5. Auburn University                 128   6. South Carolina, University of,    120
  7. Alabama, University of            119   8. Kentucky, University of           111
  9. Georgia, University of            104  10. Missouri, University of            70

WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1:

 1. Texas A&M University              158   2. Georgia, University of            155
  3. Missouri, University of           146   4. Auburn University                 141
  5. Kentucky, University of           139   6. Tennessee, University of, Knox    132
  7. Florida, University of            116   8. South Carolina, University of,     90
  9. Alabama, University of             87  10. Louisiana State University         74
 11. Arkansas, University of, Fayet     58