Arkansas vs. Tennesee
- January 16, 2025
- Knoxville, Tenn. — Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Scores: #5 Tennessee, 164 def. NR Arkansas, 72
The #5 Tennesee women had no trouble with the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks, improving to five-straight dual meet wins against SEC teams. They won every event in the pool at this meet, which featured some untraditional dual meet events like the 1650 freestyle, 400 IM, and 200 freestyle relay.
Mona McSharry dove in for her second dual meet of the season as the Lady Volunteers steamrolled Arkansas. McSharry surprised for bronze in the women’s 100 breaststroke at the Paris Olympics and took the first semester of her fifth year at Tennessee off to travel. She made her return to the lineup last weekend’s win against Alabama. There, she clocked 1:00.67 in the 100 breaststroke and swam on Tennessee’s 200 freestyle and medley relays.
Once again, she only swam one individual event. However, at this meet she primarily focused on her sprint freestyle events, her main specialization besides breaststroke in the yards pool. She tied for the 50 freestyle title with Jillian Crooks, as the teammates touched the wall together in 22.94. That was her only individual event of the day; she secured another victory in the 200 free relay. McSharry split 23.07 as Sara Stotler (23.92), she, Camille Spink (21.94), and Julia Mrozinski (23.25) combined to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:32.19. She did get some breaststroke racing, splitting 27.60 on the breaststroke leg of Tennessee’s 200 medley ‘B’ relay.
Spink was the only swimmer to win two individual events on the day as she kept a strong sophomore campaign rolling. She first won the 200 freestyle with a 1:45.74, leading a dominant display by Tennessee as the team swept the top four spots in the event. Next, she won the 100 freestyle in 48.35 and was the only athlete in the field to break 50 seconds.
Freshman Emily Brown has lowered her 400 IM personal best twice already this season. After hitting a 4:13.17 at the Tennessee Invite, she clocked 4:13.07 at the Volunteers’ dual against Alabama last week. She was about a half-second away from that time against Arkansas, collecting the win in 4:13.68. Kate McCarville won the 1650 freestyle with a 16:16.88, just over two seconds from her season-best, rounding out the untraditional dual meet events.
Olympian Ella Jansen won the 500 freestyle (4:46.22). Stotler (100 fly, 54.73), Lexi Stephens (100 back, 53.50), and Hannah Marinovich (100 breast, 1:02.52) took care of the 100s of stroke for the Volunteers.
Arkansas did not pick up any wins in the pool, but Maria Jose Sanchez swept the boards for the team. She scored 304.88 points to win the 1-meter and was the only diver to break 300 on the board. Then, she earned 330.98 points to come away victorious on the 3-meter board.
Though the Razorbacks didn’t win any events in the pool, they did collect several second-place finishes. Sydney Craft (1650 free, 16:52.49), Holly Robinson (400 IM, 4:23.53), and Bradi Jones (100 breast, 1:05.01) all touched second for Arkansas. Tennessee swept the top two spots in the 200 medley relay, but Delaney Harrison, Allie Thorne, Bara Matoskova, and Eleonora Camisa collected second-place in the 200 freestyle relay to finish the meet.
Up Next
The Arkansas women have a quick turnaround. On Friday, Jan. 17, they head to Nashville to face Vanderbilt, another SEC opponent. Tennessee’s streak of winning SEC dual meets will face its toughest test so far on Saturday, Jan. 26, as the team hosts Georgia.
The Tennessee football team appreciates the Lady Vols’ payback to Arkansas. Perhaps Coach Kredich can offer a few play to Coach Heupel next season? Matt is the master coach. Congratulations to the team and coaches.