AAC – Women & Men
- Wednesday, February 27 – Saturday, March 2
- IU Natatorium, IUPUI, Indianapolis, Indiana (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Cincinnati men (1x) & Houston women (2x) (results)
- Live results
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
The 2019 AAC Swimming and Diving Championships started tonight with a brief evening session consisting of a diving event (women’s 1m, men’s 3m), and the 800 free and 200 medley relays. Such a short session didn’t produce much difference in the team scores, as the Houston women took a small lead, while the East Carolina and Cincinnati men are essentially tied.
Women’s Recap
Team Standings After Day 1
1. Houston – 116
2. SMU – 106
2. UConn – 106
4. Cincinnati – 77
5. Tulane – 69
6. East Carolina – 61
Houston got a start on winning their third consecutive AAC title, winning both relays for a 10-point margin over tied second place SMU and UConn. SMU’s Kathryn Crown started the meet off with a win on 1 meter with a score of 309.45. Crown outdueled UConn’s Monica Marcello (298.15), as both women exceeded the meet record.
Houston then took over in the 800 freestyle relay. The team of Mykenzie Leehy (1:46.57), Samantha Medlin (1:48.41), Morgan Rosas (1:49.70), and Zarena Brown (1:46.49) took the title in a palindromic 7:11.17. That was good enough to win by 4.65 seconds over second place Tulane (7:15.82). Brown and Medlin were the two fastest splits in the field, with Tulane anchor Michelle Zelnick (1:47.35) next best.
In the final event of the short first session, the 200 medley relay, Houston won again in a time of 1:37.47, winning by just 0.18 over SMU as Leehy doubled back to drop a 21.97 anchor for the comeback win. Houston’s team was Laura Laderoute (24.79), Peyton Kondis (26.78), Katie Higgins (23.93), and Leehy. Leehy’s heroics were only made possible after Erin Trahan pulled SMU into the lead on the butterfly with a sick 22.62 split.
Men’s Recap
Team Standings After Day 1
1. East Carolina – 119
2. Cincinnati – 118
3. UConn – 94
4. SMU – 86
East Carolina and defending champ Cincinnati each got relay wins this evening, as they move into Day 2 separated by a single point. On the 3 meter board, SMU’s Parker Hardigree took the win with 337.35 and a comfortable 28.35 point margin.
Then in the 800 free relay, Cincinnati’s team of Justin Crew (1:36.81), Alexander Fortman (1:36.86), Tobias Van Dyke (1:36.28), and Din Selmanovic (1:35.32) were a model of consistency, the only team with all swimmers under 1:37, as they took the win in 6:25.27. Selmanovic had the fastest split in the race, while East Carolina’s Blaz Demsat (1:35.75) was next best, as he anchored his team past SMU in the final 50 to take second (6:28.46-6:29.15).
Finally, East Carolina won the 200 medley relay as Tristan Taylor (22.37), Jacek Arentewicz (24.00), Gustavo Santos (20.35), and Gavin Erdmann (19.47) combined for a meet record of 1:26.19. Three of those four swimmers “won” their leg: UConn’s William Kearsey had the fastest backstroke leg at a quick 21.74.
Palindromic! Nice!