KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee swimming and diving program will welcome three teams to the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center this weekend as Purdue, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt come to Knoxville.
The Vols (4-0, 1-0 SEC) and Lady Vols (4-0, 1-0) are set to square off against Purdue (1-1) on Friday at 11 a.m. before split squad meets Saturday against Georgia Tech (0-1) and Vanderbilt (1-3). The men’s team will take on Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. before the Lady Vols’ meet versus Vandy at 3 p.m.
Admission to every regular season meet is free, but Tennessee’s clear bag policy will be in effect. For fans unable to attend, live results will be available through the Meet Mobile app and DiveMeets.com.
Both the Lady Vols and Vols enter the weekend ranked in the TYR/CSCAA poll top 10 at No. 3 and No. 10, respectively. Both squads have started the season fast, defeating then ranked No. 2/4 Virginia at home on Oct. 19 and No. 11/13 Louisville on the road Oct. 24.
At the 2019 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the Vols finished 11th ahead of both Purdue and Georgia Tech as the Boilermakers placed 23rd and the Yellow Jackets finished 24th.
The Lady Vols finished eighth at NCAAs, ahead of Purdue who placed 26th and Vanderbilt who did not send any athletes to nationals.
TOP TIMES MEN
- Alec Connolly is ninth in the 50 free (19.92) and fifth in the 100 free (43.55)
- Senior Taylor Abbott sits 12th nationally in the 500 free at 4:25.29
- Michael Houlie holds the nation’s No. 2 time in the 100 breaststroke at 53.09
- The Vols’ 400 free relay of Seth Bailey, Nolan Briggs, Josh Walsh and Connolly is No. 6 nationally with a time of 2:57.03
- UT has the fourth-best time in the nation in the 200 medley relay at 1:26.66, courtesy of Matthew Garcia, Houlie, Braga Verhage and Connolly
- Garcia, Houlie, Verhage and Connolly also hold down the country’s eighth-quickest 400 medley relay with a converted time of 3:16.13
- On the diving side, Will Hallam holds the nation’s seventh best 1-meter score at 342.53 while he sits 13th nationally in the 3-meter with a score of 363.38
TOP TIMES WOMEN
- SwimSwam’s October Swimmer of the Month, Erika Brown is No. 1 nationally in the 100 free at 48.17, No. 2 in the 50 free (21.96) and 100 butterfly (51.12), ninth in the 100 backstroke at 53.03 and 14th in the 50 back (25.06).
- Bailey Grinter joins Brown in the top 15 of the 50 free with a time of 22.59
- Meghan Small is fifth overall in the 50 back, turning in a time of 24.62 and holds the No. 11 time in the 100 back at 53.20. The senior is ninth in the 200 back with a season-best time of 1:55.06 and ninth in the 200 IM at 1:58.94
- Junior Alexis Yager ranks fifth in the country in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:11.36
- Trude Rothrock currently places 10th in the nation in the 100 fly, going 52.92 against Virginia
- Mallory Beil holds down the 14th-fastest time in the 100 fly at 53.18
- Joining Small in the 200 IM is Tess Cieplucha who locks down the nation’s No. 12 time at 1:59.27 going into the weekend
- The Lady Vols’ 400 free relay of Grinter, Tjasa Pintar, Rothrock and Stanzi Moseley is fourth nationally, turning in a time of 3:17.50
- Small, Nikol Popov, Moseley and Brown lead UT’s 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.83, which lands them at fifth overall
- Grace Cable is 12th nationally on the 1-meter springboard with a top score of 282.45 while sitting third nationally on 3-meter with a score of 343.50
UP NEXT
Following a week of training, UT will host the Tennessee Invitational Nov. 21-23. The Vols will once against test themselves against some of the nation’s best programs as No. 6/18 Indiana, No. 4/13 Virginia, No. 12/14 Georgia and in-state foe Carson-Newman come to town.
