Tennessee Sweeps South Carolina

The Tennessee swimming and diving team continued to defend the home waters with a 184-115 win over South Carolina Friday. The Big Orange are now a perfect 6-0 at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
 
“We had a great meet today,” head coach John Trembley said. “We have a lot of guys who are hitting their groove and really starting to swim well.”
 
To begin Friday’s contest, the SEC Diver of the Week showed why he has won the distinction three times already this season. Sophomore-sensation Ryan Helms won (388.50) the one-meter springboard event with a career-best and pool record performance. He now leads the conference in both the one- and three-meter events. Freshman Jordan Mauney also had his best performance this year with a 299.85, second-place score and senior Michael Muscari earned a 293.93 and finished third.
 
“The highlight of our day was Helms’ performance on the one-meter,” diving coach Dave Parrington said. “This is the best one-meter list he has done this year and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
 
Helms mark was just short of Jevon Tarantino’s school record of 388.65, set in 2004.
 
The Vols dominated the 200 medley relay with two teams tying for first place. The first team consisted of Chris Winchell, Brad Craig, Michael DeRocco and Herbie Behm and the second was Ricky Henahan, Mattias Kahlin, Giles Smith and Paschall Davis. Both squads finished first with a 1:31.72 time.
 
After winning his first career event last week, junior Carl Jones finished second in the 1000 freestyle at 9:31.57. Freshman and Knoxville native Michael Zaczyk finished third (9:42.94).
 
Again Ryan Harrison dominated the 200 freestyle, winning the event for the third time in four meets with a 1:39.76 mark. Sophomore Jake Epperson finished fourth (1:44.01) and junior Scott Friderichs placed seventh (1:45.31).
 
Still undefeated this season in the 100 backstroke, Ricky Henahan notched a 49.16 time for his fourth win in the event this year. Winchell placed third (51.63) while sophomore Anders Storvik finished fourth (52.57).
 
Storvik’s swims were noteworthy Friday as he competed with his arm in a cast.
 
“Anders Storvik swam like a warrior today,” Trembley said. “We need more guys to be like him. He was the competitor of our meet today.”
 
Craig got the win in the 100 breaststroke with a 56.07 time with Kahlin in third at 57.15. Sophomore Derek Paul placed sixth (59.59).
 
DeRocco earned the win in the 50 freestyle at 20.72 with Walsh in a close second (21.08). Behm placed fifth (21.48).
 
With his first collegiate win, Walsh grabbed the top spot in the 100 freestyle at 45.92. DeRocco placed second (45.97) with Storvik in fourth (47.25).
 
“I have been waiting for it for the last three weeks so it was great to finally get my first win,” Walsh said. “Now I am ready for my second win at the [Tennessee Invitational]. We have been working on our finishing and today it counted. The little things are starting to pay off.”
 
Earning his second win on the day, Craig won (2:01.17) the 200 breaststroke by more than two seconds. Epperson placed third (2:06.96) and Paul finished sixth (2:16.64).
 
After being tapped out at the wall earlier in the meet, Smith earned his first collegiate victory in the 100 butterfly. At 49.25, Smith’s time ranks sixth in the SEC. DeRocco finished second (50.01) with Leary in fifth (52.77).
 
“It was a great feeling,” Smith said. “Ed and I have been talking and we both were saying we were going to win really soon so it was great to finally get it. I know I have a long way to go before the end of the season though.”
 
“Our freshmen came in as a heralded class,” Trembley said. “We have expected them to step up and compete and they have showed a lot of improvement. I am very proud of those two young men who earned their first win today.”
 
On the three-meter, Helms came back after a rough first dive to remain perfect on the year with a 388.88 score to win. Muscari posted an excellent list and finished third (338.63) and Mauney placed fifth (318.38).
 
“After my first dive I was a little confused,” Helms said. “I felt like the dive was going to go great. But after that I didn’t change up my mindset because I went into it feeling like I should before a dive. I just forgot about it and took one dive at a time.”
 
To wrap up the meet, Tennessee earned the top two spots in the 200 free relay. Henahan, Walsh, Craig and Davis won the event for the Vols at 1:24.22. In second place was the team of Kahlin, Behm, Storvik and Smith at 1:24.32.
 
Tennessee is now 20-2 all-time against the Gamecocks and 12-0 against South Carolina in Knoxville. The Vols are now 4-0 (3-0 SEC) on the season and are off until the Tennessee Invitational, which begins Nov. 18.



Led by freshman Kelsey Floyd’s three victories, the Tennessee women’s swimming and diving team improved to 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference with a 179-121 win over South Carolina on Friday afternoon at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
 
With many Lady Vol swimmers competing in events different from normal, Floyd was outstanding for the second straight meet.
 
The reigning SEC Female Freshman of the Week placed first in two individual events and earned a runner-up finish. She edged sophomore Jenny Connolly, 2:01.32 – 2:01.47, to win the 200y fly, and touched first in the 200y back (1:59.25) – missing an NCAA ‘B’ cut by just one one-hundredth of a second. Later in the meet, Connolly bested Floyd as the pair went 1-2 in the 200y back with readouts of 55.03 and 55.68, respectively. 
 
“Kelsey just keeps getting better,” Lady Vol head coach Matt Kredich said. “Kelsey, Morgan Farrell, Aleksa Akerfelds and Breanna Folk all stepped up and were all really focused today. We changed it up and had different people swim different events. The team’s focus was better than last week and that was our main goal.”
 
Akerfelds, a junior, snagged a pair of individual event wins, taking first in the 400y IM (4:23.28) and the 1000y free (10:02.03). Additionally, the Bronxville, N.Y., native claimed second-place honors in the 100y free (52.29).
 
Senior Michele King continued her dominant final collegiate season by taking first in the 50y free (23.04) and second in the 200y free (1:52.66).
 
King also teamed with Connolly, junior Morgan Farrell and sophomore Atlantis Wilkins to kick off the meet with a winning 200y medley relay performance (1:44.34).
 
Farrell captured her first-ever collegiate win in the 100y back (56.50), barely touching the wall before classmate Tricia Weaner (56.76).
 
Floyd wasn’t the only impressive freshman, as Folk took first in the 100y breast in 1:03.56, leading a UT sweep with sophomores Samara Gelb (1:04.47) and Kirstyn Colonias (1:07.41) finishing second and third, respectively.
 
Tennessee’s only other event winner was sophomore Tori Richmond, who placed first in the 200y breast (2:19.35).
 
The Gamecocks picked up a sweep on the boards, as junior Taryn Zack broke her own pool record (310.35) on the 1-meter and classmate Courtney Forcucci also set a new AJIAC mark on the 3-meter (330.23).
 
Sophomores Gabrielle Trudeau and Jodie McGroarty led UT’s efforts in the diving competition. Trudeau was second on the 1-meter (269.48), while McGroarty picked up an NCAA Zone qualifying score (289.50) en route to placing third on the 3-meter.
 
“I’m very pleased with how we competed on the 1-meter,” Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. “Zack is the defending SEC Champion in that event and she dove like it. It was good to see Gabbi fight and scrape for second-place. It also was good to see Jodie get a zone score on the 3-meter. She is on a dive limit since coming back and just needs to get some more meets under her belt.”
 
South Carolina’s Claire Thompson was a double event winner, claiming the 200y free (1:51.37) and 500y free (5:00.02).
 
Also capturing a swimming event for the Gamecocks was Sharntelle McLean, as she touched first in the 100y free (51.94).
 
With the meet already clinched by UT, South Carolina capped the afternoon by out-touching the Big Orange in the 200y free relay (1:36.11).
 
The Lady Vols will be back in action from Nov. 19-21, when it hosts the UT Invitational at the AJIAC in Knoxville.



South Carolina junior divers Taryn Zack and Courtney Forcucci set the pool records in their respective events in Friday's meet at the University of Tennessee, winning the 1- and 3-meter boards, respectively, in the Gamecocks' dual-meet loss to the Volunteers.  The Tennessee men took a 184-115 win over the Gamecocks, while the Lady Vols downed Carolina's women 179-121.

Zack, the 2009 SEC Champion on the 1-meter board, amassed a total of 310.35 in the 1-meter event, soaring past the Lady Vols'
Gabrielle Trudeau by more than 40 points to pick up her second event victory of the season. She broke her own pool record at the two-
year-old Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, which she set in March at the NCAA Zone B regional competition.

Forcucci, a transfer from Houston, continued her undefeated streak on the 3-meter board with a score of 330.23, helping Carolina go
1-2 in that event with Zack as the runner-up. The junior from Fort Mill, S.C., also set the new pool's high-water mark with her score.

Another strong performance on the boards came from sophomore Ryan Kuser, who earned his spot in the NCAA Zone B regionals
with a score of 336.23 on the 3-meter board, finishing fourth in the event. Freshman Rylan Ridenour was the runner-up on the 3-meter
board with a 357.00.

The Gamecocks also got several strong performances in the pool. Most notably, the Gamecock women earned their first relay victory
of the season as Sharntelle McLean, Bridget Halligan, Kristina Delp and Claire Thompson took first in the 200 freestyle relay,
touching the wall in 1:36.14. McLean was also impressive in her own right, getting a win in the 100 freestyle (51.94) and finishing
second in the 50 free (23.66).

Claire Thompson continued her string of strong performances with a win in the 200 freestyle (1:51.37) and the 500 freestyle (5:00.02)
and a runner-up showing in the 1000 free (10:07.15). Christine Thompson was the runner-up in the 500 free (5:04.15) and finished
third in both the 200 and 1000 free.

On the men's side, Carolina kept seeing its underclassmen come up big in the distance events. On their first try swimming the 400
individual medley this season, freshman Michael Flach and sophomore Chris Kelly went 1-2 with Flach touching in 3:59.12 and Kelly
in 4:05.63. Flach also won the 200 butterfly (1:51.20) and took second in the 200 free (1:40.16).

Fellow freshman Brooks Ross continued his dominance in the 1000 free, winning by seven seconds over his nearest competitor with a
time of 9:24.68. He also took first in the 500 free (4:37.49), earning season-best times in both events.

Sophomore James Crawford won big in the 200 backstroke, touching first in 1:49.57. He would also take second in the 100 back
(50.76). Freshman Bobby Cave kept things close against the nation's top breaststroker, Tennessee's Brad Craig, but took second in
both events with a 57.07 in the 100 breast and a 2:03.69 in the 200.

The Gamecock men fell to 1-4 on the season, 1-1 in SEC competition. The Carolina women are 0-5 overall, 0-2 in the SEC.

South Carolina will have two weeks off from competition before some of the nation's best descend on Columbia for the three-day
Gamecock Invitational. That meet begins on Thursday, Nov. 19, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Carolina Natatorium.