Tennessee Rebounds with Victory over LSU

The Tennessee women’s swimming and diving team rebounded from a season-opening loss at Louisville to capture a 170-130 dual-meet victory over Southeastern Conference rival LSU on Saturday behind a pair of pool-record relay performances at the Bengal Tiger Aquatic Club.
 
The team of sophomore Jenny Connolly, junior Morgan Farrell and seniors Jamie Saffer and Michele King opened the meet by winning the 200y medley relay in an NCAA ‘B’ cut and pool-best time of 1:42.53.
 
Later, Connolly and King teamed with sophomore Cailin Perks and freshman Kelsey Floyd to cap the meet with a win and another pool record in the 400y free relay, clocking a ‘B’ cut time of 3:23.46.
 
“We were much better today,” Lady Vol head coach Matt Kredich said. “Saffer and King were great leaders and Jenny set a standard for our team in terms of intensity. This meet was more like our team, as we competed well and were aggressive. Those should be automatic, though, and not things we have to reach for. That’s the way we practice and it has to be the way we compete. We have some really high goals for this year and we have a lot of work to do.”
 
With the tone set from the first relay, Connolly, Saffer and King proceeded to dominate their individual events – each earning a pair of first-place finishes.
 
Connolly won the 100y back (54.48) by over a second and cruised to first in the 100y fly (55.16). 
 
Saffer captured both breast events, taking the 100y breast in an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 1:02.58 and leading a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200y breast (2:17.11), as junior Martina Moravcikova was second (2:20.59) and freshman Breanna Folk (2:20.87) placed third.
 
King won both spring free events, blasting a time of 23.06 in the 50y free and earning a ‘B’ cut in the 100y free (49.86).
 
Not to be out done by her teammates, junior Aleksa Akerfelds also won a pair of individual events.
 
The Bronxville, N.Y., native and freshman Brooke Watson placed 1-2 in the 1000y free, finishing in 10:19.66 and 10:23.55, respectively. Later Akerfelds (5:01.20) led another 1-2 result, this time teaming with sophomore Maddie Garrett (5:03.07) in the 500y free.
 
Leading the diving squad was sophomore Gabbi Trudeau and freshman Skye Sanders.
 
Trudeau placed second on the 1-meter (271.50) and third on the 3-meter (251.10), while Sanders was fourth on both the 1-meter (234.67) and the 3-meter (234.83). 
 
“I’m pleased with how we did on the boards today,” UT diving coach Dave Parrington said. “I thought Skye was solid all day and (junior) Jill Pierce continues to improve as she recovers from a shoulder injury. I was pleased with Gabbi’s performance on the 1-meter, but she was too focused on the outcome instead of the process on the 1-meter and that resulted in a subpar finish.”
 
Garrett placed second in the 200y fly (2:03.76), while junior Tricia Weaner snagged runner-up in the 200y back (1:59.80) and took third in the 100y back (56.13).
 
and Floyd also scored runner-up finishes. Folk had a readout of 2:04.76 in the 200y IM.
 
Floyd earned a second-place finish in the 100y fly (55.70) and third-place results in the 200y free (1:52.01) and the 200y back (2:00.98).
 
LSU’s Mary Beck won the 200y free (1:50.03) and the 200y IM (2:01.77). On the boards, Tigers’ diver Rebecca St, Germain swept both the 1-meter (285.14) and 3-meter (298.13) competitions.
 
The Lady Vols return to action Friday, Oct. 30, when they open their home slate at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center for a dual meet with Kentucky.



Despite a number of strong performances from several of the LSU women’s dynamic newcomers against Tennessee, including a school-record swim from sophomore Mary Beck, the Lady Volunteers (1-1, 1-1 SEC) prevailed over the Lady Tigers, 170-130, Saturday in the LSU Natatorium.

The Lady Tigers (0-1, 0-1 SEC) will return to the pool Friday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. (CT) to take on SEC rival Auburn in the LSU Natatorium.

“I’m really proud of our girls for coming out and competing,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “I give a lot of credit to Tennessee. They have a great program. For us to come out and compete at that level – winning events, getting a school record and NCAA ‘B’ cuts – that says something right now for October.

“We have a small team, but they pack a pretty good punch, so I think that bodes well for the future in terms of how I think we can do in upcoming meets as well as post-season competitions.”

It took little time for Beck to make her presence known in Baton Rouge as the superb transfer from California shattered the program record in the 200-yard backstroke and swept all three of her individual events against the Lady Vols. The sophomore swam to an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1 minute, 57.45 seconds in the 200 back to overtake fellow Lady Tiger Samantha Goates’ record time recorded last season.

Beck also swam to victory in the 200 individual medley (2:01.77) and the 200 freestyle (1:50.03). Her mark in the 200 I.M. was also an NCAA ‘B’ cut time.

However, she wasn’t the only Lady Tiger to make a splash in her first official collegiate event. Freshman Sara Haley, a 2008 Olympic Trials participant, registered the second-fastest 200-butterfly mark in school history and another NCAA provisional time, 1:58.81, to come away with a victory.

In addition, freshman diver Rebecca St. Germain swept both springboard events and qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Regional in March. The San Antonio, Texas, native posted a one-meter score of 285.14, ninth-best all-time at LSU, and tallied a three-meter total of 298.13. Fellow diver Elle Schmidt enjoyed a solid effort with a runner-up finish in the three-meter (277.42).

Freshman Amanda Kendall helped the Lady Tigers’ cause with a pair of second-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free. Moreover, sophomore Morgan McGee took second in the 100 back (55.81), and junior Kannon Betzen placed second in the 100 breast (1:03.87).

The Lady Vols broke a pair of pool records in relay competition. The 200 medley relay team of Jenny Connolly, Jamie Saffer, Morgan Farrell and Michele King captured a new mark of 1:42.53, while the 400 free relay foursome of Kelsey Floyd, Caitlin Perks, Connolly and King emerged with a record time of 3:23.46.