Georgia vs. Tennessee

Left Sidebar

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, January 22. THE 10th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vol swimming and diving team gave No. 2 Georgia a remarkable effort, sweeping the fly events and setting three pool records, but ultimately fell to the Lady Bulldogs by a score of 177-123 on Saturday evening at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

The loss was the first of the season for the Orange and White (5-1, 2-1), while Georgia improved to 8-0 this year.

Sophomore Kelsey Floyd notched victories in the 100y and 200 fly events, including breaking her own UT and AJIAC pool record in the 200y. Floyd touched in at 1 minute, 55.55 seconds to win the 200y event, shattering her previous best time of 1:56.68 she registered two weeks ago against Virginia and ranks fifth fastest in the Lady Vol record book. She won the 100y fly in 53.55.

Fellow sophomore Brooke Watson finished third in the same events, recording season-best times of 56.15 (100y fly) and 2:02.12 (200y fly). Her 100y fly time was also a career-best.

Also winning a pair of events for the Lady Vols was freshman phenom Lindsay Gendron. The Bloomington, Ill., native broke the AJIAC pool record in the 200y free after clocking an NCAA B-cut time of 1:45.35, breaking the old mark of 1:46.91. The mark also ranks fifth fastest in Lady Vol history.

In the 500y free, Gendron went toe-to-toe with one of the nation's best in the event, Georgia's Wendy Trott, and came out on top. Gendron earned the victory after touching in at a B-cut time of 4:44.46, which was .19 seconds faster than Trott.

The time ranks 10th on the Lady Vol performance list and third on the performers list. By winning the event, Gendron now has notched at least two wins in every dual meet she has competed in this season.
"Kelsey and Lindsay continue to raise the bar for themselves, and this was a great test," said Lady Vol Head Coach Matt Kredich. "This is a huge step for Lindsay as she beat some really good people and Kelsey continues to get better."

Senior Aleksa Akerfelds wasn't far behind in third with another B-cut and season-best time of 4:49.98 in the 500y free. Akerfelds also was the team's top-finisher in the 1000y free, claiming third after a clocking of 9:54.36.

Jenny Connolly, a junior, continues her dominance in the 100y back as she grabbed the win with a pool record and NCAA B-cut time of 53.24. The West Lafayette, Ind., native broke her own pool record, improving on her mark of 53.84 she swam against Virginia.

"We don't want to kid ourselves as to where we are in the season and where we are in our races," Kredich said. "We want to have the highest level of competition so we can really get to work and fine-tuning our races."

On the boards, junior Gabrielle Trudeau continued to find success regardless of the competition as she set career-best and zone qualifying marks on both the 1- and 3-meters. Trudeau was victorious on the 1-meter with a score of 304.28 and finished second on the 3-meter with a tally of 333.38. UGA's Hannah Moore topped Trudeau on her final dive on the 3-meter to win the event with a score of 344.18.

"Going against top competition, Gaby wasn't intimidated," said UT Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington. "I challenged her a couple of weeks ago and she stepped up and answered that call. I told her when she makes those corrections she would be a major threat to a lot of the top divers."

Along with Trudeau, senior Jill Pierce and sophomore Skye Sanders also had career days. Sanders finished fifth in both events, notching career-best scores of 250.80 (1-meter) and 278.33 (3-meter.) Pierce, in her final competition at the AJIAC, went out strong with career-best score of 276.75 on the 3-meter board to finish sixth.

Senior Martina Moravcikova and junior Kirstyn Colonias each grabbed third in breast events. Moravcikova had UT's best finish in the 100y event with a B-cut time of 1:02.41.Colonias just missed equaling her career-best and notching a B-cut time in the 200y breast after touching in at 2:16.94.

The squad opened and closed the meet with runner-up finishes in relay events. The quartet of freshmen Lauren Solernou and Alex Frasier, along with Colonias and Watson earned a B-cut time in the 200y medley relay with a clocking of 1:42.23. Connolly, freshman Mary Kate McNeilis, Floyd and Gendron also grabbed a B-cut time in the 400y free relay after swimming a time of 3:21.01.

Up next for the Lady Vols is another daunting task: facing the defending national champion Florida Gators. The dual meet is slated to begin at noon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x