By Dan D’Addona.
The SEC is stacked with some of the best swim teams in the country.
This week, there were only two conference meets but they were big ones. Georgia faced Missouri and Auburn clashed with Tennessee.
All four teams are ranked and all will have a say in who wins the SEC.
The Georgia men had to fight until the final relay to tame the Tigers. The women’s meet came down to the end, too.
The Auburn men defeated Tennessee and the Tennessee women defeated Auburn.
With so much emphasis on the conference meets, and especially the NCAA Championships, it is wonderful to see dual meets come down to final relays. Especially when we are talking about some of the best teams in the country.
Swimming isn’t a sport that just coasts until championship season. The athletes put in a ton of work and each race leading up to the final one of the season is part of a path that molds swimmers, races and team finishes.
Here is a look back at what happened in the SEC dual meets:
Georgia battles past Missouri
It was a battle of ranked teams, and it turned out to be one of the closest SEC meets of the year.
The No. 6 Georgia men hung on for a 152-147 win over No. 23 Missouri on Thursday. Meanwhile, the No. 2 Georgia women topped No. 18 Missouri 159-140 as both Bulldog teams improved to 5-0 and 2-0 in the SEC.
Chase Kalisz and Javier Acevedo once again were double winners for the Bulldogs. Kalisz won the 100 breaststroke in 54.03 and the 200 individual medley in 1:47.01, while Acevedo swept the 100 and 200 backstroke races in 47.44 and 1:44.87, respectively.
Georgia won the distance freestyles, earning victories in the 200, 500 and 1,000 freestyle events. Jay Litherland won the 200 (1:37.00), Walker Higgins won the 500 (4:27.22) and Aidan Burns won the 1,000 (9:14.51). Pace Clark picked up a win in the 200 butterfly as he stopped the clock in 1:46.00.
In the women’s meet, Meaghan Raab, Stephanie Peters and Chantal Van Landeghem each were double winners. Peters won the 500 freestyle in 4:46.93 and the 1,000 freestyle in 9:48.01. Van Landeghem won 50 free (23.04+) and 100 free (50.23) and Raab won the 200 freestyle in 1:46.33 and the 200 individual medley in 1:59.77.
Meryn McCann won the 200 backstroke in 1:56.90, while Veronica Burchill won the 100 butterfly in 54.36.
Georgia won the 400 freestyle relay as Olivia Smoliga, Burchill, Raab and Van Landeghem reached the wall in an NCAA-leading 3:20.07.
Missouri had several strong performances in the meet.
Lauren Reedy, Michael Chadwick, Kyle Goodwin and Katharine Ross each were double winners for the Tigers.
Reedy broke her own 3-meter diving school record as she tallied a score of 387.23, bettering the 381.98 she set against Alabama on Oct. 14.
Goodwin swept both springboards. He totaled a personal-best 398.40 to win 3-meter.
Chadwick swept the sprint freestyle races as he breezed to wins in the 50 (19.89) and 100 free (43.2). Ross earned top honors in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. She clocked a 1:00.92 to win the 100 and a 2:13.50 in the 200.
Hannah Stevens won the women’s 100 back, notching a 54.20 to defeat Smoliga.
Auburn splits with Tennessee
In another SEC showdown, the No. 5 Auburn men defeated No. 19 Tennessee 162-138 and the No. 14 Tennessee women beat No. 11 Auburn 171-129.
Tennessee freshman Meghan Small won the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.03), 200 backstroke (1:56.01) and 400 individual medley (4:13.65).
Rachel Rubadue (272.63) won 1-meter diving and won the 3-meter springboard (295.88). Colleen Callahan won the 100 breaststroke (1:01.89) and the 200 breaststroke (2:13.88).
Kira Toussaint won the 100 backstroke (53.38), Heather Lundstrum won the 200 butterfly (1:58.87) and Madeline Banic in the 100 butterfly (52.94).
Auburn’s Julie Meynen swept the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50 free in a season-best 22.65 and the 100 free in 49.42.
Auburn claimed a 1-2-3 finish in the 1000 free from Ashley Neidigh (9:47.58), Zoe Thatcher (9:52.34) and Erin Falconer (10:08.84) and a top
In the men’s meet, Auburn’s Joe Patching swept the backstroke events, winning the 100 in 47.97, almost two full seconds ahead of second, and the 200 in 1:44.54, three seconds ahead of second. He also won the 400 IM in a season-best 3:47.89.
Luis Martinez swept the butterfly events, winning the 200 in 1:46.59, over a second ahead of second place, and the 100 in 47.26.
Michael Duderstadt made it two straight dual meets in which he swept the breaststroke events, winning the 100 in 53.73, a season-best, and the 200 in 1:59.94.
Tennessee’s Kyle DeCoursey swept the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50 freestyle in a season-best 19.85 and the 100 freestyle in 44.24.
