KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, October 16. THE Tennessee women's swimming and diving team opened the 2008-09 season with a pair victories over Louisville and the University of the Cumberlands on Thursday at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. <\/p>\n
A second half surge propelled the Lady Vols to a 168-132 victory over Louisville in the afternoon, while UT defeated the Cumberlands 101-27 in the morning. <\/p>\n
The Cardinals held a nine-point advantage, 70-61, after seven events thanks to wins by Amanda Henleben (1000y free, 10:10.42), Therese Bergstorm (100y breast, 1:04.38), Nicole Landisch (50y free, 23.65) and their 200y medley relay. UT, however, tied the meet 75-75 when freshman Gabrielle Trudeau and sophomore Jill Pierce placed 1-2 in 1-meter diving and captured first in five of the last six swimming events to grab the victory.<\/p>\n
"We had a lot of people step up halfway through the meet," Lady Vol head swimming coach Matt Kredich said. "I think we learned a lot today. We were not really focused and not tough in the first half of the meet. Diving gave us a boost, though, and we came out a lot more intense after the break. Louisville was really tough today." <\/p>\n
Freshman Jenny Connolly won the 200y back (1:59.63) and the 100y fly (54.63) after the diving break, while Aleksa Akerfelds took first in 500y free (4:53.38) and Samara Gelb touched first in the 200y IM (2:05.10). Additionally, the 400y free relay team of seniors Carly Mathes and Brittany Nauta and freshmen Abbie Alton and Caitlin Perks capped the meet with a 3:25.06 victory. <\/p>\n
"I'm excited about our freshman," Kredich said. "They all swam well today. Jenny (Connolly) was great and Samara (Gelb) had a really good day. Also, Abbie (Alton) and Caitlin (Perks) swam great on the 400 relay."<\/p>\n
Connolly's time in the 100y fly ties her with two-time Olympian Fabiola Molina as the fifth-fastest Lady Vol ever in the event. The West Lafayette, Ind., native also won the 100y back in an NCAA "B" qualifying time of 54.46.<\/p>\n
Gelb was barely edged by Louisville's Bergstorm in both breast events, 1:04.38 to 1:04.56 in the 100 and 2:18.62 to 2:18.69 in the 200. <\/p>\n
In addition to her 500y free win, Akerfelds won the 200y free in 1:51.33 and took second in the 200y IM in a career-best 2:05.21.<\/p>\n
"Aleksa was a really great leader today," Kredich said. "Not only with her performances in the pool, but also being a leader out of the pool."<\/p>\n
UT's only other victory came from junior Jamie Saffer, who captured the 200y fly in 2:02.49. <\/p>\n
Kredich was also impressed by senior Maria Jugan, who held off two Louisville opponents to finish fifth in the 200y back (2:10.88).<\/p>\n
"Maria (Jugan) had a really good day all together," Kredich said. "Her performance in the 200y back was a big lift for us."<\/p>\n
Trudeau won the 1-meter board with a score of 263.18, which is an NCAA Zone cut, while Pierce was second with a career-best score of 253.43. In addition Trudeau placed second with a score of 263.78 in the 3-meter board. <\/p>\n
"I was pleased with our competitiveness on the 1-meter," Tennessee head diving coach Dave Parrington said. "Gabby competed very well. Jill had her lifetime best dive on the 1-meter and stepped up to take second. Jill's performance was a highlight of the day for me. In the 3-meter, out marks weren't as good, but I definitely saw some positive things today."<\/p>\n
Against the Cumberlands in the morning, the Lady Vols won each event in their first official dual meet at the brand new, state-of-the-art AJIAC. <\/p>\n
The 200y medley relay team of Jugan, Connolly, junior Alex Barsanti and Atlantis Wilkins began the meet with a win in 1:46.93. <\/p>\n
Akerfelds and Connolly went 1-2 in the 200y free, while Gelb led a 1-2-3 finish in the 100y IM. <\/p>\n
Seniors Sarah McCall (50y breast), Katie Gehring (50y fly) and Nauta (50y back) also won events.<\/p>\n
Quinn, Wilkins, McCall and Connolly closed the meet with a winning performance of 1:36.23 in the 200y free relay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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