University of Tennessee Athletics
400 Medley Relay Third At SEC Championships
February 17, 2000 | Women's Swimming & Diving
AUBURN, Ala. - Tennessee Lady Vol swimmers Bianca Jones, Monica Shannahan, Pam Hanson and Teresa Moodie clocked a season-best time of 3:44.94 in the 400-yard medley relay for third place at the 2000 Southeastern Conference Championships. The unit became the first from the Lady Vol squad to step onto the awards podium at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center at Auburn University on Thursday night.
"It was good to beat Florida, especially after being out-touched last year at SECs," said Hanson. "Everyone swam really great and it was exciting to finish strong. Personally, I wasn't as nervous with my start, after working on it recently, and I felt good."
Tennessee moved in to fifth place with 136 points following the completion of the second-day's events. Sophomore Valerie Conte and senior Teresa Moodie advanced to the finals as individuals in the 200-yard individual medley and 50y freestyle, respectively, adding points to the Lady Vol effort.
"We knew that going into the day that we would have trouble gathering points," said head coach Dan Colella. "But, it was nice to finish the day with a third-place finish in the 400 medley relay, and we're looking forward to the next two days."
Conte recorded a career-best and team-leading time of 2:05.44 to advance to the consolation finals in the 200y IM. In the finals, she clocked a 2:06.06 for 15th place overall. Georgia's Kristy Kowal swam a pool record time of 1:57.96 for first in the event.
Moodie finished third in the consolation final of the 50y free and 11th overall with a finals time of 23.31. She clocked an NCAA B Standard time and career-best-tying time of 23.19 seconds in the prelims. Four Lady Vols recorded season-best times in the 500y free, despite not advancing to the finals. Cortney Piper (4:55.85) finished 18th, Azurdee Engel (4:56.78) finished 21st, Elizabeth Philp (4:58.51) swam to 25th, and Tanya Felton (5:02.56) recorded a season-best for 30th.
Georgia leads the team competition with 300 points, and the Bulldogs' 400y medley relay unit recorded a new American record for the victory. Auburn is second (236), Florida is in third (169), and LSU is fourth (139). The meet continues through Saturday in Auburn, Ala.. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. with finals commencing at 6:30 p.m. Friday's competition will feature the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, women's 3m diving and the 800 free relay.
TENNESSEE 2000 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS Team Scores 1. Georgia 300 6. Kentucky 134 2. Auburn 236 7. Alabama 113 3. Florida 169 8. South Carolina 91 4. Louisiana State 139 9. Arkansas 64 5. Tennessee 136Prelims Finals 500y Freestyle 18. Cortney Piper 4:55.85 21. Azurdee Engel 4:56.78 25. Elizabeth Philp 4:58.51 30. Tanya Felton 5:02.76 37. Missy Bell 5:17.32 200y Individual Medley 15. Valerie Conte 2:05.44 2:06.06 19. Bianca Jones 2:07.32 21. Nicole Brannock 2:08.09 25. Suzy Norcliffe 2:09.94 50y Freestyle 11. Teresa Moodie 23.19 23.31 24. Sara Wingfield 24.05 26. Laura Hancock 24.15 28. Bethany Hall 24.20 40. Katy White 25.15 400y Medley Relay 3. Tennessee --- 3:44.94 (Bianca Jones, Monica Shannahan, Pam Hanson, Teresa Moodie)
