University of Tennessee Athletics
SANGER WINS THIRD CONSECUTIVE SEC CROWN ON 1M SPRINGBOARD
February 20, 2003 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 20, 2003
AUBURN, Ala.
Senior Jaime Sanger claimed her third consecutive conference title on the one-meter springboard, helping the Tennessee Lady Vols to a standing of fifth place after day two of the SEC Championships on Thursday.
Sanger trailed junior Ashley Rubenstein of Auburn heading into the final round of dives but performed a near-perfect inward one and one half pike to help her record a school-record score of 323.25, edging out Rubenstein by less than three points.
"I wanted this win so badly," Sanger said. "I struggled on a few dives, but came around and showed my stuff on the final dive. It was great to have all my teammates behind me; they helped so much and Ashley Rubenstein pushed me the whole way as well."
Sanger earned her title in dramatic fashiong, having just the fifth-highest score of the prelims with a total of 271.35. In fact, the Plymouth, Minn., native stood in ninth place heading into the final round of the prelims before she hit a solid dive to pave her way to the finals and her third SEC title in a row.
"I wasn't sure quite what to expect going into the finals because Jaime has been solid all year, but by her standards, she has been just a bit off," UT Diving Coach Dave Parrington said. "During the finals, I said 'just let it fly and let's see what happens,' and Jaime dove with a lot of heart and pride tonight."
Also starring for Tennessee on the boards, sophomore Lauryn McCalley (Moultrie, Ga.) placed seventh on the 1m with a score of 271.50. McCalley had totaled the sixth-highest score in the prelims with a 269.55. "Lauryn did a solid job, but some minor technical errors here and there added up," Parrington said. "However, I am confident she will be able to correct those mistakes heading into the NCAA Zone Diving Championships."
After dropping nearly a second off her previous career best in the morning prelims, senior Courtney Naparlo (Williamsburg, Va.) clocked an even faster time in the finals en route to placing 13th in the 50y free. Naparlo's NCAA provisional qualifying time of 23.42 in the finals improved upon her 23.49 from the prelims, and by far surpassed her best going into the day of 24.29. She now ranks eighth in UT history for the event.
"It was an absolute thrill to watch Courtney perform so well against one of the strongest 50y free fields in the country," UT Head Coach Dan Colella said. "This goes to show what can be achieved when you really put your nose to the grindstone. Tonight was the culmination of a lot of hard work for Courtney."
Freshman Graciela Breece-Rodriguez (Boulder, Colo.) brought home 12th place in the 200y IM with a career-best time and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 2:03.67. The performance ranks Breece-Rodriguez 11th in school history for the event.
"Graciela had an outstanding performance tonight and I think it is just the beginning of many great swims to come this week," Colella said. "It has been a true joy to work with someone as upbeat and positive as Graciela this season."
Freshman Kara Boland (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) cruised to a 16th-place finish in the 500y free with a time of 4:58.00. Boland had earlier clocked the 16th-fastest time of the morning prelims with a 4:57.52, falling just short of her season best of 4:56.02.
"Kara has had to fight through some injuries this year, and for her to get back and score at SECs after all that is a true testament to her desire to compete," Colella said.
Tennessee marked another strong relay performance in the 200y free relay, by posting a season-best NCAA provisional qualifying 1:33.13 en route to grabbing sixth place. With the performance, the Lady Vol quartet of freshman Abbi Terveer, senior Bethany Hall, junior Taryn Ternent and Naparlo now rank eighth in UT history for the event.
In the morning prelims, three Lady Vols clocked career bests in the 200y IM, as freshman Randi Vogel turned in a 2:06.73 to place 26th in the prelims, freshman Jacque Fessel timed in at 2:07.88 to place 27th and freshman Amy Roberts touched the wall at 2:08.42 to finish 29th.
Also in the 200y IM, senior Nicole Brannock recorded a season-best 2:10.01 (36th), freshman Betsy Brockman finished 31st with a 2:08.75, freshman Noelle Bassi finished 32nd with a 2:08.84 and freshman Danielle Lundy placed 42nd with a 2:14.18.
In addition to Naparlo, five UT swimmers marked season bests in the 50y free as freshman Abbi Terveer clocked a 23.89 to place 22nd in the finals, junior Taryn Ternent recorded a 24.05 (26th), senior Sara Wingfield turned in a 24.37 (37th), freshman Tatiana Athayde timed in at 24.56 (39th) and sophomore Jessica Blevins marked a 24.30 (exhibition).
Also on the boards for Tennessee in the morning prelims, platform specialists junior Kylee Wells and Stacy Binyon placed 21st and 22nd, respectively. Home-standing Auburn leads the meet after day two with 287.5 points, followed by Georgia with 235, Florida 197, South Carolina 177, Tennessee 146.5, Alabama 135, Arkansas 131, LSU 119 and Kentucky 91.
Competition continues at the SEC Championships on Friday with the 400y IM, 100y fly, 200y free, 100y breast, 100y back, 400y medley relay and men's 3m springboard. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m. CT, while finals start at 6:30 p.m.
