University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Back in Conference Action on Saturday
January 25, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? The Tennessee swimming and diving team will return to conference action on Saturday as it takes on No. 2 Georgia at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga. The Lady Vols are coming off a 172-128 win over Indiana on Friday, Jan. 18, and are ranked ninth in the most recent poll put out by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
???With the SEC Championships in a little over three weeks, we look at this meet as a chance to test ourselves at the highest level,??? head swimming coach Matt Kredich said. ???Georgia has had a very good season so far. They have an outstanding freshman class and a senior class that won an NCAA championship. They???re strong and deep in every event. We have to be at our best to compete with them and I know our team appreciates that challenge.???
The Lady Vols enter Saturday???s contest with a 5-1 overall dual-meet record and are 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. In the victory over Indiana, junior Carly Mathes took three events and contributed a team-high 27 points to the Big Orange total, while senior Christine Magnuson and freshman Aleksa Akerfelds both posted career-best times in two events. For her efforts, Mathes was named the Division I National Swimmer of the Week, as announced on collegeswimming.com, while Akerfelds picked up SEC Freshman of the Week honors. On the boards, junior Staley McCartney won her first collegiate event and recorded career-high scores from both springboards.
Georgia is undefeated through nine dual meets, which includes wins over SEC opponents Arkansas, LSU and Florida. Most recently, the Lady Bulldogs took a 175-119 decision from No. 16 Texas on Jan. 11. Junior Aleksandra Putra, and freshmen Kelsey Ditto and Colleen Haase each had a pair of wins in the meet.
Putra is the fastest backstroker on the squad, while Haase leads the breaststroke group. Ditto and Lady Vol Akerfelds are both leading their respective teams in the distance events. On the diving side, freshman Hannah Moore leads the Lady Bulldogs with team-high scores from all three heights.
???I am looking forward to taking on the traditionally powerful UGA swimming and diving squad,??? head diving coach Dave Parrington said. ???I anticipate a good tussle on the boards, which is just what the Lady Vol divers need at this point of the season.
Tennessee???s divers were in Athens the first week of January for the Georgia Diving Invitational. Senior Lauren LeRoy qualified for the finals each day she competed and placed 10th from the one- and three-meter boards.
Saturday???s match-up will mark the 29th time the two schools have met in a dual meet. Georgia leads the overall series 24-4. The first event will begin at 11 a.m.
| Order of Events | |
| 11 a.m. | 200y Medley Relay |
| 1000y Freestyle | |
| 200y Freestyle | |
| 100y Backstroke | |
| 100y Breaststroke | |
| 200y Butterfly | |
| 50y Freestyle | |
| One-Meter Diving | |
| 100y Freestyle | |
| 200y Backstroke | |
| 200y Breaststroke | |
| 500y Freestyle | |
| 100y Butterfly | |
| Three-Meter Diving | |
| 200y Individual Medley | |
| 200y Freestyle Relay | |
