University of Tennessee Athletics
Murphy Advances to Finals of 50-Meter Freestyle
July 10, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
July 10, 2009
Day six of the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, proved to be the most fruitful yet for the Vols. Outgoing team co-captain Barry Murphy raced through the preliminary and semifinal rounds of the 50-meter freestyle and becomes the first UT swimmer to qualify for a final at the 2009 games.
Murphy finished fourth overall in the preliminary round, winning his heat, with a time of 22.41. He then improved in the semifinal round to finish third with a time of 22.25. The final championship round of the event is Saturday morning.
Murphy is the first Vol to qualify for the championship round of an event at the 2009 World University Games. At the 2009 NCAA championships, Murphy set the UT school record in the 50-yard freestyle at 19.10.
In addition to the finals of the 50m freestyle, Murphy will compete along with fellow Vol and teammate at the games Ryan Harrison. The pair will comprise one half of Ireland's 400m medley relay team.
Follow all the Vols at the World University Games at universiade-belgrade2009.org or at UTsports.com.
