University of Tennessee Athletics
SEC Day 3 Quotes
February 17, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 17, 2012
Elizabeth Beisel, Florida
Women's 400 IM "I tried to swim my own race tonight and just go for it. It went well. It means a lot (to break the SEC record). I broke it last year so for me to break it again this year shows my improvement. That is a definitely a confidence booster for me. Winning here at SECs is pretty humbling because there are so many great athletes here. It is a definitely an accomplishment I will keep with me."
Gomez Solaeche, Florida
Men's 400y IM
"Being the champion here gives me motivation to keep going, to keep training every day and waking up every morning at 6 to go to the pool. You can see that all your work and all that you had to do has been good to you."
Jenny Connolly, Tennessee
Women's 100 Butterfly
"It was a fantastic race. I saw my competitors on both sides of me and saw Kelsey (Floyd) in lane 6. It was really gutsy by both me and Kelsey. We just wanted to get as a lot of points for Tennessee, and I think we succeeded in that.
"Winning in my home pool is great. We have a home crowd, and it feels so good. The atmosphere is just fantastic, and you could not ask for anything more at your home pool."
Doug Reynolds, Georgia
Men's 100 Butterfly
"I'm at a loss for words... God helped me through it. That's all I can say. There's no way I could do that without Him, so I give all the glory to Him."
Megan Romano, Georgia
Women's 200 Free
"Winning just shows how much the training has being paying off this year. I have been working really hard. I wanted to be a little bit faster but I will definitely take (the win). It is great to help the team out, and I was happy with the race. I just tried to keep going as fast I could regardless of who was in back of me."
Marcin Cieslak, Florida
Men's 200 free
"All I have to say is you have to find a way to win. And I found a way to win."
Molly Hannis, Tennessee
Women's 100 Breaststroke
"I tried to take it out really hard, and see how I fast I could go out. Then I tried to bring it back as hard I could. I had good turns at the end, and it all came together. I just tried to relax and have fun. That is generally when I do my best, and my teammates really helped with that. It feels awesome winning in my home pool. Words can't really describe it."
Nicholas Fink, Georgia
Men's 100 breaststroke
"It feels great to be champion. I'm so happy that I had my family, my coaches, and my team behind me. They're the ones that really pushed me through it. It feels great knowing that all your hard work has paid off."
Jenny Connolly, Tennessee
Women's 100 Backstroke
"It was a fun race. I saw my competitors on both sides of me and that competitive edge kicks in when you know your team needs points. I just dug deep and tried the find the win inside me. The wins are great and the medals are great but what is awesome is that the atmosphere my team has. I could not have done it without my team. Rather than have a legacy of winning, I would rather leave my mark as a great teammate and leader."
Kyle Owens, Auburn
Men's 100 backstroke
"We trained for it since September. Our coaches always tell us not to be surprised by it because we swim fast every day. We're first and third and eighth, and that's awesome because they're the ones who push me every day in practice, and I thank them for that." (on winning in his home State): "It's pretty cool. The last time I swam here, I won two State titles for high school, so it's good to be back."
Mauricio Robles, Tennessee
Men's Platform Diving
"I am so happy to win in my first SEC Championship. I was really calm and enjoyed the moment. It was real nice to win here because there was a lot of people here cheering for me. It is the pool where I practice every day and it feels good to win here."
Kelsey Floyd, Tennessee
Women's 400 Medley Relay
"This is absolutely amazing. Our team has worked so hard for this, and it's finally paid off. We've won four out of the six events tonight, and that's just incredible. I'm so happy."
"It's amazing just to be here for an SEC meet at home, but it means even more amazing to mark the records here and be at home and have all of our home fans."
Stuart Ferguson, Auburn
Men's 400 Medley Relay
"We are really in a fight with Florida but we really take pride in our relays. It is good to deliver on another one. We can't really control times so we just want to give it the best we can for each other. The last 25 (in your leg) is dedicated to the other guys in the relay. I want to help the other guys on our relay as much as I can because I know they would do it for me."
