University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Tennessee Invitational
Pinion Swims 2nd NCAA Best to End Invite
November 22, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
Complete Results | 
Photo Gallery
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Sophomore Evan Pinion recorded his second top time in the country this season as the Vols concluded the Tennessee Invitational on Sunday at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
Pinion, the distance swimmer from Knoxville, Tenn., won the 1650-yard freestyle in 14:44.23 to wrap up his meet and set the fastest time in the NCAA this year. On Friday, he swam the fastest 500 time in the country (4:14.97).
"Evan Pinion is a beast," Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich said. "He had a heck of a meet. I think he served notice he is going to be a force at more than just the mile at NCAAs."
Tennessee's women won the meet with 1,214.5 points followed by a two-way tie between Virginia Tech and Missouri with 946.5 points each. West Virginia was fourth with 382 points.
Missouri won the men's competition with 1,283 points, followed by Tennessee (923), Virginia Tech (849.5) and West Virginia (520.5).
Tennessee wrapped up the final day with six more individual event victories, including a sweep of the first platform diving competition of the year courtesy of senior Mauricio Robles and freshman Rachel Rubadue. Faith Johnson won the 100 freestyle and helped UT to a win in the 400 freestyle relay to end the night. Sean Lehane won the 200 backstroke again, and Madeline Tegner took first in the women's 1650 freestyle.
INSIDE SWIMMING
Junior Madeline Tegner led off Tennessee's final evening with a victory in the 1650 freestyle (16:10.88). Pinion followed his his quick win in the 1650 freestyle in 14:44.23. During his race he broke his own school record in the 1000 freestyle, setting the new mark in 8:52.49.
Senior Sean Lehane stayed undefeated in the 200 backstroke, an event he has won the last two years at SECs. He clocked the second-fastest time in the country, coming in at 1:40.30.
Senior Faith Johnson led off a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 freestyle. She recorded career best in 48.35 and was followed by Harper Bruens (49.03) and Alex Cleveland (49.55). Johnson also won the 50 freestyle at the meet.
Tennessee finished the night in the win column with a victory in the women's 100 freestyle. The team of Madeline Banic, Alex Cleveland, Harper Bruens and Faith Johnson won in a time of 3:15.81. Tennessee's second team in the relay finished runner up in 3:18.51.
"For the women, what I was most impressed with is what we have seen all year, and that is our depth," Kredich said. "We have a lot of people who are closing in on performances that can score at NCAAs. The whole team is committed to improving. We saw a whole lot of improvement and excellence across the board on the women's side. What we thought may be weaknesses coming into the season like our sprinting look to be real strengths."
INSIDE DIVING
Freshman Rachel Rubadue wrapped up her diving weekend with a win in her first career collegiate platform competition, winning in 301.05 and besting the field by nearly 70 points. Rubadue is the second UT women's diver in program history to record a score over 300 points, joining All-American great Tori Lamp.
"Rachel even left a few points on the table, so that's encouraging to know we've got room for improvement," Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. "Any time a female diver breaks the 300 barriers, that's a competitive score on the national level. I'm pleased with her demeanor and competitive skills."
In her career debut, freshman Emily Pelletier took fourth with 209.50. Sarah Chewning was fifth with 196.70.
On the men's side, senior Mauricio Robles won the men's competition with a score of 407.10, more than 60 points higher than the rest of the field. It was his second win of the weekend, having also won the 3-meter competition.
Michael Howell was fourth in 315.25 and Liam Stone placed sixth with 303.30.
"Mauricio hadn't been over 400 in a while," Parrington said. "For him to do that, given his limited training on platform, he had an outstanding performance. He did some difficult dives off the five-meter that were very good. It was a promising situation for him.
"Michael broke 300 for the second time in his career, so I was very pleased with him. The experience diving at senior nationals this summer is showing its value on platform."
Stone will be the next Vol diver in action. He is competing in the Oceania Championships in Australia beginning Dec. 12.
UP NEXT
This weekend marks the final collegiate event of the fall semester for Tennessee.
Several Tennessee swimmers will compete in the USA Swimming Winter National Championships, which will be held Dec. 3-5 in Seattle.
The next collegiate diving competition is the Georgia Invitational, Jan. 3-5 in Athens, Ga. Tennessee's swimmers and divers will team up again for a two-day meet at Alabama starting Jan. 8.
