University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Championships (Day 4)
Tennessee Earns Three Medals on Day Four
February 20, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
| Men's |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Women's | |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Men's | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Florida | 980 |
| 2. Georgia | 848 |
| 3. Auburn | 760 |
| 4. Tennessee | 687.5 |
| 5. Alabama | 610.5 |
» Full Results
| Women's | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Georgia | 1082 |
| 2. Texas A&M | 875 |
| 3. Florida | 730.5 |
| 4. LSU | 614 |
| 5. Tennessee | 584.5 |
» Full Results
After narrowly missing the podium in two races on Thursday, McHugh grabbed his first SEC medal with a runner-up finish in the men's 200 butterfly. With a time of 1:42.01, the freshman set a new career-best and moved from third to second in the UT record book.
Hannis collected the 11th and 12th SEC medals of her career when she nabbed silver in the 100 breaststroke (59.01) before helping the 400 medley relay team grab the gold in a time of 3:31.47. Hannis' breaststroke split of 58.66 gave UT a sizable lead heading into the final two legs.
Feb. 20, 2015
AUBURN, Ala. -- Tennessee reached the awards podium three times Friday at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center at Auburn University.
The Tennessee women finished the day with a gold medal in the 400 medley relay, their second straight medley relay gold. Senior Molly Hannis took silver in the 100-yard breaststroke for the third consecutive year. Freshman Sam McHugh earned his first SEC medal, a silver, in the 200-yard butterfly in his third A final of the week. McHugh's medal marked the fourth consecutive day where UT has reached the podium at SECs.
In the women's team standings, Tennessee is fifth with 584.5 points, LSU's 614. Host Georgia leads with 1082. As a team, the men are in fourth place with 687.5 points, ahead of Alabama heading into the final night of competition Saturday. Florida leads with 980.
"Everyone has a vision for the way they want to finish their meet," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "We've been really consistent and it's hard for me to remember a team attitude that's been this consistent. I think that's a reflection of the way this team has gone through this season, handling success and failure. The team has a ton of resilience and I think that's a habit."
Tennessee's women's 400 medley relay team of Amanda Carner, Hannis, Harper Bruens and Faith Johnson ended the evening for the women by taking gold in the 400 medley relay in an NCAA A-cut time of 3:31.47, the sixth-fastest relay time in UT history.
Amanda Carner put Tennessee in the mix after the first leg with a 52.95 split, but Molly Hannis extended the lead to almost one full body length with a 58.66 breaststroke split.
"We knew that we had a very consistent 100 Back swimming tonight," said Hannis. "(Amanda) was very composed with how she swam this morning and it dropped even more during the relay. It really got us off to a very good start. I knew I was diving in with the other breaststrokers and I just wanted to have another strong race. I wanted to be aggressive and hopefully give a little lead for Harper and give her some clean water. "
Harper Bruens (52.21) maintained the margin and Faith Johnson (47.65) carried the victory in the final 100 yards to give UT an A-cut and their second gold medal of the SECs.
"Amanda has never considered herself a very good 100 backstroker, but she swam a 53.20 during time trials, so she earned a spot on the relay," said Kredich. "Molly was definitely disappointed she didn't win the 100 Breast, (but) her first thought after the race was to get on with the relay.
"Harper's 52.21 is outstanding, considering she hasn't swam much butterfly. Faith insisted that she be put on the relay and she swam her fastest split. I think we caught some teams with off relays and it was a phenomenal way to end the night."
Sam McHugh opened the night for the Vols in the 200 Fly, where he finished in second place and earned the silver medal, thanks to a time of 1:42.01. McHugh earned the second-fastest time in program history during the morning preliminary session and improved on that time, now within a second of Melvin Stewart's 1:41.78 school record.
Hannis collected her third career silver medal in the 100 breaststroke in another exciting head-to-head battle, this time with Alabama's Kayli Burchell. Hannis swam the second-fastest time (59.38) during preliminaries and finished the finals with a 59.01 time, .14 seconds behind Burchell. Hannis now has earned a medal in the 100 Breaststroke in each of her four years as a Vol (one gold medal and three silver medals).
"All things considered with where I'm at in the season, I'm fairly pleased with how I swam," said Hannis. "I would've like to have gone a little faster, but I got out of that race and in my mind, I knew there were three girls who wanted to win this SEC championship (in the 400 medley relay), so I wanted to be there for them just like they wanted to be there for the rest of the team."
McHugh concluded his first SEC Championships with his third A final in as many days. The Chattanooga freshman improved his final position over the three events, finishing sixth in the 500 Free Wednesday night and fourth in the 400 IM Thursday night before Friday's second-place effort.
"I can't enough great things about him," said Kredich. "In some ways, he's a coach's dream. He listens intently and never have to tell him anything twice. He's self-reliant. He's self-sufficient and he has learned something every day he's been here. He's never had a slightly off day and he's really impressive. He swam a race tonight that showed a little inexperience, but a ton of desire to win and will be really valuable heading into NCAAs. That's a great first SEC meet for Sam."
Women's 200 Fly
Heather Lundstrom qualified for the A final by swimming the seventh-fastest time Friday morning and she gave UT some valuable points Friday night, where she finished eighth with a time of 1:57.07.
Madeline Tegner got off to a slow start in the B final, but stormed back in the final 50 yards to earn fourth place (12th overall) in 1:57.12. Mary Griffith finished right behind her teammate in 1:57.54.
Men's 200 Fly
Sam McHugh opened the night for the Vols in the 200 Fly, where he finished in second place and earned the silver medal, thanks to a time of 1:42.01. McHugh earned the second-fastest time in program history during the morning preliminary session and improved on that time, now within a second of Melvin Stewart's 1:41.78 school record.
Tyler Mills competed in the first race of the night, representing UT in the C final. The Johnson City native finished fourth with a B-cut time of 1:45.84, improving on his career-best time.
Women's 100 Back
Madison Hahn earned a spot in the B final after a career-best time in the morning session and utilized a strong final 25 yards to tie for 13th with Florida's Georgia Hohmann in 53.69.
Senior Erin Gaeckle finished her final SEC 100 Back race on a high note, winning the C final in 53.96, .07 off her career best set Friday morning. Teammate Anna DeMonte finished fourth for UT (54.27). All three swimmers earned a B-cut time.
Men's 100 Back
Sean Lehane qualified for the A final in the 100 Backstroke for the third straight year and earned 24 points for the Vols by finishing in sixth place (46.60). Jimmy Dagley earned a spot in the C final after tying for 23rd place. He finished eighth in the C final with a time of 48.97.
Women's 100 Breast
Hannis collected her third career silver medal in the 100 breaststroke in another exciting head-to-head battle, this time with Alabama's Kayli Burchell. Hannis swam the second-fastest time (59.38) during preliminaries and finished the finals with a 59.01 time, .14 seconds behind Burchell.
Colleen Callahan finished eighth in the B final (1:01.36), .03 seconds behind her preliminary time.
Men's 100 Breast
After swimming the third-fastest time in preliminary action, freshman Peter John Stevens continued his torrid pace with a 52.07 time, good for fourth place in the A final, as well as an automatic NCAA qualifying time.
Ross Dibblin gave the Vol breaststrokers a pair of top-4 finishes, earning third place in the B final with a career-best 53.10.
Women's 400 Medley Relay
The UT women earned their second medley gold medal in as many races, winning in 3:31.47. Amanda Carner put Tennessee in the mix after the first leg with a 52.95 split, but Molly Hannis extended the lead to almost one full body length with a 58.66 breaststroke split. Harper Bruens (52.21) maintained the margin and Faith Johnson (47.65) carried the victory in the final 100 yards to give UT an A-cut and their second gold medal of the SECs.
Men's 400 Medley Relay
Sean Lehane, Peter John Stevens, Jacob Thulin and Troy Tillman finished fifth with an automatic qualifying time of 3:06.86, the second fastest relay time in Tennessee history. Stevens' 51.96 split in the breaststroke put the Vols in contention midway through the relay, and also led the Vols to a NCAA automatic qualifying time.
