University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Championships (Finals)
S&D Finishes SEC Championships in Fourth Place
February 21, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
| Men's |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Women's | |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Men's | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Florida | 1314.5 |
| 2. Georgia | 1134.5 |
| 3. Auburn | 1084 |
| 4. Tennessee | 918 |
| 5. Alabama | 911.5 |
» Final Results
| Women's | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Georgia | 1450 |
| 2. Texas A&M | 1166 |
| 3. Florida | 963.5 |
| 4. Tennessee | 793.5 |
| 5. LSU | 725 |
» Final Results
Lehane became the third Vol to become a two-time SEC champion in the 200 backstroke when he successfully defended his 2014 title in a time of 1:39.65 on Saturday night. He earned his second gold medal of the week and the seventh overall SEC medal in his three seasons on Rocky Top.
Tegner just narrowly missed the medal stand with a new school record time in the 1650 free. The sophomore beat the 16-minute mark with an all-time best time of 15:59.64 and shaved almost 18 seconds off her previous best time set back in November.
Feb. 21, 2015
AUBURN, Ala. -- Junior Sean Lehane defended his 200-yard backstroke title and senior Molly Hannis took home another breaststroke silver Saturday as Tennessee's men and women both finished fourth at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday night at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center.
In the women's team standings, Tennessee finished fourth with 793.5 points, 68.5 points ahead of fifth-place LSU. Georgia led throughout and rolled to another SEC title with 1450 points. As a team, the men finished in fourth place with 918 points, 7.5 points ahead of fifth-place Alabama. Florida wins with 1314.5 points, their third straight conference title.
"It's a really full week with 22 athletes on each team, with three performances each and five relays, so there are so many stories," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "The cool part is that it isn't the last chapter for everyone, so there's still a lot to improve upon. I feel like we accomplished some great things. We competed really well and it's great to pick up several championships."
After the meet concluded, Mauricio Robles was named the Male Diver of the Meet after his performances across all three diving events this week. Robles made all three championship finals and reached the medal podium in two of the three events.
Robles started the week by claiming the gold medal in the one-meter springboard, the first of three-straight gold medals Tuesday night for Tennessee. The redshirt junior won the event with a score of 421.15, using a late-round surge to come from behind to win. He earned his second medal on the three-meter, where he earned the bronze medal behind teammate Liam Stone, who won the gold medal.
Lehane won his second consecutive gold medal in the 200 Back after coming from behind in the final 100 yards to defeat Missouri's Carter Griffin and Auburn's Joe Patching in 1:39.65. The A-cut time is the fourth time under 1:40.00 this season and is .01 seconds slower than the time Lehane swam in his winning effort in Athens, Ga., in 2014.
"I knew I had to come back in the last 100 yards and that's what I've done all year," said Lehane. "My legs were hurting so bad during the last 50 yards, but I tried to push really hard to try and get my hand on the wall first."
"It was really his best race of the year," said Kredich. "He's done it a lot of different ways. Considering this season and the competition he had, he handled the race situation like a pro. He let the Auburn guy get out ahead of him and he didn't panic. He executed everything really well and it was a great step for him to win it and prepare him for the NCAAs."
Hannis collected the 13th SEC medal of her storied career by earning the silver medal in the 200 Breast, her first medal in the event. After finishing the preliminary session with the fastest qualifying time, Hannis finished in second place with a time of 2:08.31, just behind Alabama's Kaylin Burchell. Hannis finished her final SEC Championships with four total medals: two silver medals in the 100 and 200 Breast and two gold medals in the 200 and 400 medley relays.
Women's 1650 Fly
In 15:59.64, Madeline Tegner set the Tennessee school record in the 1650 Freestyle and improved on her previous career-best time by almost 18 seconds, ending her SEC Championships with an fourth-place result in her first 1650 Free competition since November's Nike Cup. Teammate Morgan Dickson gave UT two swimmers in the top eight, finishing eighth in 16:15.89.
Men's 1650 Fly
Tennessee earned points in the mile thanks to its four male distance freestylers. David Heron finished seventh with a career-best time of 14:55.82, as well as a career-best 1000 Freestyle time of 9:02.64, maintaining his No. 2 spot in both events in UT history. Evan Pinion earned 10th overall, finishing in 15:01.29. In other action, Ben Miller (15:33.21) finished 24th, while Trevor Leland (16:11.29) finished 34th.
Women's 200 Back
After finishing 10th after the preliminary session, Amanda Carner finished in the same position during the B final, thanks to a time of 1:54.67. Madison Hahn represented the Vols in the C final and finished fifth with a time of 1:57.17.
Men's 200 Back
For the second consecutive year, Sean Lehane earned the gold medal in the 200 Back, finishing with the fastest time in the A final (1:39.65). Lehane won his third consecutive medal in the event, having won a silver medal his freshman season. After Auburn's Joe Patching led halfway through the 200 yards, Lehane used his experience to come from behind and take the lead in the final half to claim the gold medal. With the win, Lehane joined Tripp Schwenk (1992, 93) and Marc Foreman (1978, 79) as 2-time SEC champs in the 200 backstroke
Women's 100 Free
UT placed two sprinters in the top five after the morning preliminary session and Harper Bruens remained in the top five after the night session, finishing fifth with a personal best time of 48.84. Teammate Faith Johnson finished eighth in the A final with a time of 49.15. Both swimmers earned NCAA B-cuts after the A final concluded.
Men's 100 Free
Troy Tillman represented the Vols in the B final of the 100 Free and earned 14 points by finishing fifth (13th overall) with a time of 43.59 in his final individual SEC race of his UT career. The Vols sent four sprinters to the C final, where Gustav Aberg Ledjstrom tied for third (19th overall, 43.95) to lead the Vols. Austin Hirstein (44.11) finished 21st, while Ryan Coetzee (44.25) and Jacob Thulin (44.66) finished 23rd and 24th. Aberg Ledjstrom, Hirtstein and Coetzee all achieved career-best times.
Women's 200 Breast
Molly Hannis earned the first SEC medal (and 13th of her career) in the 200 Breast, receiving her second silver medal of the week by finishing with a 2:08.31. Hannis finishes her SEC career by making the podium four times: two gold medals in the 200 and 400 medley relays and two silver medals in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Colleen Callahan moved up the UT record board after finishing second in the B Final in 2:11.03. Callahan now sits fifth in UT history, passing Alex Barsanti
Men's 200 Breast
The Vols sent the British duo of Tristan Slater and Ross Dibblin into the 200 Breast finals and both secured important points for UT. In the A final, Slater finished eighth in 1:54.99, improving on his career-best set during the preliminary session, while Dibblin finished in sixth place in 1:57.80.
Men's Platform Diving
Mauricio Robles could not achieve three medals in three diving competitions at Auburn, finishing in seventh place with a 359.60 score. Robles earned high scores on the first two and last two rounds, but earned 34's during rounds three and four which moved him down the standings. Robles still leaves Auburn having won both a gold medal in the one-meter and a bronze medal in the three-meter springboard competitions.
Men's 400 Free Relay
Tennessee's quartet of Joshua Romany, Troy Tillman, Gustav Aberg Ledjstrom and Sean Lehane finished fifth in the final men's event by posting a 2:53.70 time, the ninth fastest relay time in UT history. Tillman (42.93) led the Vols by swimming the only UT split under 43.00 seconds.
