University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Men's NCAA Championships
Vols Finish 7th at NCAAs
March 26, 2016 | Swimming & Diving
ATLANTA -- The Tennessee Volunteers posted their best team finish in 15 years Saturday at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, finishing seventh at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
Led by seniorsSean LehaneandMauricio Robleswho both competed in championship events in their final night in Tennessee uniform, the Vols finished with 188 team points to take seventh. It is Tennessee's best finish since placing third in 2001and is the team's first top-10 finish since taking eighth in 2009.
Texas won the team title with 541.5 points.
"Seventh is the highest we've finished in a long time, but our goal was higher and I wouldn't want it any other way," Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich said. "I want those guys to stretch the limits of their imagination. The best they can do and then aim for that.
"When I take a step back and look at the program, we're thinking like a championship team. We're competing like a championship team. We just need to get back to work and keep getting better."
The seventh-place finish came down to the final race of the meet: the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Vols needed to beat Missouri's team in the consolation finals to edge out the Tigers and secure seventh.
Freshman Kyle DeCoursey, senior Gustav Aberg Lejdstrom, sophomore Ryan Coetzee and Lehane finished in 2 minutes, 51.99 seconds to finish fourth in the consolation race -- 12th overall -- to beat Missouri, which took 14th in 2:52.26 and ended the meet in eighth overall with 184 points.
"Sean put together so many good races this weekend, and he really saved his clutch performance for last," Kredich said. "There was a lot of pride there, and Sean held on in what was probably his 10th race of the weekend. He got us the win over Missouri."
Lehane also scored 15 points for the Vols with a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke, rallying in the final 50 yards to touch the wall in 1:39.29.
Diving in the NCAA platform final for the first time, Robles finished eighth with 351.20 points.
"He knew he needed to be in the finals to help us finish as well as he did," Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. "Tonight, there was quite a bit of emotion for him. It couldn't be a more fitting end for his career, putting up the big team points for us."
During the meet, Tennessee divers Robles and Liam Stone scored 61 points for Tennessee.
SENIOR SUPERLATIVES: Saturday night marked the end of the record-setting careers of Lehane, Robles and Aberg Lejdstrom.
"If you think about the status of the program when they came in, they're leaving it in seventh place," Kredich said. "Those three seniors have been invaluable for us."
Lehane was a three-time SEC champion, winning back-to-back 200 backstroke titles as a sophomore and junior. He earned the maximum seven All-America honors this week in all his events, bringing his career total of All-America honors to 20.
On the diving boards, Robles was a four-time SEC champion and picked up the 1-meter and platform titles as a senior. He was the SEC Diver of the Year in 2014 and the SEC Diver of the Meet in 2015 and 2016. He closes his career as a 10-time All-American and notably was a bronze medalist on 3-meter in 2014.
Gustav Aberg Lejdstrom, a frequent member of Vol freestyle relays throughout his career, also swam his last race. He was a nine-time All-American as a relay member.
