University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Georgia
Vols Lose Home Dual Finale to Top-Five Georgia
January 21, 2017 | Swimming & Diving
Results |
Photo Gallery 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee swimming and diving team lost to Georgia on Saturday at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center to close out the home regular-season schedule.
Redshirt junior David Heron, junior Liam Stone and sophomore Kyle DeCoursey won two events each in Tennessee's 172-128 loss to No. 5 Georgia on the men's side. In the women's meet, Tennessee won 6 of 16 events and lost 178-122 to the third-ranked Bulldogs.
Freshman Meghan Small led the UT women with victories in the 200-yard backstroke and 200 IM in addition to a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle.
Inside the men's meet: Heron put together his best dual meet of his career. The open water swimmer from California led a 1-2 finish in the 1,000 freestyle, taking first in 9:02.90 with freshman Taylor Abbott following in 9:10.73.
Later in the meet, Heron won the 500 free in 4:24.76, and junior Sam McHugh finished third (4:25.18).
"He's not ever swum like that with the confidence he had today," Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich said. "Those two races were pretty dominant, including the 500 free where he won by just a little bit. He was in control the whole time. David was spectacular and coming around at a good time."
DeCoursey swept the sprint freestyle races for a fifth time this season. He powered the Vols to a 1-2 finish in the 50 freestyle with a season-best time of 19.54 followed by Ryan Coetzee (20.33). He won the 100 freestyle in 43.70.
Stone won both springboard competitions for a fourth time this year, taking first in the 1-meter springboard in 402.53 and the 3-meter competition in 388.20. Sophomore Nicholas Rusek recorded a career-best score of 344.02 to finish third on 1-meter.
Inside the women's meet: In the women's competition, Small put together another two-win meet for Tennessee, winning the 200 backstroke (1:55.64) -- beating out Georgia's Kylie Stewart by three hundredths -- and the 200 IM (1:58.31). She also picked up a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:47.88).
On her senior day, Colleen Callahan booked a victory in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.37). Sophomore Madeline Banic won the 100 butterfly (53.31).
Sophomore Rachel Rubadue was victorious on the women's 3-meter springboard (312.61). She was second in the 1-meter springboard (285.23).
Tennessee opened the meet sweeping the men's and women's 200 medley relay, with the women winning in 1:39.01 and the men taking first in 1:25.64.
Up Next: The Vols conclude the regular season next Saturday with a road meet at Florida beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. After that, the Vols will host the SEC Championships, which runs Feb. 14-18.
QUOTES
Comments from Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich: "There were a really impressive steps that members of our team took forward. Kyle DeCoursey just keeps getting better. He was phenomenal today. I thought Matthew Dunphy made a lot of progress, which was good to see from him. Ryan Coetzee in the 100 fly and 50 free.
"We saw some themes that were really good. We got in a lot of close races with some great swimmers and won our share. That was more true in the second half than the first, we were a little sluggish at the beginning.
"On the women's side, Meghan Small is really starting to come together and recover from her fall. Our seniors have been great all season and I think today in particular, Colleen Callahan gave us a real lift. Madeline Banic gave us a great lift. She struggled in the fall and is coming around at a great time. I'm happy with where we are. We're making progress but came up a little short.
Comments from Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington: "Starting with the men's side, first of all, it was exciting to see Michael Howell compete in his last home dual meet and got a couple of fifth place finishes but did some really good stuff today. I was very proud of him. Of course the highlight being Liam Stone winning both events. He had an exceptional performance on 1-meter. He threw a new dive on 3-meter, so I'm happy with that. And of course, Nick Rusek did a fantastic job today particularly on 1-meter working his way into a career high. So overall, I'm very pleased with the performance from the men.
"On the women's side, Rachel Rubadue had a nice day; good win for her on 3-meter. It was also a very close competition against former SEC champion on 1-meter. It was very good to see Sean Meyers back on the boards after some injury issues, and Emily Pelletier was very steady today. I'm very pleased with the steps we took today as we get ready for the SEC tournament."
