Vols Tie Georgia with 1-2 Relay Finish

Saturday, January 20

Athens, GA

12:00 PM

University of Tennessee

Georgia

January 20, 2018 | Swimming & Diving

Final Results Photo Gallery

ATHENS, Ga. — Behind a wild 1-2 finish on the final relay, the Tennessee men's swimming and diving team tied Georgia 150-150 on Saturday at Gabrielsen Natatorium.

The Vols (6-1-1) trailed by 13 points heading into the final 400-yard medley relay but split its top relay squad across two teams. The risk paid off.

The "A" team of Ryan Coetzee, Austin Hirstein, Gleb Ionichev and Kyle DeCoursey won in 2:57.61. The Vols' "B" squad of Ty Powers, Alec Connolly, Braga Verhage and Joey Reilman narrowly out-touched Georgia's top squad at the wall in 2:58.61.

In the women's meet, the ninth-ranked Lady Vols (6-3) lost to sixth-ranked Georgia (8-0), 169-139.

The Tennessee men won eight of 16 events, getting most of its victories in the first half of the meet.

Redshirt junior Colin Zeng led the Vols with two victories in the diving well, taking the 1-meter springboard in 396.15 and the 3-meter competition in 419.85. Tennessee diving provided key points in the third-to-last event, the Zeng heading up a 1-2-4 finish on 3-meter with Liam Stone taking second and Will Hallam fourth.

Additional wins on the men's side included: DeCoursey in the 200 freestyle (1:36.54), Peter John Stevens in the 100 breaststroke (52.91), Powers in the 50 free (20.12), Alec Connolly in the 100 free (44.31) and Coetzee in the 100 butterfly (46.56). Tennessee also won the 200 medley relay to open the meet (1:25.80).

The Tennessee women won seven of 16 events, headlined by two-win days by junior diver Rachel Rubadue and sophomore Erika Brown.

Rubadue swept the women's diving competitions, winning the 1-meter competition before the session (282.08) followed by a season-best performance on 3-meter springboard (329.48).

Brown won the 50 freestyle (22.60) and the 100 butterfly (52.74).

Freshman Amanda Nunan added a win in the 10000 freestyle (9:53.43), and sophomore Meghan Small won the 400 IM (4:13.73). The Lady Vols opened the swimming competition with a win in the 200 medley relay (1:39.58).

UP NEXT: Tennessee concludes the regular-season schedule next week with a 1 p.m. home meet against Florida. Admission is free. The senior class will be honored before the meet.

QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Kredich:
"It was a great SEC battle. Each team threw significant punches during the meet. They went 1-2-3 in the 400 IM; we did the same in the 50 free. We knew we could get 1-3 in the relay, but we pulled Alec to swim on the B. Joey Reilman had a great last leg on the B to pull it out at the wall. It was a great test and a lot we can pull from it.

"There were some guys who didn't win but gave us great points. They weren't wins but they kept us in the meet. It gave us a sense that we were in it and fighting.

"In the women's meet, we had some bright spots but we're still swimming timidly too often. I want to see us as a team have more of that spitfire attitude in the middle and end of the race. We were unsure, Georgia took advantage of that. It was good to see Meghan Small back in the 400 IM after being hurt a lot in the last year. We are making progress, but didn't have the confidence that a meet against Georgia requires."

Diving Coach Dave Parrington:
"We knew diving was going to be big in both meets, and it especially ended up that way on the women's side. Because we started early, we had to get the teams off to a good start.

"In the men's 3-meter, we could see we were in a tight meet. Georgia had just gone 1-2-3 in the previous event, so we met as a team and said we needed to get the points back. We went 1-2-4. Colin had a great event. Liam had one of his best practices this season before competition and had a solid event.

"I was really pleased with Rachel. She was diving versus one of her former club teammates. She's a good-natured rival. Rachel was steady and solid on 1-meter, and Ana (Hernandez) did some good stuff as well. Rachel put up her best score of the year on 3-meter, and that was especially good to see on the road. Ana struggled a little but she's still getting the experience she needed."