DeCoursey Leads Vols to Men's Victory Over UVA

Friday, January 5

Knoxville, TN

11:00 AM

University of Tennessee

Virginia

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2018.01.05 - Kyle DeCoursey

January 05, 2018 | Swimming & Diving

Meet Results Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Behind a four-victory performance by junior Kyle DeCoursey, the No. 12 Tennessee men's swimming and diving team rolled to a 198-100 victory over No. 21 Virginia on Friday at Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

The Vols (6-1) won 14 of 16 events in the comprehensive win to open the 2018 spring schedule.

The No. 7 Tennessee women (5-2) won 7 of 16 events in a 177-123 loss to No. 11 Virginia. The seven events were won by seven different Lady Vols.

DeCoursey went three-for-three in individual events to lead the way for the Vols. He won the 200 freestyle (1:36.20) the 50 freestyle (20.06) and concluded his list with the 100 freestyle (44.23). He also swam the anchor leg to help the Vols rally past Virginia in the 400 freestyle relay to conclude the meet.

Senior Sam McHugh added two wins of his own in the 200 butterfly (1:46.29) and the 200 IM near the end of the session (1:47.99). He was also second in the 200 backstroke.

Additional victories on the men's side included: David Heron in the 1650 freestyle (15:05.71), Braga Verhage in the 100 backstroke (49.24), Peter John Stevens in the 100 breaststroke (54.02), Taylor Abbott in the 500 freestyle (4.28.86) and Ryan Coetzee in the 100 butterfly (47.66).

With his preliminary performance in the Tennessee Diving Invitational, redshirt junior Colin Zeng provided a victory in the 1-meter springboard (365.60), and senior Liam Stone got the win on 3-meter (379.60).

Seven swimmers and divers provided victories for the Lady Vols: Amanda Nunan in the 1650 freestyle (16:50.61), Micah Bohon in the 100 backstroke (54.45), Tjasa Pintar in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.28), Emily Sykes in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.09), Erika Brown in the 100 butterfly (53.47) and Meghan Small in the 200 IM (2:00.34).

Freshman Ana Celaya Hernandez' prelim score on the 3-meter springboard (322.40) also counted toward the Lady Vols' win total.

Tennessee Head Coach Matt Kredich:
"Both teams competed really well in places. Each team had competitive lulls, but that's understandable coming out of the break. It's something we need to address.

"Our women have had a rough week in terms of health. For being shorthanded and on the road to recovering, there were some bright sports: Erika got back in the pool yesterday and gave us a lift in the 100 fly and 50 free. Tjasa in the 100 breast gave us a shot in the arm. Micah was competitive in the 100 back, gave us a shot in the arm too. Emily Sykes in the 200 breast and Amanda Nunan in the mile and 500 free.

"For Kyle, It's rare to have a four-event win day. The brightest spot for him was his 200 free. He's worked on developing it this year. We've come to expect him to be competitive in the 50 and 100, but the 200 has become a real weapon for him. Sam's 200 fly was big for us, and Ryan Coetzee in the 100 fly. Their leadership is starting to really define the team. That's great because they're all really competitive. For our men, we need to stay healthy and we're on a good path right now. For our women, we need to get healthy. Once we get back to full strength, we'll be formidable."