Tennessee Defeats Purdue, Wisconsin in 1st Road Meet

Friday, November 2

West Lafayette, IN

1:30 PM

University of Tennessee

Purdue

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2018.01.26 - Tennessee vs. Florida

Photo by: John Golliher/Tennessee Athletics

November 02, 2018 | Swimming & Diving

Results Photo Gallery

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Tennessee swimming and diving teams stormed past Purdue and Wisconsin in their first road meet of the season on Friday at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center.

The Tennessee men (3-1), ranked 15th nationally, won the first five events of the meet and never looked back, winning 12 of 16 competitions en route to defeating No. 24 Wisconsin 204-96 and No. 25 Purdue 200-98.

The 24th-ranked Lady Vols (3-1) won 10 of 16 events behind a three-win performance by junior Erika Brown. Tennessee upended No. 14 Wisconsin 206.5-92.5 and host Purdue 188-111.

Seniors Zhipeng (Colin) Zeng and Taylor Abbott led the way for the Vols with two wins each in the men's competition. Zeng remained unbeaten on the springboards, taking first on the 1-meter (393.60) and the 3-meter (439.75) springboard events. Abbott swept the distance events, taking first in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:06.15) before winning the 500 freestyle later in the meet in 4:26.16.

Individual winners for the Tennessee men also included: Josh Walsh in the 200 freestyle (1:37.77), Matthew Garcia in the 100 backstroke (47.89), Marc Hinawi in the 200 butterfly (1:49.29), Kyle DeCoursey in the 50 freestyle (20.43), Alec Connolly in the 100 freestyle (44.51) and Matthew Dunphy in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.15). Friday marked the season debut for DeCoursey, the 11-time All-American senior.

For the Lady Vols, Brown took first in the 100 backstroke (53.02), the 100 freestyle (49.43) and the 100 butterfly (52.72). The reigning SEC Swimmer of the Week has won her first seven individual events this season after going 4-for-4 last week against Alabama and Louisville.

Lady Vol winners also included: Trude Rothrock in the 200 freestyle (1:49.43), Meghan Small in the 200 butterfly (1:59.48), Madeline Banic in the 50 freestyle (22.77), Emily Sykes in the 200 breaststroke (2:16.44) and Amanda Nunan in the 500 freestyle (4:51.40).

Tennessee swept all four relay events against the Big Ten opponents, opening with wins in the 200 medley relay and closing with the 400 freestyle relay.

UP NEXT: Tennessee returns to action next week to host a double dual meet against Auburn and Texas. The Nov. 9 meet starts at noon at Allan Jones Aquatic Center. The 1978 NCAA men's championship team will be honored as the returning team members celebrate the 40th anniversary of their national title.

QUOTES
Dave Parrington, Diving Coach
"We were happy to be able to compete against such a strong squad from Purdue in particular and Wisconsin. The level of competition was very strong. As far as Tennessee divers go, we had a really wide range of good performances all the way down to stuff where we really need to work on some things and a lot of stuff in the middle. It was really good to be on the road. When you are on the road going against such good competition, it certainly lets us know where we stand as opposed to being in our comfort zone. I learned a lot from the team. I'm very pleased with Colin Zeng's double win here against a strong squad. He really did some good things. I'm pleased with the improvement Matthew Wade continues to make. On the women's side, Rachel Rubadue was in a couple competitive battles and did some good stuff. Ana Hernandez continues to improve. I was pleased overall with our diving performance."

Ashley Jahn, Associate Head Coach
(On meet)
"One of the things we were focusing on was being more aggressive in the front of the races. The women really did that today. They put themselves out into the race a little bit more. We were able to see some athletes in some different or new events. Getting to see the freshman race again, getting to see some sophomores, juniors and seniors in events they were working on, it was good to see. We're looking forward to next week. We took a big step forward today and we're excited about what they did."

(On Erika Brown's 100 backstroke)
"What we really want to do is help Erika develop as both an athlete and a swimmer. One great way to do that is by challenging her in a new event. The backstroke helps her execute better in her freestyle and fly, both in underwaters and in executing a game plan for a 100-yard race. She also really likes the event, and that's fun too."

Lance Asti, Associate Head Coach
(On meet)
"We had two main missions: continuing to get better off the last two meets. The goal is to keep getting better, and we had a lot of guys go season bests. The other mission was this was our first meet on the road. To be able to handle travel for the first time, I thought we handled it exceptionally well. Our upperclassmen did a good job of teaching our freshman about travel and how to manage that. Our sights our set on getting ourselves ready for SECs and NCAAs and today was step towards that.

(On DeCoursey's return)
"It's good to have Kyle back in the pool. He's such a sparkplug in competition, and it's good to see him healthy and competing. It was also good to have him to be able to compete here with his family in town to watch and his sister being a member of the Purdue team."

(On other standouts)
"Taylor Abbott continues to energize our team. He's looking for any way possible to get better. He sees the big picture with each race building toward the postseason. Our freshmen are making some amazing changes; Jarel (Dillard) took some big steps in the 200 breast."

Tennessee vs. Purdue/Wisconsin
Tennessee Winners
Women (10 of 16 events)
200 Medley Relay - Tennessee A (1:40.01)
200 Free - Trude Rothrock (1:49.43)
100 Back - Erika Brown (53.02)
200 Fly - Meghan Small (1:59.48)
50 Free - Madeline Banic (22.77)
100 Free - Erika Brown (49.43)
200 Breast - Emily Sykes (2:16.44)
500 Free - Amanda Nunan (4:51.40)
100 Fly - Erika Brown (52.72)
400 Free Relay - Tennessee A (3:21.13)

Men (12 of 16 events)
200 Medley Relay - Tennessee A (1:27.49)
1000 Free - Taylor Abbott (9:06.15)
3-Meter - Zhipeng (Colin) Zeng (439.75)
200 Free - Josh Walsh (1:37.77)
100 Back - Matthew Garcia (47.89)
200 Fly - Marc Hinawi (1:49.29)
50 Free - Kyle DeCoursey (20.43)
100 Free - Alec Connolly (44.51)
200 Breast - Matthew Dunphy (2:00.15)
500 Free - Taylor Abbott (4:26.16)
1-Meter - Zhipeng (Colin) Zeng (393.60)
400 Free Relay - Tennessee B (2:58.67)