Tennessee Sweeps South Carolina in the Pool

Friday, October 11

Columbia, SC

10 AM

University of Tennessee

South Carolina

Photo by: John Golliher/Tennessee Athletics

October 11, 2019 | Swimming & Diving

Results

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tennessee's swimming and diving team swept South Carolina in the men's and women's competition Friday at the Carolina Natatorium.

Led by four two-win days from Tess Cieplucha, Erika Brown, Abby Samansky and diver Grace Cable, the women's team defeated South Carolina, 199-99. The men's team completed the sweep, beating the Gamecocks, 202-94, on the strength of two-win days from diver Will Hallam and swimmers Taylor Abbott, Matthew Garcia, Michael Houlie and Alec Connolly.

This is the second meet in a row that Cable has swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards, scoring, 282.45, and, 324.60, respectively. Head diving coach Dave Parrington praised the sophomore for her composure and consistency.

"Grace Cable continues to excel in meet conditions," Parrington said. "Her composure and competitive drive was very consistent today against an always tough South Carolina diving squad."

On the men's diving side, Hallam notched his victories in the 1-meter and 3-meter boards with scores of, 342.53, and, 362.03, respectively. The junior from Bingley-Bradford, England swept both boards for consecutive meets.

"Will had two strong event wins," Parrington said. "I'm pleased with his strength and focus this early in the season."

In the pool, freshman Abby Samansky stepped up for the Lady Vols as she notched wins in the 100 and 200 freestyle. The Fresno, Calif., native touched the wall in 58.58 in the 100 free while posting a time of 2:06.41 in the 200 free.

"Abby had a great meet and we were really excited to bring her and allow her to compete in her first SEC dual meet," associate head coach Ashley Jahn said. "She did a great job and was really composed in both races."

Cieplucha continued her strong start to the season, winning two events for the second meet in a row. The senior was victorious in the 800 free at 9:12.19 and in the 200 breaststroke, hitting the wall in 2:36.32.

Brown swam the 50 free for the first time this fall, finishing first at 25.89. The senior also hit the water for the 200 backstroke, taking home the win with a time of 2:19.99. Brown swam third on the Lady Vols' 400 medley relay winning team which turned in a time of 4:16.73.

"The team was very competitive today, we got into town last night and began our preparations at the hotel," Jahn said. "We were competitive throughout the whole meet and finished races well. We are beginning to walk what we have been talking about and that started to really show up today."

For the men, Connolly led the charge with two individual wins and as a part of the Vols 400 medley relay win. The Knoxville native took home victories in the 50 free at 23.16 and in the 100 free, stopping the clock at 51.88. The 400 medley relay team took the top spot with a time of 3:49.12.

"Alec showed that he can compete with elite level sprinters," associate head coach Lance Asti said. "He took control of all his races and that is the kind of energy we want to build our program around."

Abbott showed his distance prowess as he took command of the 800 freestyle, swimming away from the competition and posting a time of 8:27.26. He again flexed his distance skills, pulling away with the 400 free victory at 4:02.93.

Garcia and Houlie performed well in their events with Garcia winning the 100 and 200 backstroke with times of 58.25 and 2:10.90. Houlie brought home wins for UT in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, clocking in at 1:03.48 and 2:22.95.

"We have talked extensively about living a performance enhancing lifestyle to find an edge and many of our men have committed to these new habits and are already seeing positive changes in their performances," Asti said. "To move from where we are to where we want to go we have to train and compete at a higher level. We certainly took a major step towards becoming a championship caliber team today. We competed with some real fire."

In preparation for the U.S. Olympic Trials, Tennessee and South Carolina swam each event in meters instead of the NCAA's standard yards measurement for swim meets.

UP NEXT:
Tennessee will be back on the road next weekend, traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a double dual against Michigan and Virginia, Oct. 18-19.

Women's Results
1-Meter Diving – Grace Cable, TENN (282.45)

400 Medley Relay – Tennessee (Small, Yager, Brown, Moseley) (4:16.73)

800 Freestyle – Tess Cieplucha, TENN (9:12.19)

200 Freestyle – Abby Samansky, TENN (2:06.41)

100 Backstroke – Emily Cornell, SC (1:03.65)

100 Breaststroke – Taylor Steele, SC (1:13.21)

200 Butterfly – McKenna Morello, TENN (2:22.90)

50 Freestyle – Erika Brown, TENN (25.89)

3-Meter Dive – Grace Cable, TENN (324.60)

100 Freestyle – Abby Samansky, TENN (58.58)

200 Backstroke – Erika Brown, TENN (2:19.99)

200 Breaststroke – Tess Cieplucha, TENN (2:36.32)

400 Freestyle – Amanda Nunan, TENN (4:29.57)

100 Butterfly – Trude Rothrock, TENN (1:01.34)

200 Individual Medley – Meghan Small, TENN (2:19.76)

400 Freestyle Relay – South Carolina (Lappin, Cornell, Alexander, Lingmann) (3:55.21)

Men's Results
1-Meter – Will Hallam, TENN (342.53)

400 Medley Relay – Tennessee (Garcia, Houlie, Verhage, Connolly) (3:49.12)

800 Freestyle – Taylor Abbott, TENN (8:27.26)

200 Freestyle – Josh Walsh, TENN (1:56.96)

100 Backstroke – Matthew Garcia, TENN (58.25)

100 Breaststroke – Michael Houlie, TENN (1:03.48)

200 Butterfly – Marc Hinawi, TENN (2:03.86)

50 Freestyle – Alec Connolly, TENN (23.16)

100 Freestyle – Alec Connolly, TENN (51.88)

200 Backstroke – Matthew Garcia, TENN (2:10.90)

200 Breaststroke – Michael Houlie, TENN (2:22.95)

400 Freestyle – Taylor Abbott, TENN (4:02.93)

100 Butterfly – Oskar Hoff, TENN (57.01)

3-Meter Dive – Will Hallam, TENN (362.03)

200 Individual Medley – Lionel Khoo, SC (2:11.52)

400 Freestyle Relay – South Carolina (Burras, Ross, Costin, Gropper) (3:33.69)