No. 3/10 Tennessee Sweeps No. 11/13 Louisville on the Road

Thursday, October 24

Louisville, KY

2 PM

University of Tennessee

Louisville

Photo by: John Golliher/Tennessee Athletics

No. 3/10 Tennessee Sweeps No. 11/13 Louisville on the Road

October 24, 2019 | Swimming & Diving

Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 3/10 Tennessee came away victorious Thursday, defeating No. 11/13 Louisville on the road at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.

The third-ranked Lady Vols beat the 13th-ranked Louisville women, 172.5-127.5, while the 10th-ranked Vols won a tight battle against the Cardinals' 11th-ranked men's team, 150.5-149.5.

The women's competition was close at the first swimming break but coming out of it, the Lady Vols locked in and pulled away from the Cardinals.

"We had a really solid first half of the meet and Louisville is a really competitive team, which is one of the reasons I love this dual meet every single year," associate head coach Ashley Jahn said. "They did a really good job, where we were able to take some shots early in the meet, they were able to minimize it in their own way. Our team was really fired up for the second half of the meet and had some really high goals of what they wanted to accomplish and did a fantastic job of executing."

Senior Erika Brown led the charge for the women with three individual wins while fellow senior Meghan Small brought home two event wins. Both Lady Vols helped power the 200 medley relay to victory with Small swimming the leadoff leg and Brown on anchor.

Brown posted her second three-event win day of the season as she took first in the 100 backstroke (53.03), 100 freestyle (48.86) and 100 butterfly (52.59).

Small's wins came in the 200 free (1:48.59) and the 200 breaststroke (2:12.89). Her time in the breaststroke is an NCAA B-cut, giving her four after the season's first four meets.

"Erika and Meghan are incredible leaders," associate head coach Ashley Jahn said. "They are both different in how they lead and I am really proud of both of them. Meghan had some really great performances today. Erika, all of the focus she puts in at practice, she is constantly looking for ways to get better. If something doesn't go the way she wants it too, she turns it into an opportunity to figure out how she could have done it better or uses it as an opportunity to respond better the next time it happens."

Junior Bailey Grinter threw down an excellent performance in the 50 free, touching the wall first at 22.59. The time sets an NCAA B-cut and moves her into the top 15 nationally entering the weekend.

"Bailey has been amazing this year," Jahn said. "She has been having fun at practice and is really focused. She is still making huge gains and what she is doing in the pool and also in the weight room, she has always been a really strong leader for the team, but she is stepping into that roll now even more. It's been really fun to see."

The men trailed Louisville going into the meet's final event, the 400 freestyle relay. However, the Vols relay squad of Seth Thompson-Bailey, Nolan Briggs, Josh Walsh and Alec Connolly posted a 2:57.49, placing first and securing just enough points to edge the Cardinals.

"It's a relay which is what our team is all about, team," associate head coach Lance Asti said. "It's four guys counting on one another, relying on the brother next to them and they did it for their team. This is another great measuring stick to see where we are and we always expect to win but our goals are still in front of us."

Senior Taylor Abbott continues to impress early in the season as he placed first in the 500 and 1,000 freestyle, lowering his season-best time in the 1,000 to 9:09.93. He won the 500 free with a time of 4:27.00. Going into this weekend, the senior ranks among the top 15 in the country in both events.

"He's buying in," Asti said. "Coach Rich Murphy has done a great job of developing him and that whole group. He's listening and he's learning and I also think he isn't just worried about himself but he's worried about his teammates. You see the impact in his races with Ethan Sanders and I think Taylor is a big part of why Ethan is improving. Those two guys have gotten into a grove of working together and helping each other."

Michael Houlie had another strong showing in the men's 100 breaststroke, lowering his season best time to 53.09, winning the event. The sophomore's time is currently the second-fastest nationally, heading into the weekend.

"This whole team, we're doing something really special right now," Asti said. "It's a bunch of guys that believe in the mission, that believe in the work that we're doing and they are competing in the way we need to compete. We're ferocious in competition and that's how we need to be if we're going to be a team that's moving towards championships."

It was a tough day for Tennessee in diving as Louisville swept the men's and women's competition. Ana Celaya Hernandez placed third on the women's 1-meter board, scoring 267.08 to lead the Lady Vols. On the 3-meter springboard, Grace Cable bounced back from a tough 1-meter, finishing second with a final score of 313.20.

On the men's side, Will Hallam was second on the 1-meter board at 297.98 and second on 3-meter with a score 357.75.

"Credit to Louisville, they came in here in their first meet and stood up and gave us a good fight in a tough environment," diving coach Dave Parrington said. "I don't mean that in a negative way, I mean that in a positive manner. Made it a tough fantastic college dual meet environment. It was exciting, loud and noisy. We took some lumps and bumps along the way but that will benefit us down the road."

UP NEXT
Tennessee will have a week of training before hosting Purdue on Nov. 8 and Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt on Nov. 9.

Women's Results
200 Medley Relay – Tennessee (Small, Pintar, Moseley, Brown) – 1:39.41

1 -Meter Springboard – Molly Fears – UL – 300.08

1000 Freestyle – Maria Sumida – UL – 9:57.81

200 Freestyle – Meghan Small – TENN – 1:48.59

100 Backstroke – Erika Brown – TENN – 53.03 – NCAA B-cut

100 Breaststroke – Morgan Friesen – UL – 1:02.64

200 Butterfly – Grace Oglesby – UL – 1:58.92

50 Freestyle – Bailey Grinter – TENN – 22.59 – NCAA B-cut

100 Freestyle – Erika Brown – TENN – 48.86 – NCAA B-cut

200 Backstroke – Kaitlin Harty – TENN – 1:58.55

200 Breaststroke – Meghan Small – TENN – 2:12.89 – NCAA B-cut

500 Freestyle – Alexis Yager – TENN – 4:53.16

100 Butterfly – Erika Brown – TENN – 52.59

3-Meter Springboard – Molly Fears – UL – 328.35

200 IM – Tess Cieplucha – TENN – 2:00.30

400 Freestyle Relay – Tennessee (Grinter, Small, Pintar, Moseley) – 3:19.88

Men's Results
200 Medley Relay – Tennessee (Garcia, Houlie, Verhage, Connolly) – 1:27.07

3-Meter Springboard – Daniel Pinto – UL – 369.00

1000 Freestyle – Taylor Abbott – TENN – 9:09.93

200 Freestyle – Colton Paulson – UL – 1:38.40

100 Backstroke – Nicolas Albiero – UL – 47.31

100 Breaststroke – Michael Houlie – TENN – 53.09 – NCAA B-cut

200 Butterfly – Marc Hinawi – TENN – 1:47.97

50 Freestyle – Mihalis Deliyiannis – UL – 20.31

100 Freestyle – Alec Connolly – TENN – 43.94

200 Backstroke – Daniel Sos – UL – 1:46.07

200 Breaststroke – Evgenii Somov – UL – 1:59.24

500 Freestyle – Taylor Abbott – TENN – 4:27.00

100 Butterfly – Nicolas Albiero – UL – 47.90

1-Meter Springboard – Daniel Pinto – UL – 302.48

200 IM – Daniel Sos – UL – 1:47.32

400 Freestyle Relay – Tennessee (Bailey, Briggs, Walsh, Connolly) – 2:57.49