Tennessee Invitational Notebook: Day 2

November 19, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

Swimming and Diving Day 2 Prelims Results

Tennessee swimming & diving continued its impressive showing on Day Two of the Tennessee Invitational, posting 37 personal records during the prelims on Friday morning. The day's slate included the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, men's 1-meter diving and women's 3-meter diving.

Here's a breakdown of each event:

100 Butterfly

Tennessee wasted no time picking up where it left off in the invite, notching 12 personal bests in the 100 fly to open the morning.

Ellen Walshe kicked things off in the first heat by throwing down a 51.39 mark, which ranked fifth in program history. The freshman's time was the fastest in the heat, while Trude Rothrock (52.15) and Mallory (52.33) finished second and third in prelims. Sara Stotler recorded a person-best time of 52.37, and Megan Sichterman posted a mark of 52.65 to qualify five Lady Vols for the A Final.

Advancing to the C Final, Emma Carlton touched the wall in an NCAA B Cut time of 53.70. She's joined by Julia Mrozinski (54.06) and Asia Minnes (54.30). Anna-Julia Kutsch (54.80) and Kate McCarville (54.82) will swim in the D Final.

On the men's side, Kayky Mota posted the top time of prelims at 46.49. Luke Brice also qualified for the A Final after recording a personal-best mark of 47.06. Three Vols earned spots in the B Final, led Jordan Crooks' NCAA B Cut time of 47.40. He's joined by Micah Chambers (47.78) and Harrison Lierz (48.14).

The C Final will feature Joel Giraudeau (48.22) and Nolan Briggs (48.73), while Gus Rothrock (48.88) will be in the D Final.

PRs (12)
Women
Ellen Walshe: 51.39 (5th in program history)
Sara Stotler: 52.37
Julia Mrozinski: 54.06
Asia Minnes: 54.30
Anna-Julia Kutsch: 54.80
Kate McCarville: 54.82
Bayley Stewart: 54.86
Lauren Wetherell: 57.88

Men
Luke Brice: 47.06
Jordan Crooks: 47.40
Harrison Lierz: 48.14
Jack Flanagan: 49.82

400 IM

Ellen Walshe's strong showing in the morning continued with the 400 IM. After moving into third in the Lady Vol record books in the 200 IM on Thursday, she posted the fifth-fastest time in program history in the 400 with a mark of 4:06.07. It was the top time from preliminaries.

Alexis Yager (4:06.25), Summer Smith (4:12.18), Danika Katzer (4:16.52) and Alyssa Breslin (4:17.21) also posted A Final qualifying times. Kate McCarville (4:18.46) and Emily Sykes (4:18.80) will compete in the B Final.

Gus Rothrock posted the Vols' sixth-fastest 400 IM time ever during prelims, touching the wall in 3:48.93. Also recording personal-best marks to earn a spot in the A Final was Joey Tepper (3:52.17) and Dain Ripol (3:54.65).

PRs (4)
Women
Ellen Walshe: 4:06.07 (5th in program history)

Men
Gus Rothrock: 3:48.93 (6th in program history)
Joey Tepper: 3:52.17
Dain Ripol: 3:54.65

200 Freestyle

Eleven more personal bests and two record-book performances were posted during the 200 freestyle.

Julia Mrozinski (1:45.26) and Trude Rothrock (1:46.02) finished as the top performers in the prelims. Mrozinski's time ranked seventh in program history, while Rothrock recorded a personal-best mark to take 10th in the Lady Vol records. The duo was joined by Brooklyn Douthwright (1:46.24) and Sara Stotler (1:46.30) as the A Final qualifiers.

Abby Samansky (1:48.42), Kate McCarville (1:48.76) and Elle Caldow (1:48.80) earned spots in the B Final, while Kristen Stege (1:49.80) and Summer Eaker (1:49.94) will compete in the C Final. Four Lady Vols qualified for the D Final, led by Lauren Wetherell's personal-best time of 1:50.35.

The men advanced three to the A Final with Seth Thompson-Bailey leading the way behind a 1:35.57 time. Will Jackson (1:36.00) and Jordan Crooks (1:36.28) rounded out the top performers. Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla qualified for the B Final after posting a personal-best time of 1:37.20.

Jack Stelter (1:38.44), Griffin Hadley (1:38.61) and Joey Tepper (1:38.81) will compete in the C Final, while the D Final will include Joseph Jordan (1:39.08), Jacob Narvid (1:39.47) and Nolan Briggs (1:39.81).

PRs (11)
Women
Julia Mrozinski: 1:45.26 (7th in program history)
Trude Rothrock: 1:46.02 (10th in program history)
Brooklyn Douthwright: 1:46.24
Sara Stotler: 1:46.30
Lauren Wetherell: 1:50.35

Men
Jordan Crooks: 1:36.28
Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla: 1:37.20
Joey Tepper: 1:38.81
Joseph Jordan: 1:39.08
Jacob Narvid: 1:39.47
Scott Scanlon: 1:42.50

100 Breaststroke

Tennessee had three top-10 performances in the 100 breast in the morning and one NCAA A Cut time.

Mona McSharry didn't set a PR, but her time of 58.19 was an NCAA A Cut mark and set up what will be one of the best A Final races of the invite tonight, as three different swimmers qualified for the 2022 NCAA Championships in the morning. Alexis Yager will also compete in the A Final after recording a PR time of 59.84, which ranks seventh in program history.

Alexandra Gebel (1:01.09), Tjasa Pintar (1:01.30), Emily Sykes (1:01.45) and Asia Minnes (1:01.65) posted NCAA B Cut times to earn spots in the B Final. Josephine Fuller (1:02.35) will swim in the C Final, while Jordan Aurnou-Rhees (1:03.45) and Sammy Huff (1:03.89) will be in the D Final.

The Vols dominated the 100 breast prelims, claiming four of the top six times. Jarel Dillard threw down a 51.83 effort to move into third in the UT record books. Michael Houlie posted a time of 52.30, while Lyubomir Epitropov recorded a PR mark of 52.63, the sixth-fastest time in program history. Brett Champlin touched the wall in 52.80 to give Tennessee half of the A Final swimmers. Joseph Jordan will compete in the C Final after posting a time of 55.91.

PRs (4)
Women
Alexis Yager: 59.84 (7th in program history)
Jordan Aurnou-Rhees: 1:03.45

Men
Jarel Dillard: 51.83 (3rd in program history)
Lyubomir Epitropov: 52.63 (6th in program history)

100 Backstroke

UT set six personal records in the 100 back to cap the prelims for the morning.

Josephine Fuller (52.72) and Bayley Stewart (53.54) posted the top times of their career to earn spots in the A Final. Elle Caldow (53.76), Megan Sichterman (53.77), Summer Smith (53.83), Emma Carlton (53.86) and Olivia Harper (54.29) will compete in the B Final. Five more Lady Vols qualified for the C Final in an impressive showing for the women's squad in the back.

On the men's side, Jordan Crooks (47.25) and Harrison Lierz (47.87) will represent the Vols in the A Final, while Hadley Griffin (48.60) and Micah Chambers (48.80) will swim in the B Final. Seth Thompson-Bailey (49.44) and Jacob Narvid (49.74) are in the C Final.

PRs (6)
Women
Megan Sichterman: 53.77
Summer Smith: 53.81
Brooklyn Douthwright: 54:98
Mallory Beil: 55:28

Men
Jordan Crooks: 47.25
Jacob Narvid: 49.72

1-Meter (Men's)

The Vols took second, third and fourth on the 1-meter springboard during prelims, with Bryden Hattie leading the way with a score of 331.60. Matthew Wade, who was making his season debut, posted a mark of 316.45 followed by Dillon Richardson's 316.15. Jacob Reasor also earned a spot in the finals by recording a score of 298.20.

3-Meter (Women's)

Grace Cable dominated the prelims on the 3-meter, finishing with the top score at 331.00. Elle Renner (272.20), Madison Reese (263.30) and Kara Holt (260.85) also qualified for the finals.