University of Tennessee Athletics
Olympian, World Championship Qualifiers to Join Vols Midyear
December 14, 2021 | Swimming & Diving
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee men's swimming will add midyear enrollees Björn Kammann, Aleksey Tarasenko and Joaquin Vargas ahead of the spring semester, director of swimming and diving Matt Kredich announced Tuesday.
The trio will join the Vols in the next month and are expected to make immediate impacts for the team in several key areas. Kammann and Vargas, who was a 2020 Tokyo Olympian, are two of the top freshmen in the country, while Tarasenko boasts multiple years of collegiate experience.
"We would be thrilled to be bringing in any single one of these men to our team, and the fact that they are all three coming at once is even more exciting," Kredich said. "Our men have a lot of momentum from our performances and training this fall, and these three men will immediately impact our training environment and our performance capabilities. Josh Huger, our recruiting coordinator, and Rich Murphy, our associate head coach for the men, have worked really hard to identify student-athletes of high character and elite mindsets who can come in and benefit from a world-class education and training environment, and we can't wait to welcome them into the Vol family."
A native of Hamburg, Germany, Kammann is a versatile swimmer, specializing in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. In October, he swam in the FINA Swimming World Cup, finishing seventh in the 50 back and 100 fly.
Kammann competed in the European Aquatic Championships in May, where he swam the 100 free (49.83), 100 back (55.38) and 100 fly (52.80). His 100 free converted time (43.45) would be third for UT this season. His personal best in the 100 back (52.16) converts to 46.99, which would rank first for the Vols.
Tarasenko is joining the Vols after three seasons at Iowa, where he swam the freestyle and was a member of the Hawkeyes' relay squads. He competed in the finals for the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free during the 2021 Big Ten Championships. His personal records in the 50 free (19.63), 100 free (42.85) and 200 free (1:35.07) would all rank in the top five for UT this season.
Vargas represented Peru during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, competing in the 200- and 400-meter freestyles. He posted a time of 1:49.93 in the 200 followed by a mark of 3:52.94 in the 400.
In October, Vargas earned podium finishes in the 200 free (1st/1:45.68), 400 free (1st/3:43.32) and 100 back (2nd/53.72), setting the Peruvian National Record in all three short-course events, during the Puerto Rico International Swim. He also owns the long-course national records in the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free and 100 back. His most recent SCM times converted to SCY for 200 free and 500 free are 1:35.20 and 4:15.22, respectively.
Competing with Azura Florida Aquatics, Vargas won three gold medals at Pembroke Pines 18&U Winter Championships in 2020. Most recently, he won the gold medal in the 400 free during the Speedo Winter Championships this past weekend.
Tennessee swimming will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 8, as UT will head to Duke to take on the Blue Devils and Queens University.
For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee swimming & diving on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
The trio will join the Vols in the next month and are expected to make immediate impacts for the team in several key areas. Kammann and Vargas, who was a 2020 Tokyo Olympian, are two of the top freshmen in the country, while Tarasenko boasts multiple years of collegiate experience.
"We would be thrilled to be bringing in any single one of these men to our team, and the fact that they are all three coming at once is even more exciting," Kredich said. "Our men have a lot of momentum from our performances and training this fall, and these three men will immediately impact our training environment and our performance capabilities. Josh Huger, our recruiting coordinator, and Rich Murphy, our associate head coach for the men, have worked really hard to identify student-athletes of high character and elite mindsets who can come in and benefit from a world-class education and training environment, and we can't wait to welcome them into the Vol family."
A native of Hamburg, Germany, Kammann is a versatile swimmer, specializing in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. In October, he swam in the FINA Swimming World Cup, finishing seventh in the 50 back and 100 fly.
Kammann competed in the European Aquatic Championships in May, where he swam the 100 free (49.83), 100 back (55.38) and 100 fly (52.80). His 100 free converted time (43.45) would be third for UT this season. His personal best in the 100 back (52.16) converts to 46.99, which would rank first for the Vols.
Tarasenko is joining the Vols after three seasons at Iowa, where he swam the freestyle and was a member of the Hawkeyes' relay squads. He competed in the finals for the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free during the 2021 Big Ten Championships. His personal records in the 50 free (19.63), 100 free (42.85) and 200 free (1:35.07) would all rank in the top five for UT this season.
Vargas represented Peru during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, competing in the 200- and 400-meter freestyles. He posted a time of 1:49.93 in the 200 followed by a mark of 3:52.94 in the 400.
In October, Vargas earned podium finishes in the 200 free (1st/1:45.68), 400 free (1st/3:43.32) and 100 back (2nd/53.72), setting the Peruvian National Record in all three short-course events, during the Puerto Rico International Swim. He also owns the long-course national records in the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free and 100 back. His most recent SCM times converted to SCY for 200 free and 500 free are 1:35.20 and 4:15.22, respectively.
Competing with Azura Florida Aquatics, Vargas won three gold medals at Pembroke Pines 18&U Winter Championships in 2020. Most recently, he won the gold medal in the 400 free during the Speedo Winter Championships this past weekend.
Tennessee swimming will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 8, as UT will head to Duke to take on the Blue Devils and Queens University.
For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee swimming & diving on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
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