Tennessee Wins Pair of Gold Medals, Stege Shatters School Record as Lady Vols Finish Fifth at SECs

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University of Tennessee

SEC Championships - Diving

Tennessee Wins Pair of Gold Medals, Stege Shatters School Record as Lady Vols Finish Fifth at SECs

February 20, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

2021 Complete Meet Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore Kristen Stege shatters the school record in the 1650 freestyle Saturday night as the Lady Vols close out the 2021 Women's SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia's Gabrielsen Natatorium.

Tennessee finished fifth in the championship standings with 934 points. Kentucky was crowned champion, winning its first-ever SEC title with 1,124 points.

"We had a number of great performances this week," director of swimming and diving Matt Kredich said. "But I need to do a better job of getting the whole team ready for the competitiveness of this meet. It took us awhile to get adjusted to the atmosphere, but we adapted really well and we got better as the meet went on. It is really exciting to think about the future of this team because we took steps forward with an eye towards having another championship run next year. We believed we could win and I still believe we were not wrong in that, but we needed to do some things differently. We'll get back to work and the coaches will get back to planning. I am really excited to move on to NCAAs because I feel we have a good group heading to that meet too."

The final night started off with fireworks for UT as Stege threw down a school record 15:47.72 1650 freestyle swim. Her time toppled the previous school record of 15:53.39, which was set by Amanda Nunan at the 2020 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.

Stege won gold in the event, knocking off the defending champion, Alabama's Kensey McMahon who took silver behind the Lady Vol.

"Kristen is incredibly competitive," associate head coach Ashley Jahn said. "She knew that she needed to lead that group aggressively and from the front and that's exactly what she did. It was great to see all the preparation she has done throughout the year come to fruition."

Stege shaved off 20 seconds from her previous lifetime best with her swim tonight.

Within her 1650, Stege also broke the Tennessee program record in the 1000 freestyle. Her time of 9:31.01 surpasses the old school record of 9:37.08 held by Nunan.

Earlier in the day, freshman diver Bryden Hattie delivered Tennessee's first gold medal of the 2021 Men's SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, winning on platform. The Victoria, British Columbia, native was the top qualifier on tower after scoring 400.10 in prelims.

Hattie eclipsed that mark in finals with a winning score of 407.80. He becomes the fourth diver in program history to win gold on platform, joining Olympian Gabi Chereches, Mauricio Robles and Zhipeng (Colin) Zeng.

"It was a great way to end what has been a challenging week," diving coach Dave Parrington said. "We got better every day after a tough, tough start and today was a real capper. It was great. For Bryden to join that group is pretty heady stuff. That is a highly elite group to be a part of.

"Each of those guys were and are exceptional divers, champions and first-class individuals. Bryden is just like that and we got to see it today. To come in as a freshman and compete and win against a world-class field of divers speaks to his background and all the work he has put in to get to this point."

In total, it is UT's seventh platform gold medal.

Back in the pool, Tennessee's 400 free relay quartet of Mona McSharry, Trude Rothrock, Bailey Grinter and Tjasa Pintar capped the final night of SECs with a bronze medal winning performance. The group swam a 3:13.30 in the final heat, with McSharry leading off in a 48.44 100 free, setting a personal best time.

The squad's 3:13.30 places them seventh all-time in school history in the 400 free relay.

"Those four mean a lot to this team," Jahn said. "Their focus, energy and how competitive they are – they do a great job no matter what event they might be swimming. We gave Mona a heads up earlier today so she could plan to come out of the 200 breaststroke and start to prepare for the relay. She has had a lot of events this week but she was excited to be on the relay.

"Trude and Bailey, they are always good in their individual events, but they are even better on relays. They love competing for the team and we knew the relay was going to be strong with them on it. Tjasa had a great individual 100 tonight, not quite what she wanted, but she was excited to anchor the relay again. She did what she's done all week, which is compete and compete well."

1650 FREESTYLE
Senior Amanda Nunan and sophomore Claire Nguyen joined Stege in the 1650 freestyle, with Nunan placing eighth in 16:10.39. Nguyen finished 10th in a personal best time of 16:13.30.

200 BACKSTROKE
Kaitlin Harty and Danika Katzer returned Saturday for finals swims in the 200 back. Harty swam in the A-final, touching in 1:53.89 to place sixth. In the C-final, Katzer got to the wall in 1:57.64, finishing 24th overall.

100 FREESTYLE
Four Lady Vols swam in the finals of the 100 free, with Pintar leading the way in the A-final. The Ljubljana, Slovenia, native placed fourth in 47.92. In the morning session, Pintar turned in a 47.82 to set a personal best and move into fourth all-time in program history in the event.

In the B-final, Rothrock touched in 48.87, securing 11th overall. Not far behind was sophomore Natalie Ungaretti who turned in a time of 49.00 to place 14th. Like Pintar, Ungaretti set a personal best time in prelims Saturday morning, swimming a 48.90 100 free.

Grinter rounded out the 100 free group, swimming in the C-final and placing 19th with a time of 48.87.

200 BREASTSTROKE
McSharry led the breaststroke group Saturday as she finished fourth in the A-final. Her time of 2:07.13 is a personal best and the second-fastest 200 breast time in school history. She was joined in the A-final by senior Alexis Yager who finished eighth in 2:08.77.

Tennessee placed Alexandra Gebel and Emily Sykes in the B-final, with the duo finishing 14th and 15th, respectively. Gebel's 2:10.58 200 breast in finals set a new personal best for the redshirt junior. Gebel now ranks ninth all-time in Lady Vol history in the 200 breaststroke.

Sykes reached the wall in 2:10.69.

200 BUTTERFLY
In the 200 fly, Mallory Beil and Nguyen reached the finals as Beil took her turn in the B-final. The junior swam a 1:57.54, placing 11th overall.

Nguyen had the unenviable task of swimming the 1650 free and then turning around roughly 30 minutes later and swimming in the C-final of the 200 fly. The sophomore placed 24th in a time of 2:00.99.

DIVING
In addition to Hattie's gold medal win, the Vols scored valuable points on platform as senior Will Hallam placed 11th with a mark of 293.25, followed by freshman Jacob Reasor in 13th at 281.30. Keegan Richardson finished 18th, scoring 258.75.

"Keegan battled and scrapped all day," Parrington said. "He has been a little bit off this week unfortunately, but he has still put points on the board for his team. He continued to fight for his team and that was awesome to see. Jacob had some misses today but he also had some phenomenal dives as well. Will, coming off his shoulder surgery, has been a little bit behind the eight-ball all year but is really coming on and performed very well today. I am proud of everyone for the way they continued to fight and push despite the set backs and challenges that came this week."

UP NEXT
The men's swim team will take their turn in the SEC Championship waters, beginning Tuesday, February 23 in Columbia, Missouri.

LADY VOL MEDAL WINNERS
Kristen Stege – 500 Freestyle – Silver

Alexis Yager – 200 IM – Bronze

Mona McSharry, Natalie Ungaretti, Megan Sichterman, Bailey Grinter – 200 Free Relay – Bronze

Alexis Yager – 400 IM – Bronze

Mona McSharry – 100 Breaststroke – Silver

Kaitlin Harty, Mona McSharry, Trude Rothrock, Tjasa Pintar – 400 Medley Relay – Silver

Kristen Stege – 1650 Freestyle – Gold

Mona McSharry, Turde Rothrock, Bailey Grinter, Tjasa Pintar – 400 Free Relay – Bronze

LADY VOL TIME DROP – DAY FOUR
Kristen Stege – 1650 Freestyle – 15:47.72 (PR) – School Record

Stege – 1000 Freestyle – 9:31.01 (PR) – School Record – Set in 1650 Free

Claire Nguyen – 1650 Freestyle – 16:13.30 (PR)

Tjasa Pintar – 100 Freestyle – 47.82 (PR)

Natalie Ungaretti – 100 Freestyle – 48.90 (PR)

Mona McSharry – 100 Freestyle – 48.44r (PR)

Mona McSharry – 200 Breaststroke – 2:07.13 (PR)

Alexandra Gebel – 200 Breaststroke – 2:10.58 (PR)