Vols and Lady Vols Cap Regular Season with Ranked Wins on Senior Day

Saturday, January 21

Knoxville

11:00 AM

University of Tennessee

Georgia (Senior Day)

Tennessee Swimming & Diving 2023 Senior Day Photo

Vols and Lady Vols Cap Regular Season with Ranked Wins on Senior Day

January 21, 2023 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

Results Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Capping off the regular season on a high note, Tennessee swimming & diving bested SEC rival Georgia on Saturday afternoon at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic center.

The No. 8 Vols cruised past the 11th-ranked Bulldogs, 183-117, while the No. 12 Lady Vols topped 15th-ranked Georgia, 180-120.

"I think our women throughout the fall really struggled with their identity," Director of Swimming & Diving Matt Kredich said. "We've had a lot of key people out, so it became important to ask the question 'Who are we?' I think we at times struggled to answer that. Over the past six weeks, I've gotten the sense that this women's team has tapped into an identity that they feel great about. It's helped to hear from past Lady Vols and that some of our younger people have stepped up and said, 'This is who we are; this is how we're going to compete.' There's some really strong momentum behind it. It's a unique team, a really special group with great senior presence. There's also really strong underclassmen leadership. I think that dynamic has taken hold the last few weeks, and the team feels great about it. I've seen a level of intensity in competition in the last couple of weeks that we've all been waiting for. The cool thing is, it's coming from them. It's not a top-down thing. There's a determination and a vision they have, and it's really exciting.

"For our men, we just need to keep rolling. We had a couple of guys out today, and there was no sense that we missed a beat. We've got many people stepping up in different places, and their level of intensity is pretty awesome to see. For both teams, that intensity and that sense of connection to a mission is at a much higher level today than it was last week or has been all season long. I love the momentum we're taking into the championship season. That's what we've seen a lot more of in the past couple of weeks. Both the men and the women have a shared vision for each other. If we take that into the SEC's, that's even more powerful. I love the direction we're heading in."

Starting off the morning with the 200 medley relay, the Lady Vols took the top two spots, with the quartet of Josephine Fuller, Mona McSharry, Emma Carlton and Jasmine Rumley coming in first (1:37.68) and Olivia Harper, Jordan Aurnou-Rhees, Libby Russum and Amber Myers in second (1:38.80).

Abby Samansky earned a pair of wins on the day, notching the top time in the 100 free with a 49.61 effort to go along with her 1:47.03 mark in the 200 free. Brooklyn Douthwright finished second in both races with times of 49.73 and 1:47.96.

Kristen Stege led the way in the 1000 free, earning a first-place finish with a mark of 9:46.49. Kate McCarville had the third-fastest time at 9:53.69. In the 50 free, McSharry placed second with a 22.83 effort. Julia Burroughs earned third place with a mark of 23.18.

McSharry won the 100 breast with a first-place mark of 59.74. Aurnou-Rhees placed third, touching the wall at 1:01.65 to set a new lifetime best. In the 200 breast, McSharry took second place with a 2:11.05 effort, marking her fastest non-suited time of the season and coming three seconds faster than her time two weeks ago against Missouri. Kailee Morgan finished third with a mark of 2:17.11.

In the 100 fly, Carlton won with a swift 53.51, which was a season-best time. Douthwright scored a third-place finish (54.78). In the 200 fly, Sara Stotler took second thanks to a 1:59.11 effort.

The Lady Vols notched the top two spots in the 100 back with Harper taking first (52.86) and Fuller coming in second (52.98). Fuller posted the fastest time in the 200 back at 1:54.62. She ended the individual races with a second-place finish in the 200 IM, clocking a 1:59.84.

Finishing the meet strong, the Lady Vols earned first place (3:20.18) in the 400 free relay with the quartet of Annie Rimmer, Natalie Ungaretti, Myers and Carlton.

"I thought this was the best job of the women having a vision for what they wanted to accomplish during the meet today," Associate Head Coach Ashley Jahn said. "Both in their individual performances and also as a team. It was their most confident execution by far.

"This was by far the best overall dual meet that we've had in a while. I have tried to take this season one step at a time. It's a whole new season, and this is an opportunity for this team, which is different from last year's team, to compete for a championship. Every other team is in the same boat we are. We're not giving away a trophy from last year; it's not moving from one school to another. There's a 2023 SEC Championship that's up for grabs and everybody is going to be competing for it. I like where we are right now. I think our women's team has done a phenomenal job of identifying areas where we need to be better as well as areas where we need to celebrate because we're really good in those areas and can use that to our advantage. I really like where we are as a combined team and as men's and women's teams going into SECs."

In the opening race of the meet, Björn Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks and Gui Caribe dominated the 200 medley relay, winning with a time of 1:24.40. Caribe posted a strong 18.93 split to anchor the relay.

Continuing on his impressive start to the meet, Caribe swept the sprint freestyles for the second time this season to pace the Vols. He posted an impressive 19.30 effort in the 50 free before winning the 100 free by more than a second at 42.80. Scott Scanlon finished third in the 50 free with a time of 20.18, while Micah Chambers (20.23) took fourth.

Kicking off the individual races, Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla clocked the top time in the 1000 free with a personal-best 8:59.60 effort, which moved him up to fifth in Tennessee history in the event. Jake Narvid finished third in the race behind a 9:06.51 mark.

The Vols finished second, third and fourth in the 200 free. Joaquin Vargas led the way with a personal-best 1:36.71 time, while Will Jackson touched just behind him in 1:36.92. Kammann rounded things out with a 1:37.47 effort. Recording his second lifetime best of the day, Vargas posted the second-best time in the 500 free (4:24.46), followed by Ponce de Leon in third (4:26.14).

Jarel Dillard and Houlie led the pack for Tennessee during the 100 breast, with Dillard (52.91) touching the wall only .03 seconds before Houlie (52.94) for first and second place. Lyubomir Epitropov (54.07) followed close behind for a third-place finish to complete the sweep. In the 200 breast, it was Epitropov earning the victory behind a 1:57.49 effort, while Dillard took second at 1:57.71.

Crooks won both of his individual races on the day, touching the wall first in the 100 back (46.32) and 100 fly (45.71). Nick Simons earned a pair of third-place finishes in the backstroke events, touching the wall in 47.33 and 1:44.90.

Tennessee took the top four spots in the 100 fly race, as Luke Brice (47.11) finished second ahead of Chambers (47.42) and Kammann (47.57) in third and fourth. Joel Giraudeau earned the Vols' fastest time in the 200 fly where he came in second place with a mark of 1:45.85. Gus Rothrock followed behind for third, touching the wall in 1:47.83.

"I am thrilled with the men's performance today and their team effort," Associate Head Coach Rich Murphy said. "Most importantly, we were racing for our seniors today, and they were exceptional in their leadership and their performance. One of the performances that really stood out was Rafael in the 1000 free going a lifetime best of under nine minutes in a dual meet setting. That hasn't happened a lot in the program's history, frankly. In the 100 breaststroke, we had our three fifth-year guys score first, second and third, which was on brand for them and a real vivid example of how outstanding they are in terms of their performances and their understanding of their role in the team's efforts. The exclamation mark on the session was the 100 fly. Sweeping the 100 fly and seeing Luke Brice be an exemplary Vol who is super committed and makes people around him better. He has gotten better every year. It was a fitting exclamation mark on our session. Then also from a point perspective, the 100 fly put us in the win column, so it was a great day overall. It was a great day for the Vols overall. I'm happy for our seniors and happy for the VFLS as well.

"I think there are so many guys who can contribute in so many ways- both in the water and on the deck. We have a really well-balanced, complete team. These are guys that thrive in the racing environment. SECs are a unique challenge. We've really done a nice job all season long preparing for the championship meets that are in February and March. We are hungry to keep racing and see what these guys can do."

In diving, Bryden Hattie swept the springboards for the fourth time this season with an exciting performance, allotting 385.73 points on the 1-meter and 408.30 on the 3-meter. Nick Stone earned personal-best scores for second place in both events, with 362.25 on the 3-meter and 338.55 on the 1-meter. For the women's 3-meter, Tanesha Lucoe picked up the win thanks to a 329.78 score.

"As a whole, I was really pleased to see our senior class step up and do some excellent diving," Diving Coach Dave Parrington said. "Without exception, each one of them dove well. The highlight on that one was Kara Holt, who had been out for a few days and was just cleared last night. She got up and got a zone score on 1-meter, so that was awesome to see. I was really proud of her. Bailey Davenport is really starting to figure it out. Elle Renner had a solid day. Emily Ann Wolfson went for 286 on both events, and that was just shy of personal bests for her. She was a model of consistency all day long. Tanesha winning the 3-meter was great.

"On the guy's side, Bryden continued to perform well. This was a good tuneup for him and Tanesha, as they head up to Canada next week for their nationals. Bryden is a strong competitor. Nick Stone really showed some stuff. Jacob Reasor was out with some stuff the last week, so he wasn't quite as sharp as he might normally have been. Owen Redfearn earned his qualifying score for zones on 1-meter. He really showed some great stuff today and continuing to grow in confidence. Overall, it was a great job by the younger divers to honor the seniors, and it was a great job by the seniors to have a really positive day."

Up next, Tennessee heads to College Station for the SEC Championships on February 14-18. Last season, the Lady Vols won their second conference title in three seasons, and the Vols earned their highest finish as a program since 2001 with a tie for second.

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