PREVIEW: 2023 SEC Championships

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Tennessee swimming & diving heads down to Texas A&M this week, as the No. 7 Vols and No. 9 Lady Vols compete in the 2023 SEC Championships. The meet will be held at the Rec Center Natatorium on Feb. 14-18.

All meet information, including schedules, tickets, heat sheets/results, streaming links, parking and fan policies, can be found on the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships Central page.

Every session of the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+, and fans can also follow along with live results by using the Meet Mobile app. Here's the daily schedule along with watch links:

Event Schedule (CT)
Tuesday – Diving Prelims at 10:30 a.m. | Finals at 4:20 p.m. (Watch Live)
Men's 1-meter
200 Medley Relay
Women's 3-meter
800 Free Relay

Wednesday – Prelims at 9:30 a.m. (Watch Live) | Finals at 5:30 p.m. (Watch Live)
500 Free
200 IM
50 Free
Women's 1-meter
200 Free Relay

Thursday – Prelims at 9:30 a.m. (Watch Live) | Finals at 5:30 p.m. (Watch Live)
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
Men's 3-meter

Friday – Prelims at 9:30 a.m. (Watch Live) | Finals at 5:30 p.m. (Watch Live)
200 Fly
100 Back
100 Breast
Women's Platform
400 Medley Relay

Saturday – Prelims at 9:30 a.m. (Watch Live) | Finals at 5:30 p.m. (Watch Live)
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
1650 Free
Men's Platform
400 Free Relay

Revisiting the 2022 SEC Championships

Tennessee swimming & diving enjoyed plenty of success at the 2022 SEC Championships, as the Lady Vols won their second title in three years, and the Vols tied for second overall to earn their highest finish since 2001.
Thanks to the deepest roster in program history, the third-ranked Lady Vols' incredible week at the SEC Championships was fueled by 17 medals won, with seven gold, six silver and four bronze. In addition to its top performers, Tennessee saw a staggering 53 swimmers and divers qualify for the finals throughout the meet, including 30 A final marks. Adding to the impressive feat, all 22 members on UT's SEC roster qualified for at least one B final or better.
Mona McSharry (100 breast), Julia Mrozinski (500 free) and Kristen Stege (1650 free) are all looking to defend their titles from last year.
On the men's side, the Vols finished second behind 10 medals won, with one gold, five silver and four bronze. The group saw 46 swimmers and divers advance to the finals, including 16 A final performances. A total of 21 top-10 marks in the record books were set, including six program records.
Jordan Crooks was the lone gold medal winner for the men, claiming the 50 free title. However, Lyubomir Epitropov (200 breast) and Bryden Hattie (platform) look to reclaim their SEC titles from the 2021 championships.

BY THE NUMBERS
Vols, Lady Vols Enter as SEC Leaders in 10 Events

Looking to follow up from his breakout performance during last year's championships, sophomore sensation Jordan Crooks is the national leader in the sprint freestyles and ranks second overall as the SEC leader in the 100 fly. He, along with freshman phenom Gui Caribe, make up half of the Vols' speedy relays. The 400 free relay owns the top time nationally, while the 200 free relay is second in the nation.
Junior Bryden Hattie owns the best score in the league on platform, an event he won silver in last year and gold in as a freshman.
Senior Kristen Stege enters SECs as the national leader and two-time-reigning SEC Champ in the 1650 free, while junior Mona McSharry will look to defend her title in the 100 breast, owning the nation's No. 8 time and pacing the SEC.
The sophomore duo of Brooklyn Douthwright and Josephine Fuller are primed to earn their first individual gold medal at the SEC Championships, as Douthwright is the conference leader in the 200 free while Fuller sits atop of the standings in the 200 back.

From 2 to 12

Entering SECs last season, the Vols boasted only two times/scores that ranked inside the top 10 nationally. This year, the men's team owns 12, including all five relays.
Between the men and women, Tennessee owns 17 top-10 marks, which is up from last year's 15.

20 Projected Medalists

While projections are solely based off top times from the season and many factors could be taken into consideration with medaling, the Lady Vols entered the 2022 SEC Championships projected to boast 16 medalists. Instead, they finished with a program-record-tying 17.
This year, the Vols are projected to boast 12 medalists, while the Lady Vols project to secure eight medals.
One important note for the women's squad, three medalists from last year's SECs are not projected as medalists due to missing the midseason invite but are expected to compete once again for the top spots in their events. Julia Mrozinski won gold in the 500 free last year, while Kristen Stege took third in the race. Jasmine Rumley won bronze in the 50 free.

Teams Win Championships: 97 Vols, Lady Vols Expected to Make a Final

With 97 projected finalists between both squads, the Vols and Lady Vols are primed for another big performance at SECs.
Even if every athlete finished last in their projected final, both squads would still be among the top half of the standings.
All but one Vol is projected to advance to a B Final or better, while 13 of the 22 have projections landing them in at least one A Final.
Jordan Crooks (3), Bryden Hattie (3), Gui Caribe (2) and Jarel Dillard (2) are the Vols slated to compete in multiple A Finals.
Nine Lady Vols are expected to compete in at least one A Final.
- A Finalists - Vols (23), Lady Vols (20) = 43
- B Finalists - Vols (16), Lady Vols (12) = 28
- C Finalists - Vols (11), Lady Vols (15) = 26
- Total Finalists - Vols (50), Lady Vols (47) = 97

Athlete Notables

One of the top swimmers in the world, Jordan Crooks is the national leader in the sprint freestyles: 50 free (18.27) and 100 free (41.17) and ranks second in the country in the 100 fly (44.79). He earned SEC Swimmer of the Week honors five times this season.
A freshman phenom, Gui Caribe ranks second nationally in the 100 free (41.44) and fourth in the 50 free (18.91). He's the NCAA Freshman Leader in the 100 free and ranks No. 2 in the 50 free. He garnered SEC Freshman of the Week accolades five times on the year.
Bryden Hattie is the SEC Leader on platform (450.80) and ranks second on 1-meter (404.55) and third on 3-meter (424.65). He won 12 individual events this year and was named SEC Diver of the Week four times.
The SEC Record Holder in the 100 breast, Mona McSharry looks to defend her title in the event while entering with the No. 8 time nationally this year (58.45). She ranks third in the conference in the 200 breast and sixth in the 50 free.
The two-time reigning SEC Champion in the 1650 free, Kristen Stege is looking to become the first Lady Vol to win the event three times in a row. She enters the meet with the nation's top time in the event at 15:57.01.
Tanesha Lucoe transferred to Tennessee from Alabama. She's a two-time gold medalist on platform and also owns a silver medal in the event.
Enjoying a breakout sophomore season, look for Josephine Fuller to have a big meet at SECs. She owns the second-best time in the nation in the 200 back and ranks nationally 12th in the 200 IM and 15th in the 100 back. She's the SEC Leader in the 200 back (1:50.12) and holds the third-fastest time in the 200 IM (1:55.54).
After winning silver in the 200 free last season, Brooklyn Douthwright has also enjoyed a strong sophomore season. She ranks fifth nationally and leads the SEC in the event, and she boasts the sixth-best time in the conference in the 100 fly.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gui Caribe

Jordan Crooks

Jarel Dillard

Brooklyn Douthwright

Lyubomir Epitropov

Josephine Fuller

Bryden Hattie

Tanesha Lucoe

Mona McSharry

Julia Mrozinski

Jasmine Rumley

Kristen Stege

University of Tennessee Athletics