Vols Earn First Top-10 Finish at NCAAs Since 2016

Wednesday, March 22

Minneapolis, MN

University of Tennessee

NCAA Men's Championships

KNOXVILLE, TN - March 15, 2023 - NCAA branding during day one of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Avery Bane/Tennessee Athletics

Photo by: Avery Bane/Tennessee Athletics

March 22, 2023 | Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

Results

Vols Earn First Top-10 Finish at NCAAs Since 2016, Hattie Takes National Runner-Up Honors on Platform

A strong final session—which featured seven individuals returning to compete at night—capped off an impressive week for Tennessee swimming & diving and solidified the program's first top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships since 2016.

With a total of 216.5 points, the Big Orange placed seventh overall for the week. The squad put together 10 podium finishes throughout the championship, including a national title in the 50 free by Jordan Crooks. The elite duo of Crooks and Bryden Hattie led a group of 12 Vols who garnered All-America honors during the meet.

Hattie highlighted the final day of competition with his impressive performance on platform. Thanks to a list that included four dives scoring for 80-plus points, the junior from Victoria, British Columbia, was the national runner-up on tower, marking his second year in a row finishing inside the top three nationally in the event and giving him a second All-America First Team honor of the week.

After shattering the program record during prelims with a 40.92 effort, Crooks posted his third top-5 individual finish of the week by tying for fifth in the 100 free, touching the wall in 41.03. For the meet, he earned All-America First Team recognition in seven events. The last Tennessee swimmer to achieve the accomplishment of three individual top-8 finishes and seven combined All-America First Team honors in the same meet was Michael Gilliam in 2001.

Competing in the Consolation Final of the 100 free, freshman Gui Caribe won the race after clocking a 41.54 time to finish ninth overall. He finished with two individual All-America honors for the week and six total with relays, including five first team selections.

With Caribe and Crooks taking the first two legs, Tennessee finished the meet by coming in seventh in the 400 free relay with a time of 2:47.19. Caribe led things off with a 41.68 split followed by Crooks' 41.01 effort. Björn Kammann (42.17) and Aleksey Tarasenko (42.33) took the back two legs of the lineup that earned the best 400 free relay finish for the Big Orange since 2008. For the week, Tennessee podiumed on all four of its relays, an achievement last accomplished in 2009.

The future is bright on Rocky Top, and that was put on display Saturday as four freshmen advanced to the nightcap and scored points for UT. After shattering Mel Stewart's 32-year-old 200 fly program record during prelims with a time of 1:41.39, freshman Martin Espernberger competed in his third race of the day in the event to place 16th with a 1:43.21 effort. It marked the first All-America recognition of his career.

Nick Stone fought hard during the platform prelims to move on to the Consolation Final. Based on his zone score, he wasn't projected to the advance to the finals at NCAAs, but that didn't stop Stone from finishing 15th overall and earning All-America Second Team honors in the event thanks to a 332.00 effort.

In the 200 back, Nick Simons touched the wall in 1:40.78 to finish 15th overall, capping of a strong freshman campaign. For the week, he earned All-America First Team recognition in the 400 medley relay and was a second team honoree in the 100 back and 200 back.

Like Simons, fifth-year senior Lyubomir Epitropov was a member of the All-American 400 medley relay lineup for the Vols last night. He followed that up by earning second team honors in the 200 breast tonight, touching the wall in 1:52.01 to place 13th—his highest finish ever in the event.

Tennessee men's swimming & diving has scored at the NCAA Championship meet for 54 consecutive years, which is the fifth-longest active streak in the country.

Team Standings
1. Cal – 482
2. Arizona State – 430
3. Texas – 384
4. Indiana – 379
5. NC State – 373.5
6. Florida – 367.5
7. Tennessee – 216.5
8. Stanford – 143.5
9. Virginia Tech – 133
10. Auburn – 127

Podium Finishes (10)
50 Free – 1st – Jordan Crooks (18.32)
Platform – 2nd – Bryden Hattie (455.10
200 Free Relay – 4th – Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe, Scott Scanlon, Aleksey Tarasenko (1:14.68)
100 Free – T5th – Jordan Crooks (41.03)
100 Fly – 5th – Jordan Crooks (44.29)
3-Meter – 6th – Bryden Hattie (395.90)
200 Medley Relay – 6th – Björn Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe (1:21.59)
400 Medley Relay – 6th – Nick Simons, Lyubomir Epitropov, Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe (3:02.05)
400 Free Relay – 7th – Gui Caribe, Jordan Crooks, Björn Kammann, Aleksey Tarasenko (2:47.19)
50 Free – 8th – Gui Caribe (19.16)

All-America Tracker (29)
Gui Caribe (50 Free, 200 FR, 400 FR, 200 MR, 400 MR, 100 Free*)
Jordan Crooks (50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 FR, 400 FR, 200 MR, 400 MR)
Landon Driggers (400 IM*)
Lyubomir Epitropov (400 MR, 200 Breast*)
Martin Espernberger (200 Fly*)
Bryden Hattie (3-meter, Platform)
Michael Houlie (200 MR)
Björn Kammann (400 FR, 200 MR)
Scott Scanlon (200 FR)
Nick Simons (400 MR, 100 Back*, 200 Back*)
Nick Stone (Platform*)
Aleksey Tarasenko (200 FR, 400 FR)

*Denotes All-America Second Team

Prelim Notables

In total, seven individuals advanced to the nightcap, with two in the Championship Finals and five in the Consolation Finals.
Two program records fell during the morning session with Jordan Crooks in the 100 free and Martin Espernberger in the 200 fly.
The highlight of the morning came in the 100 free prelim, when Jordan Crooks shattered the program record and joined the sub-41 club by throwing down a 40.92 effort. He earned the No. 2 seed for the nightcap.
In diving, Bryden Hattie punched his ticket to the Championship Final on platform for the second year in a row, posting the second-best score in prelims (418.20). Freshman Nick Stone advanced to the Consolation Final thanks to a 346.30 effort.
After 32 impressive years, the longest-standing record in the Tennessee swimming & diving record books finally fell Saturday morning, when freshman Martin Espernberger threw down a 1:41.39 to surpass the legendary Mel Stewart's insane 1:41.78 effort from 1991 for the top spot on the leaderboards. Espernberger finished in a tie for eighth, requiring a swim-off. He finished second in the swim-off with a time of 1:41.58.
In the 200 breast, Lyubomir Epitropov punched his ticket to the nightcap, finishing 14th overall with a 1:52.15 mark.
Freshmen Nick Simons (200 back) and Gui Caribe (100 free) earned spots in their Consolation Final. Simons finished 16th with a 1:40.75 time, while Caribe was 10th at 41.51.
Harrison Lierz (1:41.90) and Landon Driggers (1:45.34) finished 29th and 39th in the 200 back.
Jack Little came in 31st in the mile with a 15:03.11 mark.
Björn Kammann posted a season-best 42.88 effort to place 44th in the 100 free.
Jarel Dillard (1:56.20) placed 42nd in the 200 breast.

Quotes
Director of Swimming & Diving Matt Kredich
"This was such a fun week, but it's a culmination of how tremendously connected from the beginning this team was, and that was something we could tell early on. That that connection was essentially the glue that allowed us to build some better and better performances and too continually build chemistry standards, that vision and some incredible performances. When we got here, there was no doubt about what the team wanted to accomplish. They jumped right in and were incredibly competitive from the very beginning. They fed off of each other's successes and fed off of each other's confidence. There are so many great stories, and I think every individual had a really tremendously positive impact on the meet itself.

"Well, I think one of the most impressive parts of this meet was that all of our freshmen scored. So every freshman walked into their first NCAA meet and scored points. They really piggybacked on the confidence of the seniors. A lot of times in somebody's first NCAA meet, they spend time kind of wondering if they belong, and that didn't happen for this group. I would say that their development was really accelerated by the chemistry of this team, so they were able to come in here and have the expectation of performing at a really high level and scoring points. I can't think that the seniors enough for giving so much of themselves to this team to move the team forward. Now when they move on to the next part of their lives, they will have left behind a group of swimmers and divers that has tremendous belief in themselves and in the team. I know that every person who was here who's coming back is not quite satisfied with their performance. They want more. We're going to rely on that hunger to drive us forward, as well as rely on their vision for others who have yet to come here, to elevate their performance and come back next year and be better."

Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington
"Just thinking about Nick first of all, it brings a real smile to my face and a lot of pride in his effort. He's worked for this all year long. He was just steady. What you saw—a consistent performance today from him—is how he's trained all year, every single day. Then today, he just hung around, wasn't quite in the top 16 all day long, but he was within reach. After a couple of things fell his way but then he needed the big dive. He reached in there and hit it to get into the top of 16. He then moved up a spot in the consolation final. I couldn't be happier for him and more proud of him. He showed the true spirit of a Volunteer. For Bryden, I anticipated he would make the final, but you still have to get up and get it done in the prelim, which he did. In the final, he was right in the thick of an incredible battle. I have give credit where credit's due. The Indiana diver, Carson Tyler, hit a couple of key dives in a moment where I thought Bryden would be able to kind of get back in the game after missing his third dive a little bit. He hit his next dive big, but the Indiana guy hit his next two dives and put it a little bit out of reach. Bryden kept on scrapping and came in with a really, really good second-place finish. Couldn't be prouder of these guys today."

"For the whole team, I think it's been a really, really strong year from the divers. It's been sort of highlighted by this week with these two guys here putting it all on the line and coming up with some great performances. There are things to always learn from these meets that they can pass on to their teammates back home and bring it even better next year."

Associate Head Coach Rich Murphy
"A real team effort. I think it was demonstrated most clearly in the relays and the support that those relays had. For a relay to do well, that's a reflection of competition at practice, and the men did a great job of that all year long. We feel as a staff a real obligation to perform at the level that we performed at this week. That was not only internally to have that kind of support for our athletes. However, also in addition to that, it's about the legacy that Tennessee swimming and diving has, and it's a very long and storied tradition. We take that obligation seriously, and we know that Vol Nation is watching and supporting, and we want to do them proud."
"It's funny because last night I didn't say it, but I was going challenge our guys to score 219 points, which is what we scored I think in 2000. We finished up at 216.5. I didn't specifically mention it to them last night, but that was what was on my mind. We were averaging about 70 points a day. Really thorough finish today. Jordan finished top eight in a third event. Really exciting for Martin to break the school record in the 200 fly, a record that we wanted to eclipse and has been on our mind for a long time. It was really cool to have someone represented in every event tonight with the exception of the mile. I can't remember an NCAA where we were that busy on the last day, and I think that was a reflection of a complete team effort."

Five All-America Performances Highlight Day 3 of NCAAs

Five All-America performances and three podium finishes fueled Tennessee swimming & diving on Day 3 of the NCAA Championships.

After placing 26th in the 100 fly last year, Jordan Crooks clocked a 44.29 effort to finish fifth overall this season, marking his second All-America First Team recognition as an individual of the week. His performance was the best finish by a Tennessee swimmer in the event since Ricky Busquets won bronze in 1996.

In one of the toughest championship finals of the week, Bryden Hattie battled on the 3-meter to take sixth behind a 395.90 effort. After missing out on a pair of dives earlier in his list, he rattled off an impressive 81.60 score on a Forward 2 1/2 Somersault 2 Twist Pike to move up two spots in the standings in the final round. It marked the second All-America First Team recognition of his career and first on springboards. Overall, he is now a four-time All-America honoree.

In the final race of the night, the Vols shattered the school record in the 400 medley relay with a 3:02.05 time to finish sixth overall in the event. The lineup consisted of Nick Simons (45.46), Lyubomir Epitropov (51.82), Crooks (44.00) and Gui Caribe (40.77). The highlight of the race was the freshmen performances, as Caribe threw down the second-fastest 100 free split in the field, while Simons just missed his personal best from earlier in the night by 0.01 seconds. It was UT's first podium in the event since 2016, when the Big Orange finished sixth in that meet as well.

From Division II national runner-up in 2021 to All-America Second Team honoree this year, Landon Driggers capped an impressive first season on Rocky Top by placing 15th overall in the 400 IM, touching the wall in 3:42.31.

Competing in his first-career NCAA final, Simons threw down the second-fastest time in Tennessee history in the 100 back, touching the wall in 45.45 to place 15th overall and earning All-America recognition.

After three days of competition, Tennessee sits firmly inside the top 10 of the team standings, checking in at seventh overall with 144 points.

Podium Finishes (7)
50 Free – 1st – Jordan Crooks (18.32)
200 Free Relay – 4th – Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe, Scott Scanlon, Aleksey Tarasenko (1:14.68)
100 Fly – 5th – Jordan Crooks (44.29)
3-Meter – 6th – Bryden Hattie (395.90)
200 Medley Relay – 6th – Björn Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe (1:21.59)
400 Medley Relay – 6th – Nick Simons, Lyubomir Epitropov, Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe (3:02.05)
50 Free – 8th – Gui Caribe (19.16)

All-America Tracker (18)
Gui Caribe (50 Free, 200 FR, 200 MR, 400 MR)
Jordan Crooks (50 Free, 100 Fly, 200 FR, 200 MR, 400 MR)
Landon Driggers (400 IM*)
Lyubomir Epitropov (400 MR)
Bryden Hattie (3-meter)
Michael Houlie (200 MR)
Björn Kammann (200 MR)
Scott Scanlon (200 FR)
Nick Simons (400 MR, 100 Back*)
Aleksey Tarasenko (200 FR)

*Denotes All-America Second Team

Team Standings
1. Cal – 315
2. Arizona State – 302
3. Texas – 292
4. Indiana – 259
5. Florida – 251
6. NC State – 246.5
7. Tennessee – 144
8. Stanford – 112.5
T9. Auburn – 96
T9. Virginia Tech – 96

Prelim Notables

Four individuals advanced to the nightcap, highlighted by Jordan Crooks (100 fly) and Bryden Hattie (3-meter) punching their tickets to the Championship Final.
Kicking the morning off, Landon Driggers punched his ticket to the 400 IM Consolation Final in the nightcap, posting the No. 14 time of the morning with a 3:41.23 effort.
In the 100 fly, Jordan Crooks advanced to his second individual Championship Final of the week, throwing down the sixth-fastest time of the morning at 44.52. Björn Kammann finished 28th in the effort after notching a mark of 45.84. Martin Espernberger placed 41st.
Lyubomir Epitropov clocked a personal-best 51.88 in the 100 breast, which marked the fifth-fastest time in program history. He just missed out on advancing to the evening session, placing in a tie for 19th. Jarel Dillard (52.33) and Michael Houlie (52.47) finished 30th and 33rd, respectively.
Rounding out the morning swim sessions, Nick Simons clocked the second-best time in Tennessee history in the 100 back, touching the wall in 45.50, to advance to the nightcap with the No. 15 time. Kammann finished 33rd with a 46.42 mark, while Harrison Lierz took 38th.

Quotes
Associate Head Coach Rich Murphy
"I think the thing that stood out to me today was another top relay. We got another podium relay in the top eight. Tonight, we were six. I think it's been since 2016 that we finished that high in that relay, and that was really significant. Today, passing the triple-digit mark on points was really good. Now having 200 points on the horizon, that's really good. Really excited for Lyubomir. He's been an outstanding Vol. Really happy to see him go a best time this morning and then also have an opportunity to compete on the relay tonight. Nick Simons is one of our up-and-coming stars, and he has infused a lot of passion into the team and so cool to see him lead off the relay. As far as the individual performances go, the progress that Jordan has made him butterfly is really noteworthy. He's now our school-record holder, and he did really well obviously at SECs and again tonight. Really cool to see. Landon did a really great job all season long, and we're excited about big things on the horizon for him."

Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington
"Bryden was coming back from some adversity after a difficult 1-meter contest for him yesterday. He hit his hand in practice last night, bruised up his hand pretty good. He came in this morning and just did a wonderful job in the prelims. I heard a number of coaches saying today's qualifying mark for the championship final was one of the highest scores it's ever taken to make the finals, and Bryden was right in that battle all day long. He was a little shy on his reverse two and a half, which was the dive he hit his hand on. He missed it a little bit in the prelims and again in the finals. It just shows his grit. An enormous amount of grit on his part and fortitude. Just really proud of his performance today."

Crooks Crowned National Champion, Brings Home First Tennessee Swimming Title Since 2001

For the first time since 1980, the 50 freestyle NCAA Champion hails from Rocky Top, as sophomore superstar Jordan Crooks threw down an 18.32 effort to touch the wall first on an exciting night of racing on Day 2 of NCAAs.

The reigning 50 free Short Course World Champ and two-time SEC Champion in the event, Crooks checked another major title off his list as one of the best sprint swimmers in the world. After a long hold on the start, the George Town, Cayman Islands, native reached the turn in 8.98, which put him in second. Coming down the final 25 yards, Crooks kicked on the jets and blew past the field with a 9.34—0.2 seconds faster than the next best time.

"I'm thrilled for Jordan Crooks," Director of Swimming & Diving Matt Kredich said. "Thrilled for our team and our staff. There are so many people who have helped him reach this level, and I'm also thrilled for our program and our alumni. The 50 free is such an iconic event for Tennessee men's swimming, and it's been too long since we've had a national champion. To have two in the final, one of whom was a freshman, I think is a big step for us. Then to have not only have Jordan win, but to win under the circumstances that he did. It was a really odd start, and he was the last guy off the blocks but responded with the fastest second 25, certainly that I can remember. He showed incredible competitiveness, and that's what our program strives to be about. I think he exemplified that tonight."

Crooks joins all-time great VFLs Andy Coan (1978, 80), John Trembley (1973, 74) and David Edgar (1970, 71, 72) as the lone Vols to win a 50 free national championship. He's the first Tennessee swimmer to earn a title since Michael Gilliam won the 100 back in 2001, and the last individual Vol to be crowned champion was Colin Zeng on 1-meter in 2019. Overall, this is the 46th national championship in Volunteer history.

Also competing in the 50 free championship final, Gui Caribe finished eighth overall in the event with a 19.16 time, earning All-America First Team recognition in his first-ever individual event at NCAAs. Tennessee was one of only two schools to have two swimmers in the race.

The Big Orange rounded out the night by breaking the school record in the 200 free relay, touching the wall in 1:14.68 to finish fourth nationally. The lineup of Crooks (18.44), Caribe (18.44), Scott Scanlon (18.76) and Aleksey Tarasenko (19.04) marked the first Tennessee lineup to podium in the event since 2009, and it's the best finish for the Vols since being the runner up in 2001.

"It was a great step forward for the men who performed tonight," Associate Head Coach Rich Murphy said. "Really significant to win an individual in the NCAA Championships. That is incredible. We're really excited for Jordan Crooks, and we're equally excited for Gui Caribe to be a freshman and to get the kind of experience he got tonight being on the podium for the 50 free and then coming back and going 18.44 on the relay—just a monster relay split and really challenging. I'm super excited for those guys. Lastly with the relay, to see Scott Scanlon finish his career on just a monster 18.76, it was awesome. Scott has shown up for that relay every year at NCAAs, and we know we can count on him. He does an awesome job. There's a lot of strong responsibility to perform on that relay and to be one of the leaders of that relay. To have Aleksey Tarasenko join Jordan, Gui and Scott, that was really cool. Just a great progression from SECs which was also really neat."

On Day 3 of the NCAA Championships, the Vols will compete in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 100 breast, 100 back and 3-meter. Prelims begin at 11 a.m. ET and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Podium Finishes (4)
50 Free – 1st – Jordan Crooks (18.32)
200 Free Relay – 4th – Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe, Scott Scanlon, Aleksey Tarasenko (1:14.68)
200 Medley Relay – 6th – Björn Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe (1:21.59)
50 Free – 8th – Gui Caribe (19.16)

All-America Tracker (10)
Gui Caribe (50 Free, 200 FR, 200 MR)
Jordan Crooks (50 Free, 200 FR, 200 MR)
Michael Houlie (200 MR)
Björn Kammann (200 MR)
Scott Scanlon (200 FR)
Aleksey Tarasenko (200 FR)

Prelim Notables

Jordan Crooks (18.25) and Gui Caribe (18.81) punched their tickets to the 50 free championship final, posting No. 1 and No. 6 seed times during prelims.
Landon Driggers finished 38th in the 200 IM with a 1:44.31 time.
Jack Little took 40th in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:21.19.
In diving, Bryden Hattie (320.75) and Nick Stone (306.30) finished 29th and 39th on 1-meter.

Quotes
Director of Swimming & Diving Matt Kredich
"I'm thrilled for Jordan Crooks. Thrilled for our team and our staff. There are so many people who have helped him reach this level, and I'm also thrilled for our program and our alumni. The 50 free is such an iconic event for Tennessee men's swimming, and it's been too long since we've had a national champion. To have two in the final, one of whom was a freshman, I think is a big step for us. Then to have not only have Jordan win, but to win under the circumstances that he did. It was a really odd start, and he was the last guy off the blocks but responded with the fastest second 25, certainly that I can remember. He showed incredible competitiveness, and that's what our program strives to be about. I think he exemplified that tonight."

Associate Head Coach Rich Murphy
"It was a great step forward for the men who performed tonight. Really significant to win an individual in the NCAA Championships. That is incredible. We're really excited for Jordan Crooks, and we're equally excited for Gui Caribe to be a freshman and to get the kind of experience he got tonight being on the podium for the 50 free and then coming back and going 18.44 on the relay—just a monster relay split and really challenging. I'm super excited for those guys. Lastly with the relay, to see Scott Scanlon finish his career on just a monster 18.76, it was awesome. Scott has shown up for that relay every year at NCAAs, and we know we can count on him. He does an awesome job. There's a lot of strong responsibility to perform on that relay and to be one of the leaders of that relay. To have Aleksey Tarasenko join Jordan, Gui and Scott, that was really cool. Just a great progression from SECs which was also really neat."

Vols Open NCAAs With Podium Finish in 200 Medley Relay

Seventh-ranked Tennessee opened the 2023 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships by taking sixth in the 200 medley relay to earn All-America first team honors at Minnesota's Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

The lineup of Björn Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks and Gui Caribe clocked a 1:21.59 effort to make the podium. Kammann opened the backstroke leg with a 20.97 time, while Houlie followed him up by touching the wall in 22.91 on the breast leg. Crooks threw down the second-fastest 50 fly split at 19.27, and Caribe anchored the relay with a 18.44 50 free time.

This marks the fourth time since 2016 in which the Vols recorded a sixth-place finish in the 200 medley relay at NCAAs and the first since 2019.

Tomorrow morning, the Big Orange will have swimmers compete in the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free prelims, beginning at 11 a.m. ET.

Podium Finishes
200 Medley Relay – Björn Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks, Gui Caribe (1:21.59)

All-America Tracker (4)
Gui Caribe (200 MR)
Jordan Crooks (200 MR)
Michael Houlie (200 MR)
Björn Kammann (200 MR)

Quotes
Associate Head Coach Rich Murphy
"I'm really thrilled with tonight's effort and tonight's performance. As we mentioned to the team tonight, seven weeks ago that would have been a swim we could have only hoped to execute. We were just being a tad off of where we were at SECs, but that was the most competitive heat we've ever swum in. To do as well as we did was a good start to this meet. Björn going the fastest 50 back time in Tennessee history—it's essentially a school record even though we don't formally keep the top 10 in the 50s—was fantastic to see. Gui, being a freshman in that turbulent water, going faster than he went at SECs was really cool. Michael Houlie has been on that relay for a really long time, and it's always fun to watch him race at NCAAs."