PREVIEW: Tennessee Swimming & Diving Set for Busy Week at World Championships, US Diving National Championships, Dual Meet at Kentucky

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It's a busy week for Tennessee swimming & diving, which has 19 Vols and Lady Vols set to compete around the globe at the 2024 Short Course World Championships as well as the 2024 USA Diving Winter National Championships. The Big Orange will also compete in a dual meet against Kentucky to conclude the fall slate.

Kicking things off, 14 swimmers will be competing in the Short Course World Championships, which run Dec. 10-15 in Budapest, Hungary. The group is highlighted by reigning 50 free champion Jordan Crooks, who won the title during the 2022 championships in Melbourne, Australia. The 2024 Paris Olympian is considered a favorite going into the meet thanks to his sprint freestyle dominance the last few years.

Two other Vols will race alongside Crooks in the sprint free events, as reigning 100 free NCAA silver medalist Gui Caribe and six-time DII national champion Lamar Taylor will also be in Budapest. Of the group, all three rank inside the top 15 nationally (Crooks – 1^st, Caribe – 3^rd, Taylor – 13^th) this season in the NCAA in the 50 free, while Crooks and Caribe are first and second overall in the 100 free.

Current swimmers Jillian Crooks, Nikoli Blackman, Julia Mrozinski, Regan Rathwell and Joaquin Vargas are taking a brief pause from the collegiate season to compete. Highlighting the UT professional group is five-time Short Course Worlds medalist Kira Toussaint. The three-time Olympian won gold in the mixed 200 medley relay with Netherlands in 2021—one of four medals one during the meet—before taking bronze in the 200 free relay in 2022. She will be joined by Michael Houlie, Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla, Peter John Stevens and Ellen Walshe.

For Stevens, it will be the final competition of his professional career, as the 29-year-old announced his retirement recently. He was a two-time European Championships medalist in the 50 breast and brought home silver in the 100 breast at the 2016 NCAA Championships.

Rounding out the World Championship crew is Lady Vol signee Mizuki Hirai from Japan. The talented rising star swam in the Paris Olympics, finishing seventh overall in the 100 fly. She will join the Big Orange for the 2025-26 season. In total, 11 Olympians return to the world stage.

Five Tennessee divers are competing at the USA Diving Winter National Championships in Bloomington, Indiana. Two-time SEC weekly honor recipient Bennett Greene will take on the 3-meter, while Owen Redfearn and Nick Stone will be on platform. Lynae Shorter will compete on both springboard events, while Maddie Reese is set for tower.

Rounding out the week will be rematch between Tennessee and Kentucky in Lexington on Friday afternoon. The Big Orange bested the Wildcats during the Tennessee Invitational last month. With many of its top athletes competing elsewhere, this will be a great opportunity for some of UT's younger athletes to get valuable competitive reps against a conference foe.

The meet begins at 1 p.m. ET at Lancaster Aquatic Center, and fans can follow along live on the Meet Mobile app. The contest won't be streamed.

Athletes Competing & Events – Short Course World Championships
Gui Caribe (Brazil) – 50 & 100 Free, 50 Fly
Jillian Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 50 & 100 Free
Jordan Crooks (Cayman Islands) – 50 & 100 Free
Nikoli Blackman (Trinidad & Tobago) – 200 Free
Mizuki Hirai (Japan) – 50 & 100 Back, 50 & 100 Fly
Michael Houlie (South Africa) – 50 Breast
Julia Mrozinski (Germany) – 200 Free
Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla (Peru) – 100 & 200 Free
Regan Rathwell (Canada) – 200 Back
Peter John Stevens (Slovenia) – 50 Breast
Lamar Taylor (Bahamas) – 50 & 100 Free, 50 Back, 50 Fly
Kira Toussaint (Netherlands) – 50 & 100 Back
Joaquin Vargas (Peru) – 400 Free, 100 Back
Ellen Walshe (Ireland) – 50 & 100 Fly, 100 IM, 200 IM, 400 IM

Athletes Competing & Events – USA Diving Winter National Championships
Bennett Greene – 3-meter
Owen Redfearn – Platform
Maddie Reese – Platform
Lynae Shorter – 1-meter, 3-meter
Nick Stone – Platform

Daily Schedule (All Relays Listed)
Tuesday, Dec. 10
Women's 100 Back Prelims & Semifinals – Mizuki Hirai, Kira Toussaint
Men's 100 Back Prelims & Semifinals – Joaquin Vargas
Women's 50 Fly Prelims & Semifinals – Mizuki Hirai, Ellen Walshe
Men's 50 Fly Prelims & Semifinals – Gui Caribe, Lamar Taylor
Women's 200 IM Prelims & Finals – Ellen Walshe
Women's 400 Free Relay Prelims & Finals
Men's 400 Free Relay Prelims & Finals

Wednesday, Dec. 11
Women's 100 Free Prelims & Semifinals – Jillian Crooks
Men's 100 Free Prelims & Semifinals – Gui Caribe, Jordan Crooks, Rafael Ponce De Leon Castilla, Lamar Taylor
Mixed 200 Medley Relay Prelims & Finals
100 Back Finals
50 Fly Finals

Thursday, Dec. 12
Women's 50 Back Prelims & Semifinals – Mizuki Hirai, Kira Toussaint
Men's 50 Back Prelims & Semifinals – Lamar Taylor
Women's 100 IM Prelims & Semifinals – Ellen Walshe
Men's 400 Free Prelims & Finals – Joaquin Vargas
Women's 800 Free Relay Prelims & Finals
100 Free Finals

Friday, Dec. 13
Dual Meet at Kentucky
Mixed 200 Free Relay Prelims & Finals
Women's 100 Fly Prelims & Semifinals – Mizuki Hirai, Ellen Walshe
Men's 800 Free Relay Prelims & Finals
Women's 1-meter Diving Prelims & Finals – Lynae Shorter
50 Back Finals
100 IM Finals

Saturday, Dec. 14
Women's 400 IM Prelims & Finals – Ellen Walshe
Women's 50 Free Prelims & Semifinals – Jillian Crooks
Men's 50 Free Prelims & Semifinals – Gui Caribe, Jordan Crooks, Lamar Taylor
Men's 50 Breast Prelims & Semifinals – Michael Houlie, Peter John Stevens
Mixed 400 Medley Relay Prelims & Finals
Men's 3-meter Diving Prelims & Finals – Bennett Greene
Women's Platform Diving Prelims & Finals – Maddie Reese
100 Fly Finals

Sunday, Dec. 15
Women's 200 Free Prelims & Finals – Julia Mrozinki
Men's 200 Free Prelims & Finals – Nikoli Blackman, Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla
Women's 200 Back Prelims & Finals – Regan Rathwell
400 Medley Relay Prelims & Finals
Women's 3-meter Diving Prelims & Finals – Lynae Shorter
Men's Platform Diving Prelims & Finals – Owen Redfearn, Nick Stone
50 Free Finals
50 Breast Finals

PREVIEW: Tennessee Swimming & Diving Set for Busy Week at World Championships, US Diving National Championships, Dual Meet at Kentucky

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Players Mentioned

Nikoli Blackman

Gui Caribe

Jillian Crooks

Jordan Crooks

Bennett Greene

Julia Mrozinski

Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla

Regan Rathwell

Owen Redfearn

Maddie Reese

Lynae Shorter

Nick Stone

Lamar Taylor

Joaquin Vargas

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