Lady Vol Medley Relay Dominance Leads Action Packed Day Two of SEC Championships

Tuesday, February 17

Knoxville, Tenn.

All Day

University of Tennessee

SEC Championships

Lady Vol Medley Relay Dominance Leads Action Packed Day Two of SEC Championships

February 17, 2026 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

SEC Championships Day 2 Results Wednesday Heat Sheets Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Lady Vols wasted no time making their mark at the 2026 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships. A brilliant swim across the board by the women's 200 Medley Relay team of Mizuki Hirai, McKenzie Siroky, Ella Jansen, and Camille Spink dethroned the previous SEC Meet and Tennessee record with a time of 1:32.80.

The Lady Vols' won their 10th gold medal in the 200 Medley Relay, and the first for the team since 2020. Tennessee held the advantage in the race, finishing nearly a full second ahead of second place Alabama.

The win for the quartet earned the Lady Vols their first gold medal of the competition, setting the stage for what would be a successful outing across the pool for Tennessee Swimming & Diving. In total, the Big Orange collected three medals on the day. Including its 200 Medley Relay gold, both of Tennessee's 800 Freestyle relay teams earned podium finishes on the evening. The men broke the school record in the event with a time of 6:10.31, en route to a silver medal. The women secured the bronze medal to cap off day two of the SEC Championships.

On the men's side, the Vols finished in second-place, behind Texas. This marked the first medal in the event for the Vols since earning a bronze medal in 2014. Led by an early charge from Koby Bujak-Upton and Nikoli Blackman, Tennessee staved off a late comeback bid by third place Auburn. The Lady Vols 800 Freestyle Relay performance gave them their eighth medal in the event in the last nine years. The underclassmen laden team produced a strong effort to earn the second medal of the day for the women's team.

Desharne Bent-Ashmeil landed in the A final in the 1-meter after battling through a stacked preliminary lineup. The freshman notched a final score of 295.80, finishing fifth overall and adding 25 points for Tennessee. Lynae Shorter and Emma Rhines also placed in the 1-meter, earning 18th and 22nd, respectively. Mac Clark finished the mile at 16th, clocking a new personal best time of 15:03.96 and adding 11 points for the Vols.

The men's 200 Medley Relay earned a sixth place finish, with the squad of Ulises Saravia, Gabe Nunziata, Gui Caribe and Nikoli Blackman posting the fifth-best time in program history of 1:22.48.

Tennessee rolls into day three of the SEC Championships on Wednesday. Competition gets underway at 9:30 a.m. with prelims in the 100 Backstroke, 200 Butterfly, and 100 Breaststroke, followed by prelims in the Men's 3-meter. Finals in all four events are slated for at 5:30 p.m. start time.

Director of Swimming & Diving Matt Kredich
"Starting with the 200 Medley Relay women. That broke the record of a national champion relay. That was a relay that had four fantastic performances. It's rare to have four really high level performances, and that came together really well. We've had a lot of different combinations on that relay this year. We settled on this one and they melded beautifully. So, what a way to get started with that swim there."

Women's Team Rankings

1. Texas - 232
2. Florida - 190
3. South Carolina - 175
4. Auburn - 169
5. Georgia - 160
6. Tennessee - 153
7. Texas A&M - 139
8. Alabama - 133
9. Kentucky - 126
10. Missouri - 122
11. LSU - 114
12. Arkansas - 81
13. Vanderbilt - 58

Men's Team Rankings

1. Florida - 274
2. Tennessee - 213
3. Texas - 190
4. LSU - 177
5. Kentucky - 175
6. Georgia - 155
7. Auburn - 146
8. Alabama - 136
9. Missouri - 105
10. South Carolina - 102
11. Texas A&M - 91

Women's Medal Count
1. 200 Medley Relay - Mizuki Hirai, McKenzie Siroky, Ella Jansen, Camille Spink (1:32.80)
3. 800 Free Relay - Ella Jansen, Emily Armen, Amelia Mason, Emily Brown (6:54.56)

Men's Medal Count
1. 1-Meter: Bennett Greene (400.80)
2. 800 Free Relay - Koby Bujak-Upton, Nikoli Blackman, Gabe Nunziata, Ben Bricca (6:10.31)

Top-10 Times/Scores
1. 200 Medley Relay - Mizuki Hirai, McKenzie Siroky, Ella Jansen, Camille Spink (1:32.80)
1. 800 Free Relay - 800 Free Relay - Koby Bujak-Upton, Nikoli Blackman, Gabe Nunziata, Ben Bricca (6:10.31)
5. 200 Medley Relay - Ulises Saravia, Gabe Nunziata, Gui Caribe, Nikoli Blackman (1:22.48)
6. 800 Free Relay - Ella Jansen, Emily Armen, Amelia Mason, Emily Brown (6:54.56)