Feb. 18, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Morgantown, Ky., native Tyler Reed swam a 43.30 in the finals of the 100-freestyle to take home fourth place in the final day of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Including Reed, seven Wildcats qualified for the evening night session, including three men in the consolation finals of the 200-butterfly. The top finisher was Lucas Gerotto, who swam a 1:46.69 in the consolation final, taking ninth place overall. Tripp Crosthwaite took 12th in the event turning in a time of 1:47.92 in the consolation final, with Maclin Simpson swimming a 1:48.40 in the same event to finish in the 13th position.
In the 100-freestyle, in addition to the fourth-place finish of Tyler Reed, Megan Eppler finished second in the consolation final with a 49.57 in the event to claim 10th overall.
Lee Duggins swam a 1:46.76 in the preliminaries of the men’s 200-backstroke, and then shaved .07 off of that time to record a 1:46.69 in the consolation finals to grasp a hold of an 11th-place finish.
On the diving platforms, the women took center stage today, and freshman Lindsay Keahey who was taking part in her first-ever SEC Championships qualified for the finals, recording a 249.75 in the prelims to sneak into the field, and then recorded a 245.45 in the finals to wind up 7th overall in the event.
In the final event of the championships, the 400-freestyle relay, the women finished 6th, with the men finishing 8th due to a disqualification.
On the men’s side, Kentucky finished 7th overall, with the women claiming a 9th-place finish. The Auburn men’s team successfully defended their 15-year title streak, winning the SEC Championships for the 16th consecutive season. The Georgia Bulldogs finished atop the standings on the women’s side, beating out Tennessee, and Florida who finished second and third.
ESPN, as part of its television contract with the SEC is proud to present the SEC swimming and diving championships on a tape-delay basis on ESPNU in two parts. The first part will air Monday, Feb. 27 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The conclusion of the event will also be shown on ESPNU beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The first portion will cover the men’s championship with the women’s tournament covered in the second session.
Kentucky will stay in the Volunteer State over the weekend to compete in the Tennessee Long-Course Invite on Sunday Feb. 19. The long-course meet will be the final regular-season meet of the year for the Wildcats as the next round of competitions will be part of the NCAA Championships. The divers will head to zone competition on March 8-10 in Bloomington, Ind.
SEC Championship Team Standings (Final Results)
Men:
1. Auburn 730.5 pts*
2. Florida 700 pts
3. Georgia 521 pts
4. Tennessee 459 pts
5. LSU 426 pts
6. Alabama 304 pts
7. Kentucky 246.5
8. South Carolina 196 pts
Women:
1. Georgia 781 pts*
2. Tennessee 629.5 pts
3. Florida 566 pts
4. Auburn 509.5 pts
5. LSU 347 pts
6. Arkansas 267 pts
7. Alabama 249 pts
8. South Carolina 238 pts
9. Kentucky 128 pts
10. Vanderbilt 78 pts
*=2012 SEC Champion
2012 SEC Awards:
Men’s Coach of the Year – Brett Hawke (AU)
Women’s Coach of the Year – Matt Kredich (UT)
Men’s Swimmer of the Year – Marcin Cieslak (UF)
Women’s Swimmer of the Year – Elizabeth Beisel (UF)
Male Freshman of the Year – Nicholas Fink (UGA)
Female Swimming Freshman of the Year – Amber McDermott (UGA)
Men’s Diver of the Year – Ryan Helms (UT)
Female Diver of the Year – Tori Lamo (UT)
Men’s Freshman Diver of the Year – Mauricio Roble (UT)
Women’s Freshman Diver of the Year – Alex Bettridge (LSU)
Men’s & Women’s Diving Coach of the Year – Dave Parrington (UT)
Commissioner’s Trophy – Marcin Cieslak (UF), Elizabeth Beisel (UF)
For complete coverage of the Southeastern Conference Championships from Knoxville, and the University of Kentucky swimming and diving teams, log onto UKathletics.com.
