Vols Open SEC Swimming Championships With Solid Relay Performances

Wednesday, February 16

Gainesville, Fla.

All Day

University of Tennessee

SEC Swimming Championships

Vols Open SEC Swimming Championships With Solid Relay Performances

February 16, 2005 | Men's Swimming & Diving

Feb. 16, 2005

Results

Tennessee's 17th-ranked men's swimming team swam to a pair of fourth-place finishes in the only two events Wednesday on day one of the SEC championships at the University of Florida's Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. Tennessee is currently in sixth-place with 90 points.

The Vols put up season-best times in both the 200-yard medley relay and the 800-yard freestyle relay.

Brad Boswell, Bryan Goldberg, Tyler Gustafson and Jason Thomas brought home fourth in the 800 free relay in 6:25.89. Boswell's lead time of 1:36.31 is a personal lifetime-best and team best for the season in the 200-yard freestyle. The time also puts the relay squad in the NCAA championships. Florida's relay team won the event in 6:16.25, setting a SEC and pool record.

The 800 free relay time came within six-tenths of a second of breaking the all-time Tennessee record set in 1990.

"We are happy with the automatic (NCAA) cut time the 800 free relay put up," UT head coach John Trembley said. "The relay team was very good."

Senior co-captain Josh Fulton led the Vols off with the backstroke and a fourth-place finish of 1:28.20 in the 200 medley relay. Junior Kiel Huston, sophomore Andrew Engle and freshman Octavio Alesi followed Fulton. Florida also won the 200 medley relay in 1:25.03 while breaking NCAA, SEC, U.S. Open and pool records.

"We are going to attack the relay again in the time trials to get a NCAA qualifying time," Trembley said. "We are also considering putting Tyler Gustafson in the relay."