University of Tennessee Athletics
SWIM VOLS START NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MINNEAPOLIS THURSDAY
March 12, 2007 | Men's Swimming & Diving
March 12, 2007
The Tennessee men's swimming team travels to Minneapolis, Minn., tomorrow to compete in the NCAA Championships Thursday. The Vols qualified nine swimmers for the championships, but, due to an injury, Andrew Thirlwell is incapable of competing. They will send Andrew Engle, Octavio Alesi, Jim Dabney, Nolan Morrell, Barry Murphy, Jeffrey Sudbury and Michael Wolfe to Minneapolis for hopefully their 20th consecutive top-20 finish.
"This group of athletes have prepared considerably well," UT head coach John Trembley said. "We are healthy with the exception of Andrew Thirlwell who will be in attendance to support his team-members and standby as an alternate. As the polls have us 14th in the nation, we look forward to meeting that challenge and perhaps moving up one or two spots. We have five relays in the competition and many individuals swimming in individual events."
Tennessee finished 15th in last year's championships and 17th in 2005. In the last seven years, the Vols have averaged an 11th-place ranking, their highest of which came in 2001 when they placed 3rd. During those years, there have been three Volunteer national champions. Michael Gillam won the 100 backstroke in 2001, Phillip Jones placed 1st in 3-meter diving in 2003 and Jevon Tarantino took the 1-meter championship in 2004. The last Volunteer team National Championship took place in 1978 under coach Ray Bussard. Notable members of that team were swimmer Doug Lambert and assistant coach Trembley. Lambert now acts as an assistant coach and Trembley stands at the helm as head coach for Tennessee swim team.
The '78 season was a special season for those involved but this year's meet already carries with it some significance.
"This year, the championships are already built as the fastest NCAA meet in history which will require great things from this year's group of Tennessee Volunteers," Trembley said. "They are ready for a great competition. We have about 72 hours to hold it together. They are hungry, so are the coaches. We can't wait to start the meet."
The 2006-07 NCAA Championships begin with preliminaries at noon on Thursday and concludes Saturday.
Players Mentioned
