University of Tennessee Athletics
Aqua Vols Fall at Georgia
January 26, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Complete Results
The sixth-ranked Tennessee men???s swimming and diving team suffered its second loss on the season Saturday to the ninth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The meet, held at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga., marked the Bulldog seniors??? last collegiate race where they swam past the Vols by a score of 160-140.
???It was very poor execution on the part of the coaches and athletes for the Tennessee team,??? UT head coach John Trembley said. ???To Georgia???s credit, they raced incredibly hard. They were a different team today then they were a week ago. We were the same team today that we were a week ago.???
The Volunteers move to a 6-2 overall record (3-1 SEC) after losing the previous matchup to a seventh-ranked Indiana squad.
???We did have, however, some excellent races,??? Trembley said. ???Most impressively for us was Jonas Persson and Brad Craig, both of whom were double winners.???
Persson won the 200 freestyle in 1:36.75, his third-fastest time this season, while also triumphing in the 100 freestyle in 43.91, his second-fastest time this season. Freshman Brad Craig stole the show in the 100 and 200 backstrokes by winning each event with times of 55.61 and 2:00.19, respectively.
???Senior captain Michael Wolfe was brilliant on the 200 medley relay and the 200 I.M.,??? Trembley said. ???I was also very pleased with how Jim Dabney and Mattias Kahlin raced.???
Wolfe, also a double-winner, won his best event, the 200 backstroke, in 1:46.14. He then went on to top the field in the 200 I.M. with a time of 1:48.93. His 200 medley relay fell just short of the victory by clocking in at 1:30.10, just a half-second behind the Georgia relay. Dabney placed fourth in the 50 freestyle in 21.17 while swimming on the third-place 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays. Kahlin placed slightly higher in the 200 breaststroke, splashing to a 2:05.46 third-place finish.
???Octavio Alesi and Michael DeRocco are both fighting through some injuries,??? Trembley said. ???And they raced hard. I???m very proud of them.???
Alesi is battling a shoulder injury and DeRocco is struggling with an ankle problem. Alesi won the 50 freestyle in 20.24 and placed second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 48.26. DeRocco took fifth in the 50 freestyle at 21.18 and fourth in the 100 butterfly at 50.10.
Other highlights on the day included Nolan Morrell, Persson, Alesi and Barry Murphy as they won the 400 freestyle relay. Michael Muscari finished second on the one-meter boards (333.83) while also leading the Vols on the three-meter boards with a third-place finish (324.00)
???We???ll return to work on Monday to exentuate the positives and fix that which went wrong today.??? Trembley said. ???The meet was closer than the score showed. We win as a team and lose as a team. But as a team from top to bottom, we did not swim very well. Georgia swam the best meet of their season, as to expect on senior day. So, we applaud our quality SEC opponent.???
The team returns to Knoxville on Feb. 2 to face the No. 5 Florida Gators. This meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and will be the last home meet for seniors Octavio Alesi, Ryan Rincon and Michael Wolfe.
