University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Take Bronze at SEC's
February 23, 2008 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Complete Results
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The seventh-ranked Tennessee men???s swimming and diving team finished the fourth and final day of the SEC Championships on Saturday with a third overall finish at the Alabama Aquatic Center. Auburn won the meet with 806 points, Florida took second with 712 points and the Vols collected 562 points in their third-place finish. Georgia and Kentucky rounded out the top five.
???It was a great SEC Championships,??? UT head coach John Trembley said. ???We swam against some great opponents. We fought hard and set ourselves up nicely for NCAA???s.???
In the mile freestyle, freshman Geoff Sanders ended the race ninth in 15:14.84. Fellow freshmen Carl Jones and Chris Winchell took 12th- and 19th- places, respectively. Jones timed in at 15:20.49 and Winchell at 15:46.29, his lifetime best.
???It should be noted that to score this year at the SEC Championships was 40 seconds faster than last,??? Trembley said. ???The 16th-position was 40 seconds faster than last year???s 16th-place finisher.???
The 200 backstroke saw Michael Wolfe take another top-eight finish when he tapped the wall at 1:44.41 and in fifth-place.
???In the 200 backstroke, we had some great performances,??? Trembley said. ???Wolfe swam an incredible double today, starting with the 200 backstroke and the 200 butterfly. That is a grueling double.?? Andrew Thrilwell pulled a huge surprise by making the finals in an event that he???s never swam before in his collegiate career. Michael Christy swam a fantastic race tonight in the consolation and had a personal best.???
Thirlwell took eighth-position in 1:46.60 and Christy ended the race in 12th with a time of 1:46.88.
Jonas Persson placed third in the 100 freestyle in 43.48. Teammate Nolan Morrell followed in fourth, clocking in at 43.56. Barry Murphy in11th (44.29), Michael DeRocco in 14th (44.61) and Jim Dabney in 17th (44.59). Scott Wherry swam a time of 44.96.
???Mattias Kahlin won the 200 breaststroke consolation final in an impressive time,??? Trembley said. ???Stephen Fortney???s 200 breaststroke was one of our greatest swims in the meet.???
Kahlin swam to a time of 2:00.03 while freshman Brad Craig took the best spot for the Vols in third with a time of 1:57.18, but Fortney ended the meet 12th in 2:01.61, his season best.
Wolfe took another fifth-place finish in the 200 butterfly. Greg Houchin finished in the second alternate spot, 18th-place, with a time of 1:49.92. Patrick Beasley concluded the race with a time of 1:52.68.
The Vols ended the meet with a second-place 400 freestyle relay. Morrell, Persson, DeRocco and Murphy splashed in at 2:53.30. Morrell???s leg of the relay, a 43.4-split, was a personal-best time.
Next up for the Vols is the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Auburn, Ala. The event takes place all day at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
