University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Georgia
Vols Cruise to Pair of Wins
January 22, 2011 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Jan. 22, 2011
The 10th-ranked Tennessee swimming and diving team led from start to finish on Saturday as the Vols notched two wins over top 15 teams.
Tennessee outscored SEC-East foe and 11th-ranked Georgia 168-132 and topped No. 12 Indiana 176.5-123.5. The wins give Tennessee much-needed momentum as they draw closer to championship season.
"Last time we squeaked out a win against a very good Virginia team, this time we came out on top of Indiana and Georgia," head coach John Trembley said. "We had a very strong meet. This was a very good win for us heading into our last dual meet of the year down at Florida."
Tennessee honored longtime assistant coach Joe Hendee, who took a leave of absence in August to begin cancer treatment, by painting his initials "JH" on every Vols' chest.
"Today was all about Joe," Trembley said. "We wanted to honor him and I think we did a great job supporting Joe with these wins today."
The Vols got going early with a win in the 200 medley relay with a B-cut mark of one minute 29.27 seconds.
After Ryan Harrison won the 200 free, the Vols had what Trembley called the "swim of the meet."
It was fitting the Mattias Kahlin got the first win of his collegiate career in his last meet in Knoxville. The Vasteras, Sweden, native won the 100 breaststroke in a season-best B-cut time of 54.69.
"It feels good to get my first win in four years at home," Kahlin said. "We have a good thing going on and just a few weeks until SECs. We have to keep it going."
Other Vols earning wins today were Michael DeRocco in the 50 free (20.17), Ryan Helms on the 1-meter (383.25) and Michael Wright on the 3-meter (405.60).
"I set a goal for myself on the 1-meter--I wanted to get 380," Helms said. "I made sure I stuck to my goal and tried not to think about how anyone else was doing. I made my goal and it was a good meet for me heading forward into SECs."
While a handful of Vols earned individual victories today, it was the supporting cast that carried the Vols to victory today.
Junior Anders Storvik and senior Brad Craig both had two second-place finishes while several other Vols scored to give the Vols two big wins.
"I feel like a got a little bit of rest and it really paid off today," Storvik said. "This win really lifts our guys up. We have a good mindset going down to Florida next weekend and then into SECs."
The support given by Storvik, Craig and others did not go unnoticed by Trembley. But there was another group of individuals that earned his laud.
"Our seniors have really made a great impact on this program," Trembley said. "It was great to see Mattias get a win today and I'm very proud of him and all of our seniors."
As is tradition at Tennessee, each of the eight seniors--Patrick Beasley, Craig, DeRocco, Scott Friderichs, Kahlin, Geoff Sanders, Chris Winchell and Wright--will climb into the catwalk and sign their names onto the steel beams that hold up the roof, as well as into Tennessee history.
"The Ghosts in the Rafters tradition is very special to all of us," Kahlin said. "We have a lot of traditions here, but that one is different. It's a spiritual thing--it's something to believe in."
The Vols head to Gainesville for a matchup with No. 5 Florida next Saturday. The SEC Diving Championships are also at Florida, beginning Feb. 11. The league swimming championships are slated to begin Feb. 16.
SCORING REPORT 200 medley relay: 1. Tennessee (Samuel Rairden, Brad Craig, Michael DeRocco, Clint Johnson) 1:29.27; 2. Georgia (Matt Bartlett, Martin Kata, Mark Dylla, Michael Arnold) 1:30.06; 3. Tennessee (Anders Storvik, Renato Prono, Oystein Hetland, Troy Tillman) 1:30.30
1000 free: 1. Martin Grodzki (IU) 9:06.47; 2. Ryan Hinshaw (IU) 9:08.72; 3. Will Freeman (UGA) 9:11.49; 4. Geoff Sanders (UT) 9:16.49; 5. Sam Petersen (UT) 9:21.15
200 free: 1. Ryan Harrison (UT) 1:37.13; 2. Titus Knight (IU) 1:37.52; 3. Jameson Hill (UGA) 1:39.07; 8. Chris Winchell (UT) 1:41.11; 9. Michael Christy (UT) 1:41.75
100 back: 1. Eric Ress (IU) 47.79; 2. Anders Storvik (UT) 49.07; 3. Samuel Rairden (UT) 49.32
100 breast: 1. Mattias Kahlin (UT) 54.69; 2. Brad Craig (UT) 55.19; 3. Jake Epperson (UT) 55.24
200 fly: 1. Mark Dylla (UGA) 1:47.79; 2. Todd McGraw (UGA) 1:47.97; 3. Norbert Kovacs (UT) 1:48.85; 4. Christoffer Wallin (UT) 1:48.86; 6. Patrick Beasley (UT) 1:50.22
50 free: T1. Michael DeRocco (UT) 20.17; T1. Bryan Chovanec (IU) 20.17; 3. Ante Zoricic (IU)20.26; 4. Martin Kata (UGA) 20.51; 6. Oystein Hetland (UT) 20.59; 7. Clint Johnson (UT) 20.75
1-meter: 1. Ryan Helms (UT) 383.25; 2. Michael Wright (UT) 374.85; 3. David Piercy (IU) 355.80; 4. Owen Blank (UGA) 331.45; 5. Brent Sterling (UT) 322.55
100 free: 1. Ante Zuricic (IU) 44.93; 2. Michael Arnold (UGA) 45.04; 3. Titus Knight (IU) 45.05; 4. Ryan Harrison (UT) 45.09; 5. Ed Walsh (UT) 45.38; 6. Clint Johnson (UT) 45.47
200 back: 1. Eric Ress (IU) 1:46.31; 2. Anders Storvik (UT) 1:48.24; 3. Samuel Rairden (UT) 1:48.73; 4. Doug Spraul (IU) 1:50.33; 5. Todd McGraw (UGA) 1:50.63; 9. Chris Winchell (UT) 1:52.23
200 breast: 1. Bill Cregar (UGA) 2:00.05; 2. Brad Craig (UT) 2:00.31; 3. Mattias Kahlin (UT) 2:00.66; 4. Jake Epperson (UT) 2:00.82
500 free: 1. Martin Grodzki (UGA) 4:25.33; 2. Ryan Hinshaw (IU) 4:28.41; 6. Sam Petersen (UT) 4:34.72; 7. Norbert Kovacs (UT) 4:36.10; 10. Geoff Sanders (UT) 4:37.72
100 fly: 1. Mark Dylla (UGA) 48.28; 2. Michael DeRocco (UT) 48.46; 3. Oystein Hetland (UT) 48.79; 4. Matt Bartlett (UGA) 49.59; 10. Patrick Beasley (UT) 51.98
3-meter: 1 .Michael Wright (UT) 405.60; 2. David Piercy (IU) 390.20; 3. Ryan Helms (UT) 390.15; 4. Brent Sterling (UT) 337.85
200 I.M.: 1. Bill Cregar (UGA) 1:48.43; 2. Eric Ress (IU) 1:48.56; 3. Christoffer Wallin (UT) 1:50.69; 4. Jake Epperson (UT) 1:51.47; 8. Michael Christy (UT) 1:53.05
400 free relay: 1. Tennessee (Michael DeRocco, Anders Storvik, Samuel Rairden, Ed Walsh) 2:59.38; 2. Indiana (Titus Knight, Jimmy Barbiere, Bryan Chovanec, Ante Zoricic) 2:59.96; 3. Georgia (Matt Bartlett, Martin Kata, Mark Dylla, Michael Arnold); 4. Tennessee (Clint Johnson, Oystein Hetland, Brad Craig, Troy Tillman)
Players Mentioned
