University of Tennessee Athletics
Summer Reflections
September 25, 2012 | Swimming & Diving
Sept. 25, 2012
With the Tennessee swimming and diving season starting on Friday with a road meet at UNC Wilmington, there's no better time to back at the last few months.
Since May, Matt Kredich assembled his first staff as the head coach of the newly combined men's and women's program, Tennessee sent 17 current and swimmers to the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials and three competitors to the U.S. Diving Olympic Trials.
And that's just scratching the surface.
Here's a look at Tennessee's busy summer:
OLYMPIC TRIALS
Senior Kelsey Floyd splashed onto the national scene by reached the finals in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly in June at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Neb.
Floyd was fourth in the 100 butterfly and eighth in the 200.
Former Lady Vol Christine Magnuson, a silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games, just missed qualifying for her second U.S. team by finishing. She finished third in the 50-meter freestyle in 24.78 seconds, just .05 seconds behind second-place finisher Kara Lynn Joyce.
Jenny Connolly, who wrapped up her prolific career in March, took sixth in the 100 backstroke finals.
Recent graduate Kirstyn Colonias qualified for the semifinals in the 200 breaststroke.
At the U.S. Diving Olympic Trials, former Vol Michael Wright reached the finals on the 3-meter springboard, while junior and reigning SEC Diver of the Year Tori Lamp was fifth in the platform. Ryan Helms also competed on the 3-meter springboard.
U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM COMES TO KNOXVILLE
While the Tennessee team did not qualify for Team USA, the swimming program did play a hand in the squad's preparations for London.
Team USA conducted its domestic training camp in Knoxville much like the team did before the 1996 Games in Atlanta. USA Swimming opened a morning practice to spectators and media, and local residents responded with unprecedented attendance.
Fans started lining up before 5 a.m. for the 8 a.m. practice and filled Allan Jones Aquatic Center to its approximate 1,200 capacity for the hour session. Additional fans lined the outdoor pool across the street to watch additional Olympians in action.
COACHING STAFF COMPLETE
The arrival of Lance Asti in July completed Kredich's first staff in the newly combined men's and women's swimming program.
Kredich had served the last seven years as head coach of the women's program and had led the Lady Vols a banner year in 2012, which included a second-place SEC finish and seventh-place result at the NCAA Championships. He was named head coach of both programs on April 12.
The new swimming staff includes: associate coach Tyler Fenwick, who was the men's national coach for the prominent swimming club Mission Viejo Nadadores; assistant coach Lance Asti, a former Vol who has been training sprinters at LSU and Clemson; assistant coach Ashley Jahn, a former UT graduate assistant who has spent the last two years at UNLV and Idaho; and assistant coach Bret Lundgaard, an assistant at Army the last three years.
Dave Parrington is returning for his 23rd season as the UT diving coach for the men's and women's teams. He was named the SEC Diving Coach of the Year in 2012 as his divers won four of the six diving programs as the SEC championships.
U.S. OPEN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Floyd proved her performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials was no fluke.
She returned to the national stage in August to capture the title in the 200-meter butterfly at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships in Indianapolis. Her time of 2:08.74 in the race was the third-best time by an American in 2012 and was a top-20 time in the world this year.
Floyd also finished second in the 100 butterfly in 58.98.
Sophomore Molly Hannis played 18th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:32.10.
