University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
NCAA Men's Championships
S&D Makes Six Finals, Climbs to 14th
March 27, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
March 27, 2015
| Men | 1st Team | Hon. Mention |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 6 | 3 |
| Total | 6 | 9 |
| Men's | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Texas | 399 |
| 2. California | 275 |
| 3. Michigan | 210 |
| 4. Florida | 205 |
| 5. Southern California | 197 |
| 14. Tennessee | 78 |
McHugh won the consolation final of the 400 IM to earn his first honorable mention All-American honor. With his place in the final, McHugh becomes the first Vol to earn such an honor in the 400 IM since Casey Dauw in 2004.
Results 
IOWA CITY, Iowa--Tennessee sent athletes to the finals in six events Friday night, moving up the standings after day two at the 2015 NCAA Championships at the University of Iowa's Campus Wellness and Recreation Center.
After beginning the day in 20th place with 12 points, the Vols now sit in 14th place with 78 points. Texas remains in first place with 399 points, with defending champion California in second place with 275 points.
"It's big to get that 200 medley relay in the top eight," said Head Coach Matt Kredich. "We had four very strong splits in that and for Peter John Stevens and Sam McHugh in their first NCAA races to score is a huge positive for us. They each learned quite a bit. Sean Lehane swam a best time in the morning in his 100 back and competed really well tonight. Our divers were phenomenal and today was a really good day to battle and move up."
The 200-yard medley relay team of Sean Lehane, Peter John Stevens, Jacob Thulin and Troy Tillman ended Friday's preliminary session by earning the No. 8 seed and finished in the same position in the championship final, earning four All-American honors.
The foursome finished with a time of 1:24.26, shaving .07 seconds off their preliminary time and placing them No. 2 in UT history in the event. Stevens swam a 22.98 breaststroke split, the second-fastest in the field. Tillman, meanwhile, posted a 18.97 time in the anchor freestyle leg to conclude his medley relay career at Tennessee.
Sam McHugh qualified for his first-career NCAA final in the 400 IM, where he finished ninth overall and earned the top seed in the consolation final. The freshman continued his winning ways this season by finishing ninth overall--first in the B final--with a time of 3:41.29.
McHugh earned his first All-American honor, an honorable mention, and became the first Vol earn such an award in the 400 IM since Casey Dauw in 2004.
Fellow freshman Peter John Stevens qualified for his first individual NCAA final in the 100 breast and earned his first honorable mention All-American honor by placing third in the consolation final--11th overall--with a 52.27 time.
Soon after the 100 breast finals, Sean Lehane earned third place--11th overall--in the consolation final of the 100 back with a 46.15 time in his first individual race of the three-day event. His 45.85 time placed Lehane at No. 2 in UT history in the event, leapfrogging Sam Rairden and moving the junior within .22 seconds of Michael Gilliam at No. 1 in program history.
The swimmers concluded the evening by placing 17th in the 800 freestyle relay. Competing in the relay for the fourth time this season, the team of Tristan Slater, Sean Lehane, Gustav Aberg Lejdstrom and Troy Tillman finished with a time of 6:26.32.
"We have to have a great day tomorrow," said Kredich. "We have some of our strongest swims coming up and we have to continue to rise to the level of the competition, which I think we did really well today."
The diving duo of Mauricio Robles and Liam Stone gave the Vols a points boost in the three-meter springboard final, earning first-team All-American honors for the first time this week. Freshman Liam Stone finished seventh place (427.90), while Mauricio Robles finished eighth (422.45).
"Anytime you can make a big final at a meet like the NCAA championship with the incredible amount of depth in the field is a great achievement," said Head Diving Coach Dave Parrington. "It's a very tough final to make and it is an awesome achievement for both of these guys, especially for Liam to step up and push some of the best in the country. Mauricio was a bit off in the final, but scoring big team points was an excellent achievement."
Both divers qualified for the championship final after utilizing consistent diving to finish sixth and seventh place respectively. Robles (419.30) finished his six-round preliminary set by scoring at least a 72.00 on four dives, including a 77.50 to open the session.
Stone (401. 65) earned a spot in his first NCAA final by eclipsing the 400-point mark for the first time in his career as a Vol. He completed the preliminary session by scoring a round-high 78.20 to jump into the top eight.
They're giving their all for Tennessee and they're here to give their best and perform," said Parrington. "They'll be other times where the other guys are also doing well, so it's all part of the team effort. They couldn't be happier than to help their team."
