PREVIEW: Swim & Dive Set for Annual Tennessee Invitational

Tuesday, November 19

Knoxville, Tenn.

10 AM/5 PM

University of Tennessee

Tennessee Invitational

PREVIEW: Swim & Dive Set for Annual Tennessee Invitational

November 18, 2024 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee swimming & diving welcomes some of the nation's top teams to Rocky Top this week for the annual Tennessee Invitational on Nov. 19-22 at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

Set up as a double-dual meet, the Tennessee Invite will feature four teams competing head-to-head: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and UNC Asheville (diving only). Nationally, the eighth-ranked Lady Vols' will face off against the No. 1 Virginia women, and the No. 11 Vols will compete against the 21st-ranked Cavalier men.

Admission is free for all regular season meets, and the clear-bag policy will be in place for all fans. Parking will be available in Lot SC40 off Kingston Pike near Tyson Park (PDF). Spectators may also meter park on Volunteer Blvd at available meters.

Fans can follow along by streaming the meet on SEC Network+ or with live results by using the Meet Mobile app (NOTE: Prelims and Finals will show up as separate meets on the app).

The invite will be scored like dual meets (team-vs-team basis) as opposed to an overall winner for the three teams swimming (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia). All events will be conducted as prelims/finals events with the exceptions of timed finals (all relays and 1650 freestyle) and the platform diving event (finals only).

All heats of the 1650 will swim in the morning except the top eight swimmers. Finals will swim D/C/B/A format. The A final will consist of the fastest two qualifiers in each event. The B final will consist of qualifiers 3-8. The C and D finals will be exhibitions with a full eight athletes and not count towards scoring. For diving, the top 12 will proceed to finals for both springboard events.

The 50 freestyle will consist of a prelims on Wednesday morning, a semifinal on Wednesday night. Thursday night will be a super final A and a B final for the rest of the athletes.

Swimmers can compete on all five relays. There's a limit to four relays per event as well, with the top two scoring points per team (A & B relays will compete in the A final, while the C & D relays will swim in the B final). Dual Meet scoring will be used at this meet (Individuals: 9-4-3-2-1/Relays: 11-4-2). Here's a full breakdown of the schedule:

Event Schedule
Tuesday
Finals - 6 pm
800 Free Relay

Wednesday
Swimming Prelims - 10 am
500 Free
200 IM
50 Free

Diving Prelims - 12 pm
Women's 3-meter
Men's 1-meter

Finals - 5 pm/6 pm
Women's 3-meter (5 pm)
200 Free Relay (6 pm)
500 Free
200 IM
50 Free (Semifinals)
Men's 1-meter
400 medley Relay

Thursday
Swimming Prelims - 10 am
100 Fly
400 IM
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast

Diving Prelims - 12 pm
Men's 3-meter
Women's 1-meter

Finals - 5 pm/6 pm
Men's 3-meter (5 pm)
200 Medley Relay (6 pm)
100 Fly
400 IM
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
50 Free (Finals)
Women's 1-meter

Friday
Swimming Prelims - 10 am
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly

Platform Finals - 12 pm

1650 Free Time Trials - 3:30 pm

Finals - 5 pm
1650 Free (Final Heats)
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
400 Free Relay

Only one meet into the season, Tennessee is already posting top times nationally. Sophomore Camille Spink owns the No. 1 time in the country in the 100 free at 47.30, while her 50 free showing (21.87) ranks third overall and leads the SEC. Senior Josephine Fuller, a U.S. National Team member, boasts an SEC-best and No. 8 time overall in the 200 back (1:52.04). Freshman Ella Jansen posted the No. 10 time in the 500 free (4:40.67).

In the 200 fly, three Lady Vols rank inside the top 20 nationally. Freshman Emily Brown is 15th followed by senior Sara Stotler in 16th. Jansen rounds things out in 18th. Likewise, Tennessee has a solid presence in the breaststroke events. Sophomore Emelie Fast ranks 11th in the 100 breast (59.51) and 12th in the 200 breast (2:09.60), while freshman McKenzie Siroky is 15th in the 100 breast.

When it comes to the 400 free relay, Emily Armen, Brooklyn Douthwright, Fuller and Spink secured the No. 3 time in the nation at 3:13.10, which also leads the SEC. Fuller, Siroky, Douthwright and Spink own the No. 10 mark in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:36.17.

The Vols are led by a group of Pairs Olympians. Senior Jordan Crooks secured a time of 19.07 in the 50 free, marking the No. 5 effort in the nation, and he ranks 11th overall in the 100 fly. With Gui Caribe, Lamar Taylor and Nikoli Blackman by his side in the 400 free relay, the squad owns an SEC-best and No. 3 time in the NCAA (2:49.23).

When it comes to Caribe, he clocked the nation's seventh-best time in the 100 free (42.15), while Martin Espernberger claimed the No. 7 mark in the 200 fly (1:41.82). The quartet of Harrison Lierz, Kevin Houseman, Crooks and Caribe threw down a time of 1:23.96 in the 200 medley relay, taking the No. 6 spot in the country.

For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee swimming & diving on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.