#5/8 Tennessee Wins Regular-Season Finale at Duke

February 01, 2025 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

DURHAM, N.C. – Tennessee swimming & diving came out on top over Duke in the regular season finale at Taishoff Aquatic Center on Friday and Saturday. The fifth-ranked Lady Vols topped the No. 23 Blue Devils, 150-144, while the eighth-ranked Vols cruised past the Duke men, 213-86.

Unique Competition Format

Tennessee and Duke competed in a unique format for the two-day meet, swimming multiple events twice and even racing in non-NCAA events throughout the weekend.
The events swam twice included 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast and 100 fly.
The non-NCAA standard events were the 50 back, 50 breast, 50 fly and 100 IM.

Vols Dominate in Regular Season Finale

The Big Orange men picked up their fourth win of the season with an impressive showing in Durham. The Vols won 25 of the 28 events against the Blue Devils, including all three relays and both diving competitions.
Tennessee swept 11 events, including the 50 free, 100 free (2x), 200 free, 500 free, 50 back, 100 back, 50 fly, 100 fly, 200 fly and 400 IM.
Showcasing the team's depth, an impressive 13 different Vols won events during the meet.

Lady Vols Enter Postseason on Hot Streak

During their last five dual meets, the Lady Vols have won 69 of 89 events and boast three ranked victories against No. 11 Georgia, No. 15 Alabama and No. 23 Duke.
Against the Blue Devils, Tennessee took first in 15 of the 28 events.
Going into the SEC Championships, Tennessee has finished inside the top two during four of the last five seasons, including a pair of titles during the 2020 and 2022 meets.
For the NCAA Championships, the Lady Vols will look to continue their streak of finishing inside the top 10, which currently sits at six straight. Last year, the Big Orange finished fourth overall, which marked its best finish in more than a decade.

Top Performers

Jordan Crooks dominated the field during the meet, winning all three of his individual events as well as all three relays he swam on. The Olympian and World Champion won both 50 free races with times of 18.74 and 19.02. He also added a victory in the 50 back, touching the wall 21.11. He led the Big Orange to the top times in the 200 medley relay (1:24.85), 200 free relay (1:16.84) and 400 free relay (2:53.79).
Olympian Ella Jansen had an amazing showing at the finale of her first regular season with the Lady Vols. She finished first in the 400 IM (4:10.37) and 100 fly (53.65), second in the 100 free (49.71) and 200 free (1:44.90) and was a part of the quartet that touched the wall first in the 400 free relay.

Greene Sweeps Springboards… AGAIN

Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Bennett Greene's hot streak continued as he recorded his 11th and 12th wins of the season. He swept the springboards for the fifth time.
Greene finished first on both 1-meter (352.13) and 3-meter (397.95) against the Blue Devils. In the 3-meter contest, Greene had three 60-point dives, including two that eclipsed 70.
The Knoxville native has been recognized by the league with weekly honors five times this season, including three SEC Diver of the Week nods.

Men's Meet Notables

No one had more individual wins during the meet than Olympian Martin Espernberger. The All-SEC performer swept the butterfly events with times of 21.53 (50 fly), 47.24 (100 fly) and 1:42.52 (200 fly). He added his fourth victory in the 500 free thanks to a time of 4:27.12.
Nikoli Blackman enjoyed a big meet, picking up wins in the 100 free (42.62), 200 free (1:36.97) and 100 IM (48.94). He also added a third-place finish in the 50 free (19.78).
Kevin Houseman earned a pair of wins, bringing home the top times in the 50 breast (24.63) and 100 breast (52.97).
The Vols took over the 100 fly with Björn Kammann leading the way clocking a time of 46.88 followed by Harrison Lierz (47.05) and Adian Hill rounding out the effort (48.27).
Tennessee had a dominant showing in the 200 medley relay securing first and second place. With a 1.48 second difference the quartet of Lamar Taylor, Houseman, Kammann and Crooks came out on top with a mark of 1:24.85, while Ryan Williams, Jed Garner, Harrison Lierz and Nikoli Blackman closely followed (1:26.33).
Jed Garner won the 200 breast with a mark of 1:58.65 and placed second in the 50 breast (25.20) and 100 breast (54.21).
Aidan Crisci recorded three top-three finishes throughout the weekend. He took first in the 200 IM (1:48.61), second in the 200 fly (1:46.78) and third in the 400 IM (3:51.46).
Ben Bricca added a victory in the 100 free with a time of 45.04.
Harrison Lierz won the 100 back, clocking a 46.47. Nick Simons posted the top time in the 200 back (1:45.10) and took second in the 100 back (48.21).
Gus Rothrock posted the fastest time in the 400 IM (3:49.44) and was second in the 500 free (4:28.91).
Joaquin Vargas notched a victory in the 200 free, touching the wall in 1:37.96. He added a second-place finish in the 200 back (1:49.69).
Pedro Sansone closed out his freshman season placing on the leaderboard in four of his individual events including the second in the 100 free (44.17) and 50 fly (21.55) while taking third in the 200 free (1:37.69) and 100 fly (48.20).

Women's Meet Notables

Olympian Brooklyn Douthwright had a strong meet, winning three individual events and placing second in the 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay. Her victories came in the 100 fly (52.37), 200 IM (1:58.38) and 200 free (1:45.07).
Emily Brown put up an impressive effort to close out her freshman year regular season. In the 200 IM, she tied for first with Douthwright, throwing down a time of 1:58.38. She picked up her second victory of the weekend with a win in the 100 IM (54.99). Brown also added a second-place finish in the 400 IM (4:16.45) and a third-place finish in the 100 breast (1:03.91).
Josephine Fuller finished with the top effort in the 200 back (1:51.88) as well as the 100 free (49.16)--an event she normally doesn't swim.
McKenzie Siroky picked up two more wins in the breaststroke events, posting the fastest mark in the 50 breast (27.76) and 100 breast (59.05). She also took second in the 200 breast (2:07.60).
The Lady Vols charged the 200 free, as they secured each place on the podium. Leading the pack was Julia Mrozinski (1:44.11) followed by Jansen (1:44.90) and Sophie Brison (1:48.40). Brison had the top time in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:50.27.
The Big Orange had a dominant showing in the 400 free relay placing first and third in the contest. Camille Spink, who won the 100 free with a time of 48.40, anchored the squad of Fuller, Mrozinski and Jansen (3:14.09) to a first-place finish. The third-place showing was spearheaded by Emily Armen, Kate McCarville, Summer Eaker and Siroky (3:23.21).
Amber Myers won Saturday's race in the 100 back with a time of 54.60.