CHAPEL HILL, NC — The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both won a number of events Thursday in the Nike Cup Invitational at the University of North Carolina. The Tigers won four of Thursday’s six events and set four NCAA B-cut qualifying times.
“I’m really thrilled at how we performed today,” said head coach Rick Meador. “This invitational is filled with very talented swimmers, and I’m proud of how we finished among the best in every event. Hopefully, we can keep up this level of play and continue to set more qualifying times for the NCAA.”
In the overall standings after Day One of the invitational, LSU’s swimming and diving teams both finished in second place. The Lady Tigers compiled 255 points and the men totaled an impressive score of 295. They each trail North Carolina for the lead.
The Lady Tiger divers swept the 3-meter diving competition with sophomore Jamie Watkins winning the event (514.40), while Ashley Culpepper (512.10) and Gretchen Mury (454.85) finished second and third. In the women’s 500-yard freestyle, LSU’s Mandy Leach set an NCAA B-cut qualifying time by winning the event in 4:54.58.
On the men’s side, sophomore Tiger All-American Rodrigo Castro set a qualifying time with his 4:28.79 performance in the 500-yard freestyle. He also anchored the 200-yard freestyle relay team along with junior Mattias Ohlin, Carlton Greer, and co-captain Ken Kuhn to first-place honors in the opening event of the day.
LSU’s Ken “Buzz” Kuhn flew by the competition in the 50-yard freestyle by winning with a B-cut qualifying time of 20.31. In the 1-meter diving event, junior Corey Fox finished in first place with a score of 506.95.
The final winning performance of the day for LSU came in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Tommy Starkweather, Steve Gluck, Ohlin, and Kuhn blew by the competition with a time of 3:20.58 for the victory.
The Nike Cup Invitational will continue Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, NC.