CHAPEL HILL, NC – – The LSU swimming and diving teams both scored enough points Friday evening to retain their second place positions in the Nike Cup Invitational Championships at the University of North Carolina.
In the overall team standings after Day Two of the competition, the Lady Tigers have scored 541 points and only trail 18th ranked North Carolina. The men are also in second place behind the Tarheels after scoring 521 total points in the first two days of the event.
“We are performing extremely well right now,” said head coach Rick Meador. “Our seniors are doing a fantastic job of leading the team, and our younger guys are showing great poise against the talent in this invitational. This weekend is going to benefit us tremendously later on in the season, both in the dual-meets as well as the SEC’s.”
LSU’s junior freestyler Mandy Leach set an NCAA B-cut qualifying time by winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:49.17. It was her second first-place finish of the weekend. Leach also won the 500-yard freestyle Thursday afternoon.
In women’s diving action, Lady Tiger Jaime Watkins won the 1-meter diving event by scoring 422.70 points. Her teammate, Gretchen Mury, placed third with 395.85 points.
The Tiger’s butterfly specialist, junior Matthias Ohlin, set an NCAA B-cut qualifying time in the 100-yard butterfly by swimming a 48.66. The time is among the top-5 in LSU history.
Sophomore All-American Rodrigo Castro won the 200-yard freestyle competition for the Tigers. He also set an NCAA qualifying time by finishing in 1:38.83.
The Nike Cup Invitational Championship will continue Saturday and is the final day of the event.