AUBURN, Ala. – – The LSU women’s swimming and diving team stands in fourth place after the second day of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships here Thursday. The men’s team finished in seventh place.
The Lady Tigers have amassed 139 points, trailing first-place Georgia, which has 300. The LSU men, ranked No. 19 in the nation, have a total of 119 points, trailing first-place Tennessee, which has 272.
The Georgia women are the defending conference champions, while the home team Auburn Tigers, which won the men’s championship last season, is in third.
Highlighting the day’s events for the Tigers was the performance turned in by sophomore Rodrigo Castro. Castro set an LSU record in the 500-yard freestyle event with a time of 4:23.93. He held the previous record time of 4:24.08. Castro finished in eighth place in the event.
“Rodrigo had a great swim in the 50 free,” said LSU head coach Rick Meador. “It’s always special when you set a school record. He has some more swims on Friday, so I’m eager to see what else he can accomplish here.”
LSU junior diver Corey Fox followed up Wednesday’s sixth-place finish in the 1-meter diving event with a fourth-place performance in Thursday’s 3-meter competition. He scored 511.15 points from the board. Fox’s teammate Erik Petursson finished the final round with a score of 467.95, which was good enough for sixth place.
In women’s action, LSU’s 400-yard medley relay team of Ali Petersen, Cissy Schepens, Candice Nethercott, and Mandy Leach swam a season-best time of 3:47.02 en route to a fifth-place finish.
Freshman Julie Hughes also swam a season-best time. She finished in 23.88 seconds in the consolation final of the 50-yard freestyle event. Hughes finished in eighth place in the competition.
The SEC Championships continue on Friday here at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the campus of Auburn University. The following events will be contested on Friday evening: the 400 individual medley, the 100 butterfly, the 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 800 freestyle relays, and the women’s 3-meter diving competition.
WOMEN’S STANDINGS (AFTER DAY TWO)
1. Georgia (300); 2. Auburn (236); 3. Florida (169); 4. LSU (139); 5. Tennessee (136); 6. Kentucky (134); 7. Alabama (113); 8. South Carolina (91); 9. Arkansas (64).
MEN’S STANDINGS (AFTER DAY TWO)
1. Tennessee (272); 2. Florida (235); 3. Auburn (221); 4. Georgia (171); 5. Kentucky (146); 6. South Carolina (145); 7. LSU (119); 8. Alabama (106).