AUBURN, Ala. — The LSU women’s swimming and diving team remained in fifth place Friday after day three of competition at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships. The 24th-ranked Lady Tigers finished with 247 total points, trailing the Georgia women who are in first place with 582.
After three days of competition, the LSU men ranked No. 19, in the nation, stand in eighth place with 188 points, trailing first-place Auburn which has 506 points. The Georgia women and Auburn men are the defending conference champions.
“The team is giving 100% in every event out there,” said LSU head coach Rick Meador. “This competition is filled with some of the best swimmers in the world and I am proud of the effort that our team has shown. There are a lot of events still left to go and a lot can change tomorrow.”
LSU sophomore Rodrigo Castro swam the second best time in school history in the 200-yard freestyle. Castro was just shy of breaking his own LSU record of 1:36.23 by finishing in third place with a time of 1:36.88. The record was set at last year’s SEC Championships in Lexington, Kent.
In the 100-yard butterfly, the Tigers’ Tommy Starkweather swam a season-best time of 48.43 seconds while earning a second place finish in the consolation final.
In women’s action, LSU diver Ashley Culpepper placed third in the 3-meter springboard competition. Culpepper finished the event with 509.95 total points from the board. Tennessee’s Jane Woodard won the event with a score of 525.35.
The Lady Tigers’ Mandy Leach swam the second best time in LSU history in the 200-yard freestyle event with a time of 1:48.07. Leach finished in fourth place in the competition. The record is held by Buffy Krieger who set it in 1987 by swimming the event in 1:47.68.
The SEC Championships conclude on Saturday here at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the campus of Auburn University.