AUBURN, Ala. — The LSU men and women swimming and diving teams both finished in fifth place of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday evening.
The LSU men, who are ranked No. 19 in the nation, moved up from eighth place to fifth place on the final day of competition at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center here on the campus of Auburn University. The Tigers finished the weekend with 281 total points.
“I am extremely proud of the way that our teams gave everything that they had this week,” said LSU head coach Rick Meador. “All of the Southeastern Conference teams are among the best in the nation and I believe that we did a commendable job of competing with them.
On the final day of competition, the Lady Tigers, who are ranked 24th in the nation were led by the diving team which placed four athletes in the final round of the platform competition. The LSU women finished the SEC Championships with 382 points.
The Auburn men and the Georgia women both won their third conference championship in a row. Auburn finished the competition with 752 points on the men’s side, and Georgia won the women’s event with 850 points.
The Tigers’ jump from eighth to fifth place was accomplished by the performances of junior diver Corey Fox, and captain Ken “Buzz” Kuhn.
Fox finished third in the platform diving event by scoring a season-high 533.90 points. Junior Erik Petursson also made the final in the platform diving competition for the Tigers. Petursson scored 456.15 points in the event and placed sixth.
Kuhn won the 100-freestyle consolation final with a time of 44.06. The time was the fastest of the season for the Tigers and the best of his career in the event.
The Lady Tigers’ diving team turned in an outstanding performance in the platform diving event. Ashley Culpepper won the event with a season-high score of 507.75. Her closest competitor was Tennessee’s Kathryn Flint who scored 482.95.
LSU sophomore Jamie Watkins placed third in the platform competition with 446.50 points, senior Gretchen Mury came in fifth with 410.65, and sophomore Holly Winters finished seventh for the Lady Tigers with 369.85 points.
The LSU swimming and diving teams will next be in action February 25 as they come back here to Auburn, Ala. for the SEC Quadrangular meet.