TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU women’s swimming and diving team ended the opening day of the 2001 Southeastern Conference Championships in first place on Wednesday as the Lady Tiger divers turned in an outstanding performance here at the Alabama Aquatic Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“Our women our off to a really good start,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “The divers were phenomenal in the 3-meter event and our men looked really well on the 1-meter springboard. I was also pleased with the way our swimmers competed in the relays, and hopefully we can look forward to another strong outing tomorrow.”
The LSU women hold a slight lead in the four-day conference championships as the Lady Tigers compiled 66 total-team points. Florida and Georgia are knotted at 65 in second place and Kentucky and Tennessee follow with 48 points.
The LSU women’s diving team had three finalists in Wednesday’s 3-meter springboard competition. Leading the way for the Lady Tigers were 2000 NCAA Champions, Ashley Culpepper and Jaime Watkins. Culpepper finished in second place with a final score of 506.05, while Watkins ended the event in the third-place position with 504.55 total points. Barb Gorst, LSU’s junior from Calgary, Canada, grabbed the eighth spot by accumulating a final mark of 430.15.
“They did a really good job today,” said LSU diving coach Scott Reich. “We have an extremely talented group of divers and I think that it is important that we have a large group. All of our divers practice really hard and they push each other to levels that they wouldn’t ordinarily achieve. Hopefully, we can have the same kind of results in the platform event on Satuday, because that is our strongest event.”
The LSU men’s team completed the opening day of the SEC Championships in fifth place with 78 total-team points. Tennessee, the second-ranked team in the nation, leads the meet after Wednesday’s competition by totaling 104 points.
The Tigers’ 200-yard medley relay team comprised of Evan Martinec, Steve Gluck, Ken Kuhn, and Matt Elder placed fourth in the event and were a touch short of setting a new LSU record. The relay team finished with a time of 1:28.23, while the current LSU mark is 1:28.18.
In the men’s diving competition, Erik Petursson was the lone Tiger to qualify for the final round of the 1-meter springboard as he ended in sixth place with 295.70 points. LSU’s Corey Fox and Kyle VanArsdall contributed with 11th and 12th-place performances, respectively.
Mandy Leach, the Lady Tigers’ junior from Harare, Zimbabwe, made LSU history on Wednesday, as she swam the fastest relay split by an LSU woman in the 800-yard freestyle relay event. Her time of 1:46.11 contributed to the Lady Tigers’ eighth-place finish and was the second-best time recorded in the meet.
The LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will continue their quest for SEC Championship titles on Thursday as the competition resumes at 9 a.m.
Women’s Standings
1) LSU: 66, 2) Florida: 65, 2) Georgia: 65, 4) Kentucky: 48, 4) Tennessee: 48, 6) Alabama: 42, 7)South Carolina: 37, 8) Auburn: 35, 9) Arkansas: 5.
Men’s Standings
1) Tennessee: 104, 2) Georgia: 88, 3) Kentucky: 85, 4) Auburn: 83, 5) LSU: 78, 6) Florida: 75, 7) Alabama: 50, 8) South Carolina: 39.