AUBURN, Ala. — The LSU swimming and diving teams completed competition at the 2003 Southeastern Conference Championships on Saturday with the men’s team finishing seventh with 218 points and the women were also seventh with 247 points at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.
LSU had nine athletes participate in the finals on Saturday evening, highlighted by Barb Gorsts’ second-place finish in the women’s platform diving final. The senior from Calgary, Canada recorded a score of 451.15 to finish just behind champion Kylee Wells of Tennessee, who scored a 452.95. Gorst won the 2002 platform title with a score of 469.45. Gorst also earned second team All-SEC honors by finishing as the runner-up in the event.
“Barb Gorst blew away the competition win the prelims by about 50 points and did well in the finals but ended up just short,” said LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer. “She now knows what she needs to do the rest of the season in both the regional and at the NCAA’s.”
Junior All-American Stephanie Smith finished eighth in the 1650-yard freestyle finals with a time of 16:41.46. Florida junior Sara McLarty won the event with a time of 16:07.45, a new pool record for the James E. Martin Aquatics center. Sophomore Myles Jaynes finished 16th in the men’s 1650 consolation final with a time of 15:50.52. True freshman Megan Wolters placed 14th in the consolation final of the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:01.14. Auburn junior Bryce Hunt won the men’s 200, swimming an SEC-record time of 1:41.73.
Sophomore Francisco Paez finished 11th in the consolation final of the men’s 100-yard freestyle, swimming a time of 44.33. Florida junior Carlos Jayme won the event with an SEC-record time of 42.89. Georgia senior Maritza Correia won the women’s 100 free with an SEC-record time of 47.49. The Lady Tigers had three swimmers finish in the top 16 in the 200-yard breaststroke, led by senior Cissy Schepens’ seventh-place finish. The Aquinas, Ga., native swam the event in a time of 2:16.90. Sophomore Lauren Ostroski placed 14th with a time of 2:20.74 while fellow sophomore Lauren Harvey finished 15th with a time of 2:20.76, a new personal-best time. Georgia’s Kyle Salyards won the men’s 200 with a time of 1:55.67.
All-American Evan Martinec placed 12th in the consolation final of the men’s 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:48.85. Martinec became the first LSU men’s swimmer to make All-SEC since 1998 on Friday by placing second in the finals of the 100-yard backstroke. Georgia freshman Mary SeScenza won the women’s 200-fly in an SEC-record time of 1:54.80.
Senior Kyle Van Arsdall placed fifth in the men’s platform diving finals with a score of 448.65. Auburn’s Caesar Garcia won the platform with a score of 672.50.
The Tigers’ team of Paez, Chris Stanczyk, Matt Rucker, and Mike Jotautas finished fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:59.11. Auburn won the relay with an SEC-record time of 2:51.96.
“Overall this was a really good meet for both our men’s and women’s teams and we are happy with the way a lot of our athletes performed,” said LSU head coach Jeff Cavana. “We still have a lot of opportunities left this season and we are looking forward to those but the women really stepped it up today and it was a great effort by both teams.”
Next up for the men’s team is the Auburn Invitational on March 8 at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn. The women will head to Austin, Texas for the next meet, the Texas-Bevo Incitational on March 1 at 6 p.m. Several men’s and women’s divers will compete in the 2003 NCAA Diving Regional on March 14-15 again in Auburn, and the women’s 2003 NCAA Championships will also be held in Auburn. The men’s championships will be held in Austin, Texas from March 27-29.
FINAL SCORES
2003 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
JAMES E. MARTIN AQUATICS CENTER
AUBURN, Ala.
MEN
1. Auburn 918.5
2. Florida 680
3. Georgia 492.5
4. Tennessee 455
5. Alabama 376
6. Kentucky 270.5
7. LSU 218
8. South Carolina 188.5
WOMEN
1. Auburn 841.5
2. Florida 685
3. Georgia 648.5
4. Alabama 316
5. Tennessee 278
6. South Carolina 260
7. LSU 247
8. Arkansas 244
9. Kentucky 212