GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2005 SEC Swimming Championships came to a close on Saturday with the LSU men earning seventh place and the Lady Tiger women taking eighth at the O’Connell Center.
The Tiger men closed out the four-day event with 189.5 points, while the women ended the championships with 181. Top-ranked Auburn captured its third consecutive league title with 829.5 points on the men’s side and 816 points on the women’s side.
Christian Clausen closed out his final SEC Championship appearance, taking fourth-place in the championship final of the men’s 200 breaststroke. Clausen swam an NCAA “B” cut and career-best time of 1:57.92 to improve on his previous preliminary mark.
In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Lauren Harvey placed third in the consolation final, 11th overall, with a ‘B’ cut of 2:18.16.
Kevin Braud won the men’s 200 backstroke consolation final with the third-fastest time in school history, an NCAA “B” cut time of 1:45.76. Braud finished ninth overall and was the second-fastest freshman in the event.
Clare Schepens finished 12th in the women’s 1650 freestyle (16:59.97). Myles Jaynes was LSU’s highest finisher in the men’s 1650 freestyle, placing 17th with a time of 15:47.81
Freshman Mallory Neltner qualified for the women’s 200 backstroke consolation final and placed eighth (16th overall) with a time of 2:03.22. Neltner entered LSU’s all-time top 10 with a mark of 2:02.83 in the prelims.
In the 400 free relay, the LSU men took seventh (3:03.91), while the women placed eighth (3:24.97).
The Tigers return to action at the Bevo Invitational in Austin, Texas on Feb. 27.