KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — LSU sophomore diver Niko Dalman earned a fourth-place finish in the men’s 3-meter springboard as the 2006 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships got underway here Wednesday at the UT Student Aquatic Center.
The LSU men sit in sixth place with 59 points after three events. The LSU women sit in eighth with a Day 1 score of 64. Georgia is atop the men’s leaderboard at 138, while Kentucky is tops on the women’s side at 163.
Dalman, the 2005 SEC Freshman of the Year, dove a final score of 328.25 to pick up 20 points for the Tigers. The Auburn, Wash., native improved on his preliminary tally by three positions. In the prelims, he captured a berth in the finals with a seventh-place mark of 328.25.
Georgia’s Chris Colwill won the event with a score of 419.80, and Auburn’s Steven Segerlin was second at 403.70. Nathan Schreiber was LSU’s next highest finisher coming in at 12th (274.10). Junior co-captain Andrew Keane took 15th (250.25).
In the women’s 1-meter, junior Hali Saucier was the Lady Tigers’ highest finisher with a 10th-place mark of 248.25. Ryanne Snyder and Alyson Thomas were 18th and 20th, respectively with scores of 217.55 and 208.50. Paige Brown scored a 25th-place tally of 199.50.
Two relays were the only swimming events held on Wednesday, including the 200 medley and 800 freestyle.
LSU was eighth in the women’s portion of the 200 medley. Monica McJunkin, Sarah Bedell, Heather Brand and Colleen Bertirotti swam a time of 1:43.38, touching the wall .03 seconds behind Alabama. Georgia won the event with a new pool-record time of 1:37.78.
In the 800 free relay, both the LSU men and women finished eighth with times of 6:39.47 and 7:30.54, respectively.
Individual swimming events begin on Thursday with the 500 free, 200 individual medley and 50 free. Preliminaries are slated to begin at 10 a.m., followed by men’s 1-meter diving at 1 p.m. and women’s 3-meter diving at 2:45 p.m.
The Lady Tigers put their No. 1 seed and school-record time on the line in the 200 freestyle relay, the featured race of the day. LSU is in search of a top finish in the finals, which is slated to start at 6 p.m.
2006 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships
UT Student Aquatic Center
Knoxville, Tenn.
Men’s Scores (After Day 1)
1. Georgia 138
2. Florida 124
3. Auburn 123
4. Tennessee 114
5. South Carolina 87
6. LSU 59
7. Alabama 58
8. Kentucky 42
Women’s Scores (After Day 1)
1. Kentucky 163
2. South Carolina 121
t3. Georgia 109
t3. Tennessee 109
5. Auburn 101
6. Alabama 88
7. Florida 82
8. LSU 64
9. Arkansas 50
Thursday’s Schedule of Events
Preliminary Competition
10 a.m. 500 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
200 Freestyle Relay (Time Trial)
1 p.m. Men’s 1-Meter Diving
2:45 p.m. Women’s 3-Meter Diving
Finals Competition
5 p.m. Men’s 1-Meter Diving Finals
6 p.m. 500 Freestyle Final
200 IM Final
50 Freestyle Final
Women’s 3-Meter Diving Finals
200 Freestyle Relay (Timed Final)