KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU swimming and diving teams wrapped up the SEC Championships Saturday evening at the UT Student Aquatic Center, as the men placed seventh and the women finished eighth.
The Tigers closed with a four-day tally of 369 points. Auburn coasted to its 10th straight SEC men’s title racking up 1101.5 points. Florida and Georgia rounded out the top three on the men’s board.
The Lady Tigers accumulated 290 points during the meet. Georgia claimed the women’s championship over Auburn, 1094-1074, and Florida was third.
The men’s team posted its best score in seven years, while the women’s squad completed a week with its highest point total since 2002. Head coach Adam Schmitt said the team went in and accomplished what it wanted to and made an impression on the rest of the conference.
“I was proud of how well this team performed all week,” said Schmitt. “You can see in our performances that we are making the move to that next level and everyone is taking notice of that.”
Several LSU swimmers posted season-fast and career-best times on Saturday, and a total of 11 reached finals with solid preliminary performances.
“We finished up pretty well today and lowered our ‘B’ cut times,” added Schmitt. “I feel we have a good squad heading to the NCAA Championships next month.”
Kevin Braud captured the “C” final of the men’s 200 backstroke and finished 13th overall with a final time of 1:47.38.
Berit Aljand was 11th in the women’s portion after reaching the consolation final (2:02.68), and Mallory Neltner qualified for the finals and placed 17th with a season-fast time of 2:03.90.
In the women’s 1650 freestyle, Clare Schepens took 12th out of 24 swimmers with a clocking of 17:08.99.
Katherine Noland and Heather Brand paced LSU in the 100 freestyle. Noland touched the wall ninth overall and third in the consolation final (50.63). The freshman swam the third-fastest time in school history in the prelims (50.29).
Brand enjoyed her career-best mark in the prelims (51.41) while finishing 17th in the “C” final (51.76).
Miko Malberg was LSU’s highest finisher in the men’s 100 free, racing to a 14th-place finish with a NCAA provisional cut (44.42).
Matt Coenen, in his final SEC appearance, won the “C” final of the 200 breaststroke and placed 13th overall.
Coenen shattered his own career-high time and then entered the LSU all-time Top 10 with his prelim clocking of 2:01.90. Coenen’s time was the seventh-fastest mark in school history, and it is the second time in as many seasons an LSU breaststroke swimmer has made an impact at SECs.
Christian Clausen was fourth-place in the championship final of the 200 in 2005.
Julius Gloeckner qualified for another final on Saturday, reaching the consolation of the 200 butterfly. Gloeckner, who has shown his versatility all season, recorded the fourth-best mark in school history and set a career-high with a time of 1:48.03 to take 10th.
Jenna Molinski was LSU’s finalist in the women’s 200 fly, placing 15th (2:07.79).
The 400 freestyle relay closed out the meet. The Lady Tigers placed sixth (3:23.30) and the Tiger men finished eighth (2:59.84).
In diving, Hali Saucier overcame struggles in the 1-meter and 3-meter earlier in the week to post an eighth-place finals finish in the platform. Saucier had the fourth-highest tally in the prelims (231.20) and closed with a score of 204.40. Paige Brown was 18th, and Ryanne Snyder placed 21st.
LSU swimmers looking to solidify positions for the NCAA Championships compete at the Last Chance Meet in Athens, Ga. next weekend. Members of the diving team seek berths at NCAAs with the Zone B Diving Regionals, March 10-12, in Lexington, Ky.
2006 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships UT Student Aquatic Center
Knoxville, Tenn.
Men’s Scores (Final)
1. Auburn 1101.5
2. Florida 939.5
3. Georgia 761
4. Tennessee 715.5
5. Alabama 468
6. Kentucky 424
7. LSU 369
8. South Carolina 274.5
Women’s Scores (Final)
1. Georgia 1094
2. Auburn 1074
3. Florida 758
4. Kentucky 597
5. Tennessee 535
6. South Carolina 363.5
7. Alabama 293.5
8. LSU 290
9. Arkansas 144