TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Thirteen members of the 17th-ranked LSU swimming and diving teams reached the finals of their respective events Friday evening on the third day of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships held at the Alabama Aquatic Center.
The LSU men sit in fifth place with 277.5 ponts and the Lady Tigers are sixth with 174.5 points. Auburn holds the top spot on both sides.
Junior Christoph Lubenau broke a nine-year old school record in the 100 fly with his fourth-place time of 46.91. The previous record (47.17) was set in 1999 by former Tiger Mattias Ohlin.
Michael Neubacher continues to push his campaign for SEC Freshman Diver of the Year by placing second in the platform event. After posting a fourth ?place score of 35.70 in the prelims, the Windermere, Fla., native scored an outstanding 431.55 to get the podium finish.
Junior diver Niko Dalman also reached the platform finals and finished fifth by posting 343.0 points.
“Without a doubt, Mike has been the standout freshman diver at the SEC Championships,” said LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer. “His performance tonight at the platform, I would say was almost magical. He did dives and had a performance that I knew was there. Everything just came together and in the heat of the competition, he almost won the thing. To finish second on the platform in his first SEC Championship makes me very proud as a coach and I know he is proud as well. The crazy thing is he hasn’t put it all together.”
Freshman Hannes Heyl put in two strong performances in the 100 fly and back. The two-time SEC Freshman of the Week won the consolation heat in the 100 fly by finishing ninth with his personal best time of 47.60. Heyl’s time ranks sixth in school history.
In the 100 back, Heyl finished fifth by hitting the wall at 48.01. Senior Kevin Braud finished right behind Heyl at 49.13.
“When you get people at the podium and are still dropping school records you had a good evening,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “We had a lot of best times and there were a lot of positive things to take from tonight’s events. However, this has been a wake up call just reminding us that we are in the toughest conference in the country.”
Junior Julius Gloeckner posted the fourth-best 40 IM time in school history by hitting the wall at 3:52.54. The three-time NCAA All-American posted the school record (3:45.77) last season.
Junior Katie Gilmore reached the finals of the 100 fly with a time of 54.92 in the prelims. Gilmore’s prelim time ranks fourth all-time at LSU and she set the third best time earlier this season.
Junior Chris White posted a career best in the prelims of the 100 breast with a time of 55.87. The Easley, S.C. native finished tied for 11th (56.12) in the final.
Junior Monica McJunkin reached the finals of the 100 back and finished 11th with a time of 55.48.
The fourth and final day of the championships is Saturday and will begin with the women’s 200 backstroke at 10 a.m.
2008 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships
Alabama Aquatic Center.
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Team Scores (After Day 3)
Women
Place School Points
1. Auburn 492
2. Florida 476
3. Georgia 387
4. Tennessee 332.5
5. Kentucky 238
6. LSU 174.5
7. Arkansas 157
8. South Carolina 149
9. Alabama 124
10. Vanderbilt 64
Men
Place School Points
1. Auburn 597
2. Florida 447
3. Tennessee 399
4. Georgia 294
5. LSU 277.5
6. Kentucky 256
7. Alabama 232. 5
8. South Carolina 146
Saturday, February 23, 2008
200 Backstroke
Prelims 10 a.m.
Finals 6 p.m.
100 Freestyle
Prelims 10 a.m.
Finals 6 p.m.
200 Breaststroke
Prelims 10 a.m.
Finals 6 p.m.
200 Butterfly
Prelims 10 a.m.
Finals 6 p.m.
W. 10-meter Platform Diving
Prelims 12:30 p.m.
Finals 6 p.m.
400 Freestyle Relay
Prelims TBD
Finals 6 p.m.
Lubenau 11th at NCAA 100-Yard Butterfly