AUBURN, Ala. — LSU sophomore Hannes Heyl won the consolation final of the men’s 100-yard freestyle, and senior Vanessa Duenas broke a 19-year-old program record in the women’s 200-yard butterfly Saturday to close out the 2009 SEC Championships at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
In the preliminary round of the 100 free, Heyl became the first LSU swimmer to reach the wall in under 44 seconds since 1991with his time of 43.57, which is second all-time in program history and less than fourth tenths of a second away from current head coach Adam Schmitt‘s school record of 43.22.
Then, after posting just the fourth-fastest split at the half-way mark in the finals, the German turned it up a notch in the remaining 50 yards and snuck his hand in at the wall to beat South Carolina’s Kyle Cormier and take the consolation title at 43.62.
Duenas etched her name in the school record books with her prelim time of 1:58.15 in the 200 fly, surpassing former five-time All-American Samantha Purvis. She returned in the consolation final and notched 12th with a time of 1:59.56.
Moreover, the women’s 400 freestyle relay squad of Jane Trepp, Katie Gilmore, Monica McJunkin and Katherine Noland shattered the school mark with a time of 3:17.17. The men’s relay of Heyl, Christoph Lubenau, James Meyers and Julius Gloeckner also earned fifth with a time of 2:55.37.
Overall, the 18th-ranked men’s team totaled 303 points to secure sixth-place in the team standings. The Lady Tigers placed eighth.
In addition to Duenas and Heyl and the relays, both teams had several athletes place in the top-16 and score for their respective teams. Gloeckner, a product of Freiburg, Germany, swam one of his best 200-fly races in nearly two seasons, recording a time of 1:46.29 to place 13th. Fellow German Lubenau finished 15th in the 100 free with a time of 44.26.
In diving, senior Niko Dalman and freshman Matt Vieke each placed in the top-16 for the third consecutive competition. Dalman tallied 291.05 points on six dives in the platform to take 10th overall, while Vieke delivered a 16th-place finish with a season-high score of 258.25.
Three men’s breaststrokers emerged from the preliminary field of the 200 breast to place in the top-16. Sophomore Ben Decker claimed 11th-place (1:59.64) with sophomore Clint Hallum taking 13th (2:01.35) and senior Nate Telep earning 15th (2:01.65).
Sophomore Luis Gonzalez chipped in with three points for the men’s team after finishing the mile race in 15:24.94 to take 14th.
Furthermore, freshman Morgan McGee advanced to the consolation final of the 200 back where she finished 16th with a time of 1:59.58, and sophomore Kannon Betzen also took 16th in her respective race, recording a time of 2:17.97 in the 200-breast final after swimming a career best of 2:16.39 in the prelims.
In the morning session, Gilmore and McJunkin moved up the Lady Tigers’ top-five list in the 100 free with prelim times of 49.74 and 49.78, respectively, while fellow senior Connor Farber swam under the 45-second mark in his 100-free prelim with a personal best of 44.84.
Seniors Roy Chambers and Chris White each placed in the top-20 of the 200 breast as Chambers notched a career-best time of 2:02.07 to finish just outside of the points competition with a 17th-place finish, and White wrapped up 20th in the same event with a time of 2:03.50.
Junior Sean LeNeave nearly qualified for a consolation final as well, swimming a school top-10 mark of 1:48.83 in the 200 fly to place 17th. Moreover, exhibition swimmer Simon Diefenthal continued to enjoy a solid conference meet in his first appearance at SEC’s with a personal best of 1:46.84 in the 200 back, which is fifth-best in program annals.
The Auburn men seized the SEC team championship for the 13th consecutive year, running away with the title with a cumulative score of 880.5. The Florida Gators fought off Auburn and Georgia in a tightly-contested battle to take the women’s crown.
2009 SEC Championships ? Final Results
Men
1. Auburn – 880.5
2. Florida – 626
3. Tennessee – 584
4. Georgia – 435.5
5. Alabama – 314
6. LSU – 303
7. Kentucky – 277
8. South Carolina – 174
Women
1. Florida – 744
2. Auburn – 730.5
3. Georgia – 725
4. Tennessee – 394.5
5. Arkansas – 299
6. Alabama – 244
7. South Carolina – 225
8. LSU – 187
9. Kentucky – 182
10. Vanderbilt – 74