BATON ROUGE — The nationally-ranked LSU swimming and diving teams are set to compete at the 2010 SEC Championships, which begin Wednesday at the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
The University of Georgia will host this year’s competition, which will run through Saturday. The prelims will begin each day at 9 a.m. (CST), and the finals will start at 5 p.m. However, the finals for men’s one-meter diving on Thursday will begin at 4:30 p.m.
Due to the SEC’s television agreement with ESPN, coverage for the championships will be more extensive than ever as ESPNU will be airing two 90-minute shows, one for the men’s championship and one for the women’s. The men’s championship will air Sunday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. (CST), while the women’s championship will run Tuesday, March 2 at 5 p.m.
Links to live results and potential live video streaming will be provided by www.LSUsports.net when they become available.
“We are excited with our potential at SEC’s this week,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “Our goal is to finish in the upper-echelon of the SEC, but we also want to qualify numerous athletes to the NCAA Championships and ultimately finish high in March. We’ve emphasized this in our training, and we’ll be looking to swim fast and dive well in Athens.”
The 24th-ranked Lady Tigers will send 11 athletes to Athens who currently hold top-20 times or scores in the conference, including championship contenders Mary Beck and Jane Trepp.
The duo will attempt to become the first LSU women’s swimmers to win an SEC individual championship since former Lady Tiger great Lucy Findlay captured titles in the 200- and 400-yard individual medley more than 13 years ago at the 1997 SEC Championships.
Beck will head to Athens with the second-fastest times in the conference in the 200 I.M. (1 minute, 58.74 seconds) and 100 backstroke (54.34) and fourth-fastest in the 200 back (1:57.38). The sophomore, who holds NCAA provisional qualifying times in five races, will also be a critical member of four relays.
Trepp is ranked in the top eight in all three of her likely events at SEC’s – the 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke and 50 freestyle. The Tallinn, Estonia, native is fourth in the SEC in the 100 fly (53.99), sixth in the 100 breast (1:02.01) and seventh in the 50 free (22.91). Furthermore, the junior will play an enormous role on the 200 and 400 free and 200 and 400 medley relays.
Freshmen Rebecca St. Germain and Sara Haley also rank in the league’s top eight in their top respective events and will be aiming for medal finishes. St. Germain is fourth in the one-meter dive with her 310.95 score and also sits in 10th in the three three-meter (326.03). Haley is sixth in the 200 fly with her top time of 1:58.81, which is second in school history.
The 17th-ranked LSU men have 10 athletes ranked in the conference in various events making the trip. The Tigers are led by former four-time NCAA All-American Hannes Heyl and rising sophomore diver Brian Gemberling.
Heyl, the Tigers’ top scoring swimmer at SEC’s a year ago, holds top-eight marks in the 100 fly (48.05) and 100 back (48.96). Gemberling ranks fourth in the three-meter with his school-record score of 393.07 and is 10th and 11th in the one-meter and three-meter, respectively.
The Tigers are also hoping to see fast results from senior co-captain and three-time All-American Sean LeNeave, juniors James Meyers, Clint Hallum and Luis Gonzalez and freshmen Andrei Tuomola and Craig Hamilton.
LeNeave is one of the Tigers’ most versatile options who can be plugged into any of the five relays and also contribute in multiple individual races. Meyers is currently 12th in the SEC in the 100 back, an event he placed fifth in last season, while Hallum will compete for points in the 200 breast and individual medley events. Gonzalez should contribute in the distance-freestyle races and 400 I.M.
Tuomola and Hamilton are potential wild cards for the Tigers who offer a high ceiling in their best respective events. A product of Finland, Tuomola has been consistently solid in the 50 free and 100 breast throughout the season and has the upside to be a force at SEC’s in those events as well as relays. Hamilton, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, could be a top-eight finisher in the 500 and 1650 free and is ranked in the top 10 in both.
In addition, the Lady Tigers will look to freshmen Amanda Kendall, Jana Ruimerman and Sally Wood, sophomores Morgan McGee and Samantha Goates and senior Lauren Grandy for scoring potential.
Kendall, a versatile newcomer from Fairfax, Va., figures to be a significant part of the women’s relays and several short-distance freestyle events, while Ruimerman will be counted on in the 200 back and 400 I.M. Wood has steadily improved her times throughout the season and will contribute to the individual medley races.
The backstroke duo of McGee and Goates could also see action in relay competition and other disciplines. Grandy, one of the squad’s top middle-distance freestyle performers, will shoot for top-16 finishes in the 200 and 500 free and figures to play a major role on the 800 free relay.
Moreover, freshman divers Jesse Lyman and Elle Schmidt will be making their first trip to SEC’s. Lyman holds top-20 conference scores in all three events, while Schmidt is currently 15th in the women’s platform and 20th in the three-meter.
2010 SEC Championships
Feb. 17-20 – Athens, Ga.
Event Order
Feb. 17
One-meter Diving (women)
200 Freestyle Relay
Three-meter Diving (men)
800 Freestyle Relay
Feb. 18
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
One-meter Diving (men), 5:30 p.m.
Three-meter Diving (women)
200 Freestyle Relay
Feb. 19
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
Platform Diving (men)
400 Medley Relay
Feb. 20
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Platform Diving (women)
400 Freestyle Relay