ATHENS, Ga. – LSU swimmer Jane Trepp broke her own program record in the 50-yard freestyle, and men’s diver Brian Gemberling posted his second consecutive sixth-place finish to spearhead the men’s and women’s teams Thursday at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga.
Trepp swam to a school-record mark and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 22.34 seconds in the prelims of the 50 free before delivering a sixth-place finish in the finals with a clocking of 22.46. Her record-breaking prelim mark is currently seventh in the nation.
Gemberling delivered a sixth-place finish in the men’s one-meter with a career-high score of 364.60, which is third all-time at LSU.
In relay competition, both the men’s and women’s 200 free relay teams swam to top-five finishes with NCAA ‘B’ cut times. The Lady Tiger foursome of Trepp, Amanda Kendall, Samantha Goates and Morgan McGee registered fourth with a 1:29.66 clocking. The men’s group of Andrei Tuomola, Hannes Heyl, Sean LeNeave and James Meyers earned a tie for fifth with a time of 1:18.88.
“I’m proud of our swimmers and divers for competing well today,” LSU head coach Adam Schmitt said. “I think the best is yet to come, and I think we’ll continue to see some good performances from here on out.”
The freshman trio of Tuomola, Kendall and Craig Hamilton and sophomore Mary Beck also qualified for second swims with provisional times on the second day of the meet.
Tuomola recorded a personal best of 19.90 in the 50 free, eighth in program history, to tie for 10th overall. Kendall placed 13th in the women’s 50 free, touching the wall in 22.89 after reaching the finals with a prelim time of 22.80, third all-time at LSU.
Hamilton swam to a 16th-place finish in the 500 free (4:25.88) and moved into third all-time in school history with his prelim mark of 4:25.34. Beck finished 14th in the 200 individual medley (2:01.59).
In addition, freshman diver Rebecca St. Germain tallied 12 points for the Lady Tigers with her ninth-place finish in the women’s three-meter. The San Antonio, Texas, product finished just outside the top-eight with a score of 309.15. Fellow freshman Elle Schmidt was 16th with a 271.65 score.
Men’s freshman Jesse Lyman claimed 16th in the one-meter dive with a 276.45 total.
“It was a good day for LSU diving all around,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “The highlight was obviously Brian getting to his second final with a career-high score in the one-meter. “Becca bounced back from a challenging first day and just missed the finals in the women’s three-meter, and Jesse and Elle gave us some scoring as well.”
Senior Lauren Grandy continued to enjoy a solid conference meet. After spearheading the Lady Tigers to a fourth-place finish in the 800 free relay Wednesday, the Humble, Texas, native registered a personal best and ‘B’ cut mark of 4:48.99 in the 500 free to finish 17th.
Goates just missed a spot in the consolation finals of the women’s 50 free. The freshman tied for 16th in the prelims with a personal best of 23.16, eighth in program history, but fell to Kentucky’s Kelsi Hall in a swim-off. LeNeave and Meyers finished 24th and 28th, respectively, in the men’s 50 free with season bests of 20.25 and 20.45.
Junior Clint Hallum and freshman Sean Roddy led the Tigers in the 200 I.M. Hallum moved into fifth all-time in school history with his personal best of 1:49.57 to place 19th, while Roddy swam the sixth-fastest mark in program history, 1:50.20 to take 21st.
Lady Tigers Kannon Betzen and Kaelee Mader also recorded season bests in the 200 I.M. Betzen emerged with a time of 2:03.11 to finish 22nd, and Mader swam to a mark of 2:03.18, eighth in school annals, to come in 24th.
Following Day 2, the Lady Tigers sit in sixth place with 119 points, while the men’s team is seventh with 116.5 points.
The third day of competition will feature several of LSU’s strongest events such as the 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 400 medley relay as well as the 400 I.M. and men’s platform diving. Links to live video streaming and live results provided by host Georgia can be accessed at www.LSUsports.net.
2010 SEC Championships
Feb. 17-20 – Athens, Ga.
Event Order
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