TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU women’s swimming and diving squad emerged victorious over Alabama in commanding fashion, 198-101, while the Crimson Tide men held on for a 161-139 victory over the LSU men Saturday in the Alabama Aquatic Center.
The Lady Tigers won 13 of 16 events to improve to 2-1 on the season. The Tigers (0-2) claimed seven victories in defeat.
“The Lady Tigers came out from the beginning and raced well throughout the meet to take the victory,” head swimming coach David Geyer said. “The men had another great battle with Alabama. We knew it was going to be a slug fest, and we were in a position to win in the end but came up short.”
Freshman Torrey Bussey recorded a trio of wins, and senior Jane Trepp and sophomore Amanda Kendall each registered a pair of victories to lead the Lady Tigers. Bussey swept the breaststroke events and took first-place in the 200-yard individual medley, while Trepp swam to victory in the 50-yard freestyle (23.18 seconds) and 100 butterfly (55.13).
Kendall came away with wins in the 200 free (1:50.55) and 100 free (51.27).
Sophomore Rebecca St. Germain dove to victory in the women’s one-meter with a winning score of 289.65 and placed second in the three-meter (295.65). Fellow sophomores Sara Haley and Jana Ruimerman and senior Brooke Barnett also raced to victory on the afternoon, and the Lady Tigers’ 200 medley and 400 free relays secured wins.
Haley topped the field in the 200 fly (2:00.00), while Ruimerman reached the wall in 2:01.73 in the 200 back to take the victory. Barnett was first in the 1000 free (10:23.30).
On the men’s side, seniors Hannes Heyl and Clint Hallum each had two victories apiece. Heyl raced to wins in the 100 fly (48.98) and 100 backstroke (49.16), and Hallum won the 200 breaststroke (2:06.33) and 200 I.M. (1:53.06).
Sophomore Andrei Tuomola and freshman Michael Saco pitched in with victories in the 100 breast (56.67) and 50 free (20.69), respectively, and the Tigers’ 200 medley relay tandem of James Meyers, Tuomola, Heyl and Saco opened the meet in first-place with a time of 1:29.45.
In diving, junior Brian Gemberling and freshman Daniel Helm spearheaded the Tigers for the second consecutive day as each had runner-up finishes. Gemberling was second in the men’s three-meter with a score of 330.60, while Helm finished second in the one-meter with a career high of 322.20.
“Overall, it was a good weekend for us,” head diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “Becca came away with two wins and four really solid performances, which was good to see. On the men’s side, we went up against two seniors in Dan Mazzaferro of Auburn and Adam Booher of Alabama who have a lot of experience, but we competed well.
“Becca, Brian and Daniel all came away with NCAA Zone Qualifying scores, so I’m really happy with our efforts.”