HOUSTON, Texas – The 22nd-ranked LSU men’s and women’s swimming and diving team wrapped up the University of Houston’s Phil Hansel Cougar Fall Invitational Saturday in victorious fashion.
The Tigers tallied 1704 points in the men’s standings over a three-day period to finish on top. They totaled more than twice as many points as runner-up SMU. The women’s team collected 1117.5 points, almost 250 points better than runner-up 18th-ranked SMU.
Senior swimmer Jane Trepp capped a phenomenal meet with her fourth school record of the weekend, winning the 100-yard freestyle with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 48.85 seconds. The five-time All-American also spearheaded the Lady Tigers to victory in the 400 free relay and a ‘B’ cut mark of 3:19.59 with a lead-off split of 49.29.
Over a three-day span, Trepp posted the nation’s fastest times in both the 50 free and 100 butterfly and two more times in the 100 breaststroke and 100 free that rank in the top 10 nationally.
Sophomore Craig Hamilton had a strong showing on the final day, blistering the field in the 1650 free with a provisional mark of 15:16.35. Fellow sophomore Andrei Tuomola recorded a ‘B’ cut in his third event of the competition after racing to victory in the 100 free with 44.34 clocking.
Freshman diver Daniel Helm had an impressive collegiate debut on platform, delivering the third-best score in school history, 331.40, to take the victory. Fellow freshman Sean McKinney followed in second-place with another program top-five score, 272.35.
Juniors Simon Diefenthal and Martin Jungfleisch each swam to victory with wins in the 200 backstroke (1:47.34) and 200 fly (1:50.18), respectively, while senior Clint Hallum topped the field in the 200 breast (2:03.35).
The men’s tandem of Tuomola, Hannes Heyl, Hallum and Michael Saco concluded the meet with a victory and ‘B’ cut time of 2:58.96 in the 400 free relay.
On the women’s side, freshman Torrey Bussey stood out in the 200 breast, notching the victory with a provisional mark of 2:14.65, fourth in school history. Fellow freshman Cari Blalock and sophomores Amanda Kendall and Sara Haley also swam ‘B’ cuts on the evening.
Blalock finished second in the 200 fly (1:59.44), Kendall claimed second in the 100 free (49.63) and Haley was third in the 200 fly (1:59.92).
In women’s diving, sophomore Rebecca St. Germain placed ninth with a 194.35 score.
The LSU diving corps will return to action in mid-December when the program hosts the LSU Diving Invitational. The swimming squads will begin competing again in January during their training trip to Florida.
Cougar Classic Fall Invitational
Nov. 18-20
Men’s Final Standings
1. LSU – 1704
2. SMU – 851
3. Texas A&M – 36
Women’s Final Standings
1. LSU – 1117.50
2. SMU – 875.50
3. Houston – 562
4. Rice – 468
5. Tulane – 360
6. New Mexico – 311
7. Nebraska (diving) – 163