GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LSU senior Jane Trepp captured two more medals and spearheaded the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay to a bronze finish Thursday at the 2011 SEC Swimming Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
After racing to third-place in the women’s 50 free (22.05 seconds), Trepp led off the women’s 200 free relay with a new school record of 21.97, and the trio of Amanda Kendall, Kannon Betzen and Samantha Goates secured third-place in the back three legs. Collectively, the squad broke the program mark in the event with a strong NCAA provisional time of 1:28.98.
With her blistering 21.97 lead-off split, Trepp is only the second women’s swimmer in the past two collegiate seasons to go under 22 seconds in the 50 free.
In addition to Trepp, Kendall and Goates also reached the championship final of the 50 free.
Kendall, who initially shattered Trepp’s school record in the prelims with a 22.04 mark, followed her teammate in fourth-place in the 50 free with a time of 22.27. Goates took eighth with a 22.81 clocking after earning a spot in the final with her personal best and ‘B’ cut of 22.55, third all-time at LSU, in a swim-off victory.
Moreover, Lady Tiger freshmen Torrey Bussey and Cari Blalock shined in their first career SEC individual events as each advanced to the championship final of the 200 individual medley.
Bussey delivered a school-record performance in the prelims with a strong ‘B’ cut mark of 1:58.23 before notching seventh in the final (1:58.90). Blalock swam to the third-fastest time in school history in the prelims, 1:58.79, and raced to eighth in the final (1:59.71).
With two days remaining, the Lady Tigers sit in fourth-place in the overall team standings with 190.5 points.
“There are going to be highs and lows in a meet like this, and right now we are riding pretty high on the women’s side,” co-head coach David Geyer said. “The men need to rebound a little bit, but based off of some of our seeded times, tomorrow could be a huge day for us on both sides.”
On the men’s side, sophomore Andrei Tuomola advanced to the ‘A’ final of the men’s 50 free after qualifying fourth with a personal best of 19.71, sixth all-time at LSU and an NCAA provisional mark. The Finnish product took seventh in the final (19.83).
Fellow sophomore Craig Hamilton claimed his third program record Thursday night, posting an NCAA provisional mark of 4:22.17 in the 500 free ‘B’ final to take 12th overall in the event. The Edinburgh, Scotland, native now owns the school marks in the 500, 1000 and 1650 free.
The Tigers’ 200 freestyle relay squad of Tuomola, Hannes Heyl, Eric Zeller and Michael Saco was disqualified due to an early take-off.
The LSU men are currently seventh in the overall team standings with 116.5 points.
During the prelims, sophomore Sara Haley led the Lady Tigers in the 500 free with a career best and ‘B’ cut mark of 4:52.09, sixth in the program record books, to finish 21st.
Sophomore Sean Roddy was the men’s highest finisher in the 200 IM after he registered a career best and program top-10 mark of 1:49.33 to place 20th.
The prelims on Day 3 of the 2011 SEC Swimming Championships begin Friday at 9 a.m. (CST). The finals start at 5 p.m.
The official site of the championships is www.gatorzone.com. Live video streaming of the prelim and final sessions can be accessed at www.GatorVision.tv.
For complete coverage of LSU’s efforts, visit our Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/LSUSwimDive) or follow us on Twitter @LSUSwimDive.
2011 SEC Swimming Championships
Feb. 16-19
Gainesville, Fla.
Men’s Team Standings*
1. Auburn – 378
2. Florida – 308
3. Tennessee – 263.5
4. Georgia – 202
5. Alabama – 129
6. Kentucky – 125
7. LSU – 116.5
8. South Carolina – 94
Women’s Team Standings*
1. Florida – 291
2. Georgia – 286
3. Auburn – 272
4. LSU – 190.5
5. Tennessee – 157
6. South Carolina – 148
7. Kentucky – 121
8. Alabama – 108.5
9. Arkansas – 100
10. Vanderbilt – 46
* – Diving scores from last week included
Schedule of Events – Friday, Feb. 18
9 a.m. – Prelims (400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back)
5 p.m. – Finals (400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 400 Medley Relay)