COLUMBIA, Mo. — The LSU combined to break three school records on the opening day of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Tuesday evening at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The LSU relay team of Danielle Stirrat, Megan Cox, Kara Kopcso and Leah Troskot set the school record, finished fourth and earned an NCAA ‘A’ Cut in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:04.77.
The men’s team of Logan Rysemus, Silas Dejean, Alex Linge and Joao Mescolote broke the school record in the 200-medley with a time of 1:25.92.
Sophomore Jake Markham closed out the first day with a 200 free split time of 1:35.09 to set the school record. The men finished the 800 freestyle relay in 10th place with a time of 6:28.64.
“When you walk away from the first night with three school records there isn’t a lot to complain about,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “We were also able to put some freshmen in position to gain valuable experience not only for the rest of the week but for their future development. It’s a long week and there is a ton of racing left, but we certainly started with some positive momentum.”
The LSU women sit in fourth place with a total score of 133. The men are in 10th place with a score of 105. The squad returns to action for prelims at 10 a.m. CT Wednesday.
LSU opened the swimming portion of SEC’s with the Lady Tigers finishing sixth overall in the 200-medley relay. The team of Caley Oquist, Colleen O’Neil, Kopcso and Haylee Knight finished the event in 1:37.69.
On the diving side, the men and women competed on three-meter and one-meter respectively. Allie Alter led the Lady Tigers with a score of 261.20 for a 14th-place finish. Senior Cassie Weil finished 16th with a score of 252.55 and sophomore Madison Sthamann finished 17th with a mark of 252.15.
For the men, junior Andrew Suchla just missed returning for finals with an 11th-place finish and a score of 332.95. In their first postseason appearance as Tiger divers, Matt McClellan finished 22nd (284.55) and Matthew Phillip finished 28th (259.20).
“We had some missed opportunities and took advantage of some others,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “We had some spots where we were in a position to get into the finals. We are looking forward to building off of today. This is the hardest day, and we can focus on one event at a time from here on out.”
LSU returns to action Wednesday for the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 free, men’s one-meter and 200 freestyle relay.
Live results can be found at http://stats.mutigers.com/live/sec/ throughout the week’s events. Live video of both swimming and diving prelims and finals will be available on SECNetwork+ (Watch ESPN) each day.
ESPN U will air a 90-minute highlight show for the men and women. The men’s show will air March 2 at 3 p.m. (CT) and the women’s show will air March 3 at 4:30 p.m. (CT).
A full recap will be available on lsusports.net at the conclusion of each day. For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, February 17
500 freestyle (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
200 IM (Prelims)
50 free (Prelims)
Men’s 1-meter (Prelims) 1 p.m.
500 freestyle (Finals)- 6 p.m.
200 IM (Finals)
50 Free (Finals)
Men’s 1-meter (Finals)
200 Freestyle Relay (Finals)
Thursday, February 18
400 IM (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
100 Fly
200 Freestyle
Women’s 3-meter- 12 p.m.
400 IM (Finals)- 6 p.m.
100 Butterfly (Finals)
Women’s 3- meter (Final)
200 Freestyle (Finals)
Friday, February 19
200 Butterfly (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
100 Backstroke (Prelims
100 Breaststroke (Prelims)
Men’s Platform (Prelims)- 12 p.m.
200 Butterfly (Finals)- 6 p.m.
100 Backstroke (Finals)
100 Breaststroke (Finals)
Men’s Platform (Final)
400 Medley Relay (Finals)
Saturday, February 20
100 Freestyle (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
200 Backstroke (Prelims)
200 Breaststroke (Prelims)
Women’s Platform (Prelims)- 12 p.m.
1650 Freestyle (Finals)- 6 p.m.
100 Freestyle (Final)
200 Backstroke (Final)
200 Breaststroke (Final)
Women’s Platform (Final)
400 Freestyle Relay
*All times listed in CT.