DALLAS, TEXAS – The LSU swimming and diving program wrapped up day one at the SMU Classic this afternoon in the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center.
Of the five teams competing at the meet, the No. 21 Tiger women concluded the day in second place, recording 135 points, trailing only No. 6 Louisville. The No. 14 Tiger men sit in fourth place with 105 points, behind No. 17 Auburn, No. 11 Louisville, and Drury.
LSU led off the meet, taking second in the women’s 400-medley relay. Zoe Carlos-Broc, Grace Palmer, Sofia Sartori, and Michaela de Villiers recorded a time of 3:33.59. The second-place finish gave the Tigers 22 points.
In the final of the women’s 200-free, Megan Barnes finished second, coming in with a time of 1:46.03 and accumulating 11 points for LSU.
Jere Hribar picked up the first Tiger win of the afternoon. He touched the wall first in the 50-free final with a time of 19.21, meeting the NCAA Division I qualifying standard and earning 14 points for the Tigers.
Sartori took the next top spot for LSU, this time in the 100-fly final. The senior posted a time of 51.89, also meeting the NCAA Division I qualifying standard and adding another 14 points.
De Villiers and Caleb Ellis garnered 10 points each for the Tigers, coming in third place in the final of their respective events. De Villiers posted a time of 22.13 in the 50-free, a time fast enough to meet the NCAA Division I qualifying standard. Ellis recorded a time of 47.50 in the 100-fly.
Carlos-Broc took third in the final of the 100-back with a time of 52.53, giving the Tiger squad 10 more points. Carlos-Broc’s time also met the NCAA Division I qualifying standard. De Villiers followed up, notching first place in the consolation, coming in at 53.57, earning 6 points.
Stepan Goncharov added another win for the Tigers, touching the wall first in the 100-back final with a time of 46.41. The junior’s victory added 14 points to the Tiger total.
In the women’s 800-free relay, the squad of Barnes, Nicole Santuliana, Palmer, and Giulia Zambelli finished with a time of 7:16.04, placing them third in the event and adding 20 points. On the men’s side, the group of Hribar, Jovan Lekic, Simon Meubry, and Jacob Pishko touched the wall second for an additional 22 points with a time of 6:24.24.
In the diving well, Eve Nelson finished fourth in the 3-meter diving with a score of 240.45, while Carson Paul took third. Paul’s score of 322.05 met the NCAA Division I qualifying standard.
Several Tigers made their LSU debut today, including freshmen Meubry and Nelson, as well as transfers Ellis and Albert Bouley.
LSU will be back in action for the day two session of the SMU Classic, which will resume at 10:00 a.m. CT Saturday morning. The meet will be streamed at https://smumustangs.com/watch/, and live stats can be followed on the MeetMobile app.