DALLAS – The LSU swimming and diving program wrapped up its first meet of the season Saturday morning, with the No. 21 women finishing second and the No. 14 men finishing third in the SMU Classic.
The No. 21 LSU women totaled 278 points, placing them second only to No. 6 Louisville. The No. 14 men collected 240 points, slotting them in third, behind No. 11 Louisville and No. 17 Auburn.
To kick things off in the pool Saturday morning, the Tigers took third in both the men’s and women’s 200-medley relay, earning 20 points apiece. Zoe Carlos-Broc, Grace Palmer, Sofia Sartori, and Michaela de Villiers clocked a time of 1:38.34, while Stepan Goncharov, Collin Quickstad, Caleb Ellis, and Jere Hribar came in at 1:26.77.
In the women’s 500-free, LSU took second in both the consolation and the final. Nicole Santuliana posted a time of 4:47.58 in the consolation, good for four points, and Megan Barnes recorded a time of 4:49.08 in the final, earning 11 points.
Jovan Lekic dominated the final of the 500-free for the Tigers’ first victory of the morning. He touched the wall first with a time of 4:16.96, edging the competition by nearly five seconds. The junior’s time met the NCAA Division I qualifying standard and earned the Tigers 14 points.
In the next event, the 200-breast final, Palmer notched second place with a time of 2:13.05. The sophomore’s result added 11 points for the Tiger side.
Later, Sartori picked up her second win of the SMU Classic, this time in the 200-back final. The senior produced a personal best time of 1:54.22, meeting the NCAA Division I qualifying standard and adding 14 more points for the Tigers.
In the 100-free final, de Villiers took second place, coming in at 48:10. Her time met the NCAA Division I qualifying standard and garnered 11 points for LSU. On the men’s side, Hribar took the top spot in the 100-free with a time of 42.24. The event was his second victory of the meet and propelled the Tigers with another 14 points.
The Tiger women then finished first in both the consolation and final in the 200-fly. Giulia Zambelli posted a personal best 1:55.64, worthy of six points, and Sartori followed it with a 1:54.73, for 14 points and her second top spot of the morning – third of the meet. Both times meet the NCAA Division I qualifying standard.
Jacob Pishko and Goncharov each added 10 more points for the Tigers in their respective races. Pishko claimed third in the final of the 200-fly with a time of 1:46.62, and Goncharov took the third spot in the 200-IM final, clocking a 1:47.93.
Carlos-Broc put up a personal best 2:01.08 in the final of the 200-IM, placing second and giving the Tigers another 11 points.
In the final event of the day – the 200-free relay – the LSU men’s group of Hribar, Goncharov, Albert Bouley, and Simon Meubry notched first place, posting a time of 1:18.36. The women’s squad of de Villiers, Barnes, Carlos-Broc, and Sartori placed third with a time of 1:30.49. The men’s score boosted the squad with 28 points, and the women’s added 20.
In the diving well, freshman Eve Nelson competed in the 1-meter diving and came in fourth, recording a score of 222.35. Senior Carson Paul competed in the 3-meter diving and finished second, putting up a score of 351.65. Paul’s score meets the NCAA Division I qualifying standard.
The Tigers will be back in action Friday, Oct. 17, when the team travels to Cadet Natatorium in Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Air Force, Denver, and Wyoming in a two-day quad-meet.