Alabama No. 1 at SEC Championships After Day Four
2/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
After four days of competition at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, the Alabama men's team stands in first place in Gainesville, Fla.
Led by today's second place finish in the 200 medley relay, Alabama has amassed 143 points to stand just ahead of second place Georgia and third place Florida. The Crimson Tide women are in fourth place, just a point behind Georgia. Kentucky and South Carolina are ranked first and second at the moment.
"We've gotten off to a great start," Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. "We need to keep this rolling. Vlad (Polyakov) and Darren (Erasmus) both had great legs on the 200 medley. Anne (Poleska) got us off to a great start in the 800 free relay and Arlene (Semeco) had probably the fastest 50 split in Alabama history as anchor of the 200 medley."
"Now we have to build off what we've done so far and keep getting better race by race."
After being unranked in the SEC, Alabama's 200 medley relay, grabbed second place with a school record 1:27.15. Senior Franck Southon, sophomore Vlad Polyakov, sophomore Apostolis Tsagkarakis and junior Darren Erasmus bettered the school mark set in 2003. Polyakov, who posted the fastest breaststroke leg of the day, and Tsagkarakis were both members of the 2003 squad.
Southon, junior Chris Flamion, freshman Ryan Latone and junior J.T. Jones combined to finished seventh in the 800 freestyle relay with a 6:39.03.
Alabama's women finished fourth in the 800 freestyle relay and fifth in the 200 medley relay. Senior Anne Poleska, freshman Hanna Miluska, junior Anna Grant sophomore Melina Bassino posted a 7:20.34 in the 800 freestyle while junior Kathryn Hallquist, Poleska, sophomore Victoria Genova and senior Arlene Semeco combined to post a 1:41.58 in the 200 medley relay.
Action continues Thursday with a full slate of events and runs through Saturday.
Men
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 143 |
| 2 | Georgia | 142 |
| 3 | Florida | 138 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 129 |
| 5 | Auburn | 112 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 90 |
| 7 | South Carolina | 71 |
| 8 | Louisiana State | 66 |
Women
| Rank | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | 166 |
| 2 | South Carolina | 131 |
| 3 | Georgia | 116 |
| 4 | Alabama | 115 |
| 5 | Florida | 105 |
| 6 | Auburn | 98 |
| 7 | Louisiana State | 83 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 71 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 30 |
