Elizabeth Hughes Earns SEC Championship Bronze
2/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? Alabama sophomore Elizabeth Hughes posted Alabama’s highest individual finish on the women’s side of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships which came to close here in the Alabama Aquatic Center tonight when she took third in the platform diving event.
Hughes scored 248.35 points to grab the bronze medal finish. Freshman Olivia Covey also finaled off the platform, scoring 214.90 points. Freshman Baylee Ellson scored off the platform as well, taking ninth place with 215.45 points.
“Our ladies dove well today,” Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. “We were very close to having three in the championship final and that was huge for us. Elizabeth really dove well and those points certainly helped us.”
As a team, Alabama’s women, hampered by a pair of relay disqualifications, finished eighth with 202.5 points. The Tide men were seventh with 293.5 points. Auburn won both the men and women’s meet while Florida was second in both.
“Losing the points from those two relays put a big dent in our scoring,” McIlquham said. “But we’re a very young team on both sides and we’re going to continue to improve and move forward.”
Sophomore Agustina de Giovanni posted her second fourth place finish of the championships, turning in a personal-best 2:13.74 in the 200 breaststroke which makes her third all-time for the Tide. Senior Erin Sparks scored in the 200 breaststroke as well, touching at 2:17.90. Freshman Ida Persson was 15th in the 100 freestyle, turning in a 50.87. Persson’s time from the preliminaries, 50.61, ranks her sixth all-time for Alabama.
Freshman Catalin Cosma was the top finisher on the night for the Tide men, grabbing fourth place in the 1650 freestyle, turning in a 15:02.12 which ranks him sixth all-time for Alabama. Sophomore Drew Finelli also scored in the mile, taking 16th with a 15:26.85.
Freshman Denes Zubcsek took seventh in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:45.50, which makes him third all-time at Alabama behind Olympians Stefan Gherghel, a two-time NCAA Champion and Jon Sieben.
Sophomore Riley Boulden was 10th in the 200 breaststroke, touching at 2:00.65. Boulden’s time, a career best, makes him eighth all-time for the Tide. Junior Chris Perry was 15th in the 200 backstroke, posting a career-best 1:49.03 which places him 10th all-time at Alabama.
