Alabama
UT Invitational
Swimming and Diving Closes Strong at Tennessee Invitational
11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 20, 2010
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Alabama swimming and diving teams finished out a successful stint at the Tennessee Invitational with seven more wins, giving the Crimson Tide a three-day total of 18 victories.
"We had a lot of good performances out there this weekend," UA head coach Eric McIlquham said. "Our veterans and rookies are coming around pretty well and the kind of swims we had here bode well for the second-half of the season."
Senior Catalin Cosma opened the day by winning the 1650 freestyle with an Alan Jones Aquatic Center record of 15:02.08, giving him the fastest time in the nation this year. Cosma also won the 500 freestyle on day one and took second in the 200 freestyle on the second day.
"Catalin had a great weekend, putting up some times that should qualify him for the NCAA Championships," McIlquham said. "Swimming that fast at this time of the season allows him to focus on NCAAs the rest of the way."
Alabama went one-two in the 100 freestyle when rookies BJ Hornikel and Vlad Caciuc turned in a 44.73 and 44.82 respectively. In the 200 breaststroke freshman Devan Terry took first with a 2:00.22 while senior Daniel Armstrong was third at 2:03.05. It was Terry's third win of the weekend and his time ranks him in the top-five nationally.
"Devan Terry turned in career-best times in all of his events, which is a good indication of where he'll be at the end of the season," McIlquham said.
The Tide also went one-two in the 200 butterfly with sophomore Anestis Arampatzis taking first with a 1:47.03 and senior Denes Zubcsek finishing second with a time of 1:47.20. Both men rank in the top-10 nationally. Junior Oliver Basse, freshman Alex Coci and junior Kyle Weeks finished fifth, sixth and eighth respectively, giving Alabama five of the eight spots in the championship final. Junior Joe Ziegler was second in the 200 backstroke, touching the wall at 1:48.08.
Alabama's men finished out the meet by winning in the 400 freestyle relay, giving the Tide a clean sweep of the men's relays. Coci, Hornikel, Caciuc and Ziegler posted a 2:57.77, more than two seconds ahead of second place Kentucky.
"Any time you can sweep the relays at a meet, and take first and second in two of them, it shows the kind of team you've got and what you're capable of as a team," McIlquham said.
On the women's side of the meet, senior Kate Shannon Gray won her second race of the weekend, posting a career-best 2:13.89 to finish more than a second ahead of the field in the 200 breaststroke and among the top 10 in the nation. Gray broke the pool record in the 200 and 400 IM earlier in the weekend.
Junior Suzanne Schwee won the 200 butterfly, touching the wall at 1:58.62, more than two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.
Freshman Lauren Piper won the consolation final of the 200 backstroke with a 1:59.71, taking ninth overall. Her time ranks her fifth in Crimson Tide history. Freshman Kristel Vourna was third in the 100 freestyle with a 50.19, which ranks her fourth all-time at Alabama.
"We had some outstanding individual performances out of several of our women, with Kate Shannon, Suzanne, Kristel and Lauren all coming away with wins," McIlquham said. "Kate Shannon in particular broke two pool records and turned in some career-best times, so she is really setting herself up to have a great senior season."
Alabama returns to action Dec. 2, when a limited contingent travels to the USA Short Course National Championships.
Players Mentioned
