Swimmers Set to Get Started at SEC Championships
2/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 15, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - With the diving portion of the Southeastern Conference Championships in the books, Alabama's swimmers take to the pool Wednesday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the University of Florida campus.
"Our divers got us off to a solid start and now we need to get things rolling off the blocks," UA head coach Eric McIlquham said. "The bottom line for us is to control what we can control, not worry about what's going in the lane next to us and getting as many people to the NCAA Championship meet as possible."
The Crimson Tide men are currently in fifth place with 43 points after three days of diving competition, just six points out of third while the women are is in eighth place with 31.5 points, just seven points out of fifth.
Alabama's men are led by senior Catalin Cosma who is ranked second in the mile and third in the 500 freestyle in the SEC coming into the championships. The three-time All-American is a three-year SEC finalist in the distances events. Sophomore Anestis Aramptz, an alternate for last year's NCAA Championships, is ranked fourth in the 100 butterfly and in the top-10 in the 200 butterfly.
Tide freshmen Vlad Caciuc, Alex Coci, BJ Hornikel, Devan Terry, Cameron Conners and Hunter Hinson are all ranked in the top 16 in the conference, which gives them a chance to score at the championships. At the SEC Championships the top 16 finishers in the preliminaries of each individual event advance to the evening sessions, with the top eight competing in the championship finals, and all 16 scoring.
On the women's side of the meet, senior Kate Shannon Gray leads the way for the Tide. The Northport, Ala., native is ranked second in the 200 IM, third in the 400 IM and seventh in the 200 breaststroke coming into the championships. Junior Suzanne Schwee, ranked third in the 200 butterfly coming into Gainesville, is also poised to make a splash for the Tide.
Newcomers Kristel Vourna and Lauren Piper figure in the league's top 16 on the women's side of the meet in five different events.
The Tide gets started with 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays on Wednesday with a full slate of events starting on Thursday.
Players Mentioned
