Alabama Swimming and Diving Men Race to Strong Finish to 2017-18 Season
3/27/2018 3:50:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
A total of six men earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, leading the Tide to its fifth-consecutive top-15 national finish
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Just as the Crimson Tide women did the week before, the Alabama men's swimming and diving team closed out last weekend's NCAA championships strong, setting a school record in the last event and posting a top-eight relay finish to close the meet.
The 400 freestyle relay of sophomore Zane Waddell, junior Robert Howard, senior Christopher Reid and junior Laurent Bams raced to a 2:48.76 in prelims, bettering the school record set the year before and earning a spot in the championship finals. At night, the same group stopped the clock at 2:49.01 to take seventh place.
"In a year where we lost some very big swims to graduation, we had some guys step up and fill some different roles than they had in the past and really did a nice job of carrying us forward," UA head coach Dennis Pursley said.
As a team, Alabama posted its fifth-consecutive NCAA top-15 finish, taking 13th place at the national championships. It marked the first time the men have had such a streak since the early 1980s.
"Obviously 13th isn't where we wanted to be at the end, but I am really proud of the way our guys never stopped fighting, even when things weren't going our way and went hard through the last race of the season," Pursley said.
Overall, six men earned All-America honors during this year's national championships. The Crimson Tide scored in all four relays it swam and three swimmers scored in four individual events. Howard led the way with six All-America honors over three days of competition, bumping his career total to nine. Waddell tallied five All-America honors, boosting his two-year total to 10. Bams earned four honors and now has 10 heading into his senior year. Reid earned three and Luke Kaliszak had two All-America accolades in their final season, totaling seven and 12, respectively, for their careers. Senior Braxton Young also earned All-America recognition in his first trip to the NCAA championships.
Since the arrival of Pursley and his staff prior to the 2013 season, a total of 16 Alabama men have earned 116 All-America honors.
In addition to swimming on all four of Alabama's All-America relays, Howard scored in both the 50 and 100 freestyles, bringing home the first individual All-America honors of his career. He posted a career-best 19.00 in the prelims of the 50 freestyle to earn a place in the A final at the national championships. He also swam a 40.82 relay split to anchor Alabama's 400 medley relay in finals, giving the Tide the second-fastest split of the night. He posted career-best marks in the 100 freestyle, going 41.83 in prelims and 41.81 in finals. He is just the second Alabama swimmer under 42 seconds in the 100 and finished his junior season ranked second all-time at Alabama in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles.
Waddell displayed his versatility in his second UA season. After scoring in the sprint freestyle events at NCAAs as a freshman, he earned a spot in the B final of the 100 backstroke as a sophomore with a career-best 45.35 in prelims. He also swam the butterfly legs on the Tide's medley relays as well as legs on the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Waddell finished the season ranked third all-time at Alabama in the 50 and 100 freestyles as well as the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.
Reid closed out his UA career with a flourish, scoring in the 200 backstroke in his final individual swim, while also scoring as part of the Tide's 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Reid's senior season turned golden at the SEC championships where he won his second-consecutive 200 backstroke title. The Tide's 200 freestyle relay also came away with an SEC title when Bams, Howard, Waddell and Young turned in a 1:16.38 for the win. Standing atop the podium was especially sweet for Young, who made his first SEC championships squad as a senior, and earned a spot on the relay by virtue of a career-best performance in the 50 freestyle earlier in the day.
"Braxton is an excellent example of someone who came in everyday, worked as hard as he could and trusted the process," Pursley said. "He never gave up and stayed focused and determined and the perseverance paid huge dividends for him and for his team in the end."
Kaliszak and Howard also medaled at SECs, with Kaliszak taking second in the 100 backstroke and Howard finishing third in the 50 freestyle. A pre-med major, Kaliszak was named the SEC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, marking the third consecutive year the Tide has come away with that honor.
In addition to winning an SEC relay title, the Crimson Tide men also went undefeated in relay competition during the regular season, including both dual meets and invitationals.
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Players Mentioned
