Alabama
SEC Championships
Alabama Swimming and Diving Wins Another Title, Breaks Three School Records on Day Four of the SEC Championships
2/22/2019 9:55:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
Junior Zane Waddell won the men’s 100 backstroke title on Friday, while freshman Rhyan White broke the women’s 100 backstroke record and the men’s and women’s 400 medley relay both bettered school records
ATHENS, Ga. – Junior Zane Waddell gave the Alabama men's swimming and diving team its fourth Southeastern Conference title of this year's championships, winning the men's 100 backstroke during Friday night's finals at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
"That was a great swim by Zane, not only getting the win, but also coming so close to a record that honestly, I didn't think we'd be knocking on the door of any time soon," UA head coach Dennis Pursley said.
Waddell posted a career-best 44.77 in finals, coming within .04 of 2017 UA senior Connor Oslin's SEC record and within two-tenths of Oslin's school mark, to earn Alabama's fourth 100 backstroke title in the past five years.
"We're pleased to come out of tonight with another title and three new school records," Pursley said. "All of those records were not slow by any means, so it was good work to get past them."
The Tide closed out the night with a silver medal in the men's 400 medley relay, marking its third top-two relay finish of these championships. Waddell combined with seniors Laurent Bams, Knox Auerbach and Robert Howard to post a school record 3:04.17 and reach the podium.
Bams also scored in the A final on Friday, taking sixth place in the 100 breaststroke with a 52.57. He went a career-best 51.96 in prelims, becoming just the second UA swimmer under 52.00 in the 100 breaststroke.
On the women's side of the meet, freshman Rhyan White broke the school record in the 100 backstroke, going 52.08 and taking sixth in the championship final.
Senior Justine Macfarlane also scored in the A final on Friday, taking fifth place in the 100 breaststroke with a 57.72, after posting a career-best 59.64 in prelims. Sophomore Kaila Wong used a career-best 1:00.35 to win the C final of the 100 breaststroke, taking 17th overall.
White, Macfarlane, sophomore Flora Molnar and freshman Kalia Antoniou combined to swim a 3:32.65 in the women's 400 medley relay, setting a school record on the way to a seventh-place finish.
In other Friday night action, freshmen Spencer Walker and Nicholas Perera both scored for the Tide men. Walker took 20th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 47.27 while Perera turned in a 1:47.53 to take 24th in the 200 butterfly, after going 1:46.96 in prelims.
"We want to go into tomorrow and dig deep, finding that little extra that maybe we didn't know we had and put up the best performances we're capable of, scoring as many points as we can on the meet's final day," Pursley said. "It's always our goal to finish strong in any race and in any meet, but that's especially true during championship season."
In the team race, the Tide men are sixth with 559.50 points after day four, while the women are 11th with 312.50 points. Saturday's prelims get underway at 10 a.m. ET, with finals starting at 6 p.m. ET.
For all the latest information on the Alabama swimming and diving teams, follow AlabamaSwimDive on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General Alabama Athletics news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
