Alabama Swimming and Diving Picks Up Three Wins on Day One of Knoxville Meet
11/19/2020 7:23:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
Crimson Tide rookie Matt King bettered his career-best time in the 50 freestyle three times on day one of the meet being held in Knoxville this weekend
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Crimson Tide rookie Matt King had a huge day in Knoxville, Tenn., as Alabama swimming and diving picked up a trio of wins on the first day of its meet against both Virginia and host school Tennessee at the Jones Aquatic Center on the UT campus Thursday.
King opened the day with a career-best 19.54 in the prelims of the 50 freestyle, he then led off Alabama's winning 200 freestyle relay with another career best, going 19.31, before outracing a stacked field in the finals of the 50, with yet another career-best mark, going 19.26 for the win. King now ranks fourth all-time at UA after just four 50 freestyle races for the Tide.
Kevin Li picked up the Tides' first win of the weekend. Chased by a trio of UT divers for most of the competition, Li pulled steadily away from the field, taking top honors off the 1-meter springboard with 362.90 points over six dives, finishing 20 points ahead of the field.
Morgan Scott and Kensey McMahon both picked up second-place finishes on the night, in the 50 freestyle and 500 freestyle, respectively, to lead the Tide women.
MORE DAY-ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- King, Colton Stogner, Jonathan Berneburg and Sam DiSette combined to clock a 1:17.53 to win the 200 freestyle relay
- McMahon took second in the 500 freestyle with a 4:39.84, the second-fastest time of her career and the third fastest in Crimson Tide history
- Scott took second in the 50 freestyle with a 22.31, matching her time from prelims
- Scott's prelims and finals times in the 50 freestyle are tied for the third fastest of her career
- Gracie Felner posted a career-best 1:58.92 to take seventh in the 200 individual medley, ranking her sixth all-time at UA in just her second collegiate meet
- Rhyan White, Kaila Wong, Flora Molnar and Scott combined to post a 3:32.66 in the 400 medley relay, finishing behind Virginia but beating Tennessee
THE FORMAT
- The format for this weekend's meet is similar to what the Crimson Tide will see during the post season with prelims and finals each day
- Prelims will start each day at 10 a.m. ET, while finals get underway at 6 p.m. ET
NEXT UP
- The 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays as well as the women's 1-meter and men's 3-meter springboards, 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke are slated for Friday
- The meet concludes on Saturday with the 400 freestyle relay as well as platform diving, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and the 1,650 freestyle
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Players Mentioned
