Alabama
SEC Championships
Alabama Swimming and Diving Wins Two Titles on SEC Championships' Second Day
2/19/2020 8:49:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
The Crimson Tide defended its men's 200 freestyle relay and 50 freestyle titles and broke four school records on Wednesday
AUBURN, Ala. –  Alabama enjoyed a big second day at the 2020 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, being held in the James E. Martin Aquatic Center in Auburn, Ala., this week, winning two titles and breaking four school records.
A strong showing by the men jumped the Tide into third place in the team standings with 361 points, while the women moved into seventh place with 243.5 points.
Junior Tyler Sesvold, senior Zane Waddell, sophomore Jonathan Berneburg and junior Sam DiSette combined to open the night by winning Alabama's fourth 200 freestyle title in the past six years and third in a row with a time 1:16.00.
Waddell closed the night by winning the men's 50 freestyle with a career-best 19.07, giving Alabama its second-consecutive title in the event.
Sophomores Kalia Antoniou and Morgan Scott, junior Flora Molnar and sophomore Julia Wolf opened the women's night with a school-record 1:27.98 to take fifth place in the 200 freestyle relay.
Sophomore Kensey McMahon came back in the next race and set a school record in the 500 freestyle, going 4:38.66 to reach the podium, finishing third.
Sophomore Cat Wright won the C final of the 200 individual medley, taking 17th overall, with Alabama women's third school record in as many events with a time of 1:57.65, shaving a half second off the old mark.
Freshman Liam Bell won the C final of men's 200 individual medley, taking 17th overall and going 1:44.35 to set Alabama's fourth school record of the night.
Head Coach Coley Stickels Said
"From the first race this morning to the last race tonight, we really got after it today and it showed. We challenged the team to get things rolling early and they did. To win two SEC titles and break four school records in one session is really something. I'm proud of Zane, Tyler, Jonny and Sam for defending 200 free relay title and then for Zane to come back and get the 50 title in a packed field, that was big time. The women came out fast, setting school records in the first three events of the night and scoring some important points. We've got momentum, now we just have to keep it going."
More From Day Two
- Sophomore Nicholas Perera took sixth, posting a career-best 1:44.60, and freshman Derek Maas took seventh with a 1:45.53, in the 200 individual medley. In addition to Bell's 17th-place finish in the 200 individual medley, senior Kyle Maas (1:46.86) and freshman Matt Menke (1:47.60), took 23rd and 24th, respectively.
- In addition to Waddell's win, Sesvold (19.44) was seventh, Berneburg (19.46) was ninth, DiSette (19.36) was 17th and Stogner (19.83) was 21st in the men's 50 freestyle.
- In addition to McMahon's third-place finish, senior Alexis Preski (4:41.30) took eighth in the 500 freestyle.
- Sophomore Nico Hernandez-Tome posted a 4:19.47 in the finals of the 500 freestyle to take eighth place, while classmate Ryan Ratliff took 14th with a time of 4:20.51.
- Scott used a career-best 22.09 to take 11th in the women's 50 freestyle. She was followed by Antoniou (22.29) in 13th and Molnar (22.76) in 23rd.
- Sophomores Kevin Li and Hunter Jaynes took 18th and 20th, respectively. Li totaled 280.70 points, while Jaynes tallied 279.05.
Coming Up
- Thursday marks the only day without a relay event.
- Prelims getting underway at 9:30 a.m., and finals starting at 5:30 p.m.
- The Crimson Tide will compete in the men's and women's 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and women's 3-meter springboard on the championships' third day.
- Rhyan White and Flora Molnar come into Thursday seeded second and third in the women's 100 butterfly.
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Players Mentioned
