Alabama
SEC Swimming & Diving Championships (M. Swim)
Alabama Men’s Swimming Opens SEC Championships Tuesday in Columbia
2/22/2021 4:33:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
This season marks the first time since the mid-80s that the men and women swimmers have competed at separate sites, with the women competing last week in Athens, Ga., while the men’s and women’s diver competed last week in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Alabama men's swimmers get the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships underway Tuesday in Columbia, Mo.
The women's portion of the championships finished last Saturday, with the Crimson Tide posting its best finished since 2003, taking fourth place. The men's diving squad has also completed competition, with Kevin Li leading Alabama with an eighth-place finish off the 1-meter board.
This season marks the first time since 1986 that the men's and women's meets are being held at different sites and different weeks.
With fewer swimmers at each site, the meet has contracted from five days to four. The men's meet starts Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT with the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays, before beginning a full slate of events on Wednesday with prelims starting at 10 a.m. CT and finals at 6 p.m. CT.
Interim Head Coach Ozzie Quevedo Said
"After watching the women's meet and the diving last week and how well the Crimson Tide competed over those four days, our men are hungry to get out there and lay it all on the line. We're super proud of how the women and the divers did last week, and we can't wait to keep that success rolling here in Columbia. Just like with the women last week, this is a different look and feel for this championship, but we are beyond grateful to have the opportunity to compete and take part in one of the fastest meets in the nation each year."
Going to the 'Ship
- A total of 13 men are making a return trip to the SEC Championships this week, including Jonathan Berneburg, Cole Brown, Nicholas Perera, Nico Perner, Colton Stogner, Cam Auerbach, Liam Bell, Derek Maas, Matt Menke, Riley VanMeter, Cade Auerbach, Sam DiSette and Alex Robinson
- The Crimson Tide's 2021 roster also includes seven men who are making their first trip to the SEC Championships - Matt King, Jake Marcum, Christopher O'Connor, Kacper Piotrowski, Andrew Shea, Trey Sheils and Eric Stelmar
- 20 members of the Tide's roster will be in Columbia this week for the swimming portion of the championships, while two –Hunter Jaynes and Kevin Li – competed last week in the diving events in Columbia
- Li scored in all three diving events, taking eighth off the 1-meter springboard, 12th off the platform and 13th off the 3-meter springboard
- Jaynes scored off the 1-meter, taking 24th, and off the platform, taking 20th
Alabama Men at Last Year's SEC Championships
- The Alabama men used a big final day to move into fourth place at the 2020 SEC Championships with 935.5 points, climbing two spots from 2019 and earning their best finish since also taking fourth in 2017
- 2020 Senior Zane Waddell paced the men, winning the 100 backstroke with an SEC record swim, and taking top honors the 50 freestyle
- Waddell also swam legs on the Tide's winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays and the 400 medley relay which set another SEC record
- Waddell's SEC record time of 44.10 ranked him as the fifth-fastest 100 backstroker in history
- Waddell also took home the Commissioner's Trophy, which goes to the individual high point scorer at the championships and was voted the SEC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league's coaches
- Waddell started the meet with a 20.33 leadoff backstroke leg in the 200 medley relay, giving him two of the three fastest splits in swimming history
- Waddell joined Tyler Sesvold, Sam DiSette and Jonathan Berneburg to win the 200 freestyle relay, while Waddell, Sesvold, Berneburg and Colton Stogner won the 400 freestyle relay
- Waddell, Sesvold, Berneburg and Liam Bell brought home the 400 medley relay title in an SEC record time
- Alabama won its third SEC 200 freestyle relay title in a row and fourth in the past six years as well as its second-consecutive 400 freestyle relay win and first 400 medley relay title since 2015
- In all, the UA men have won eight SEC relay titles since 2015
- Prior to 2015, the Tide men last won a relay in 1994
- Waddell gave Alabama its second Commissioner's Trophy in a row, following Robert Howard in 2019, and its sixth-consecutive SEC Male Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year trophy, after Howard in 2019, Luke Kaliszak in 2018 and Connor Oslin in 2016 and 2017.
- Between 2019 and 2020, Alabama's men have totaled 11 SEC titles, the most over a two-year span for the Tide since winning 14 in 1990 and 1991.
- Bell (100 breaststroke) and Waddell (100 freestyle) both took home silver medals
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Players Mentioned
