Alabama
SEC Championships
Alabama Swimming & Diving Men Take Second, Women Third at 2022 SEC Championships
2/19/2022 10:14:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
It was the best finish for the Crimson Tide men since winning the title in 1987, and the best for the women since also finishing third in 1994
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama swimming and diving finished the 2022 Southeastern Conference Championships strong, moving up the team standings throughout the final day of competition to post the Crimson Tide's best finishes since the 1990s Saturday night at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.
Alabama's men tallied 938 points to take second place, the program's best finish since winning the title in 1987. The women's team finished third with 1,038 points, just five points out of second, marking its best finish since also taking third in 1994.
Rhyan White won her sixth SEC backstroke championship in the past three seasons after earning the 200 backstroke title Saturday with a time of 1:50.22. It was her third gold in the 200 after winning her third in a row in the 100 earlier in the week. All told, White has now won nine individual SEC medals, including a trio of medals in the 100 butterfly.
Alabama blasted its way to a sweep of the podium in the women's 100 freestyle, going 1-2-3 on the night. Morgan Scott defended her SEC title in the 100 with a new school record of 47.32, while Kalia Antoniou took silver with a 47.67 while Diana Petkova scooped up the bronze with a 47.82. Cora Dupre took fifth place with a 47.91 to give UA four of the top five in finals. Those four women now hold the top-four spots in the Tide's 100 freestyle all-time top 10.
Petkova, Scott, Antoniou and Dupre came back at the end of the night to win the women's 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:10.36. It marked the women's fourth relay title of the week, the most at a single championship in program history, and the most in a single season by a conference school since 2014. Petkova led the relay off with a career-best 47.69, which ranks her third all-time at UA.
Derek Maas blazed down the length of the pool over the last 25 yards to win the men's 200 breaststroke with an SEC Championship record of 1:51.56. With the win, Maas swept the breaststroke events in Knoxville after taking top honors in the 100 breaststroke earlier in the week and posting the fastest breaststroke legs on both the 200 and 400 medley relays.
Tanesha Lucoe reclaimed the women's SEC platform diving crown after winning it as a freshman in 2020 and taking second last season. She tallied 304.10 points in finals and clinched the title with her final dive of the night.
Kensey McMahon started the Tide's night off by winning her fourth SEC medal in the 1,650 freestyle, and her second silver, with a time of 15:51.71. She also took bronze in the 500 freestyle earlier in the meet to give her six individual SEC medals over the course of her career.
Kaique Alves, Jonathan Berneburg, Derek Maas and Matt Menke combined to go 3:49.11 to take third place in the men's 400 freestyle relay. It was the men's third relay medal of the meet. Alves led off the relay with a 42.60, which ranks him ninth all time at UA in the 100 freestyle.
Maas and White finished runner-up in the men's and women's SEC Commissioner's Trophy (which honors the individual high point scorer at the championships) standings, respectively. Maas won the 100 and 200 breaststrokes and was second in the 200 individual medley, while White won the 100 and 200 backstrokes and was second in the 100 butterfly.
Alabama Head Coach Margo Geer Said
"It was an incredible week for our team in Knoxville. I am proud of the way we battled for every point and every place, and how we handled adversity. To have our best finish as a men's team since 1987 and the best of the women's team since 1994 is an incredible accomplishment and one we're going to build on going forward. We finished the week with 23 podium finishes, including 11 gold medals, but in a team race that tight, it came down to a total team effort, and I'm proud of the way this team supported each other and kept the focus on the team goals. This was a special week for us and now it's time to get back to work as we prepare for the NCAA Championships."
Crimson Tide Highlights
- Alabama won 11 individual and relay championships during the week, including seven individual and four relay titles, bettering last year's tally of 10
- In addition to winning 11 events during this year's championships, the Crimson Tide came away 23 total medals over the five days
- Individually, Alabama posted 33 finishes in the A finals, 24 in the B finals and 16 in the C finals for a total of 73
More from Day Five
- Jake Marcum posted a 1:41.26 to take sixth in the men's 200 backstroke
- Avery Wiseman was seventh in the women's 200 breaststroke with at time of 2:08.94
- Kaique Alves swam a 42.93 to take eighth in the men's 100 freestyle after posting a career-best 42.60 in prelims, which ranks him ninth all-time at UA
- Eric Stelmar swam a 1:42.18 to finish eighth in the men's 200 backstroke
- Cat Wright finished eighth in the women's 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:10.88, after touching the wall with a career-best 2:09.15 in prelims, which ranks her fourth all-time at UA
- Matt Menke won the B final of the men's 200 backstroke, taking ninth overall, with a career-best time of 1:40.63, which ranks him fourth all-time at UA
- Jonathan Berneburg swam a 42.90 in the men's 100 freestyle taking 11th place
- Linus Kahl posted a 1:55.84 in the men's 200 breaststroke to finish in 13th place after swimming a career-best 1:55.67 during prelims which ranks him sixth all-time at UA
- Kacper Piotrowski posted a 43.01 to finish 13th in the men's 100 freestyle
- Kailyn Winter scored in the women's 100 freestyle, taking 15th in a career-best time of 48.80, which ranks her seventh all-time at UA
- Trey Sheils swam a career-best 1:56.61 to take 20th in the men's 200 breaststroke, which ranks him ninth all-time for the Tide
- Mateo Miceli was 21st in the men's 200 backstroke after swimming a 1:43.79 in finals
- Jada Surrell-Norwood posted a 49.59 in the women's 100 freestyle to take 24th place after posting a career-best 48.98 in prelims to rank 10th all-time at UA
Up Next
- The Crimson Tide divers will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the NCAA Zone B Championships March 7-9 in Atlanta, Ga.
- The women's NCAA Championships are March 16-19, while the men's championships are March 23-26, with both meets being held in Atlanta, Ga.
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Players Mentioned
