LSU women, Texas A&M men lead after Day One

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (February 14, 2023) – The LSU women and Texas A&M men have early leads after the first day of the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, held at Texas A&M’s Rec Center Natatorium.

In the men’s 1 meter, Texas A&M earned two podium finishes as Victor Povzner took the top spot with a final score of 375.50 and teammate Rhett Hensley was third with a score of 343.60. Tennessee’s Bryden Hattie came in second with a score of 364.40.

Alabama won the women’s 200 medley relay for the third year in a row as Rhyan White, Avery Wiseman, Emily Jones and Kalia Antoniou set a pool record with a time of 1:34.20. Florida finished second with a time of 1:34.76, followed by Tennessee in third with a time of 1:35.53. LSU’s Maggie MacNeil swam the fastest 50 in history with a leadoff mark of 22.52 for the Tigers.

Tennessee claimed the men’s 200 medley relay with an SEC record time of 1:21.43 by Bjoern Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks and Guilherme Santos. Crooks swam the fastest 50 fly in history with an 18.90 split. Florida placed second with a time of 1:21.73, and Auburn was third with a time of 1:22.98.

South Carolina’s Brooke Schultz won fourth overall in the women’s 3-meter, with a final score of 356.35. Fellow Gamecock Sophie Verzyl was runner-up with a score of 349.65, and LSU’s Chiara Pellacani was third with a score of 341.85.

In the women’s 800 free relay, Florida won its first title in the event since 2005 as Ekaterina Nikonova, Talia Bates, Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk posted a top time of 6:57.11. Tennessee finished second with a time of 6:58.26, while Georgia was third with a time of 6:58.90.

Closing out the first day, Florida defended its title in the 800 free relay, with Macguire McDuff, Julian Smith, Alfonso Mestre and Jake Mitchell combining for a pool record time of 6:08.64. Auburn was second with a time of 6:12.39 and Alabama was third with a time of 6:12.46.

Day two of the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships begins on Wednesday, February 15 at 9:30 a.m. CT with prelims for the women’s 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 1 meter. The finals of the women’s 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 1 meter will begin at 5:30 pm CT. Both sessions can be seen on SEC Network +.