2020 SEC Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2020 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, February 18 – Saturday, February 22, 2020
• Auburn, AL – James E. Martin Aquatic Center
• Prelims/Finals: 9:30 AM/5:30 PM Wed-Sat, 10/4:20PM Tues (Central Standard Time)
• Defending Champion: Florida (7x) (results)
• Live Video – SEC Network+ (prelims), ESPN (finals)
• Men’s Fan Guide|Women’s Fan Guide
• Psych Sheets
• Championship Central
• Estimated NCAA Invite Times|NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
• Live Results

The 2020 SEC Championships continue with day 4 finals in Auburn, Alabama. Swimmers will race in the 200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, and 400 medley relay. The men’s divers are set to compete on the platform.

The men’s 100 back will feature a showdown between Meet Record holder Shaine Casas (Texas A&M) and defending champion Zane Waddell (Alabama). In the women’s race, Meet Record holder Rhyan White (Alabama) will race 2019 medalists Asia Seidt (Kentucky) and Sherridon Dressel (Florida).

Reigning champion Camden Murphy of Georgia will swim alongside top-seeded teammate Harry Homans in the men’s 200 fly, while Dakota Luther (Georgia) races for the title in the women’s version of that race. Florida’s Dillon Hillis headline’s the men’s 100 breast after a big drop this morning. Georgia’s Zoie Hartman and Texas A&M’s reigning champion Anna Belousova are among the swimmers to watch in the women’s 100 breast.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY

• SEC Meet Record: Cammile Adams (Texas A&M), 2014, 1:52.19
• NCAA Record: Ella Eastin (Stanford), 2018, 1:49.51
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:53.20
• 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:56.18
• 2019 Champion: Olivia Carter (Georgia), 1:53.23

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Dakota Luther, Georgia, 1:52.47
2. SILVER: Izzy Gati, Kentucky, 1:52.54
3. BRONZE: Courtney Harnish, Georgia, 1:53.24

Kentucky’s Izzy Gati got after it on the front half, leading through the 150. She started to fall off her pace on the final 50, as Georgia’s Dakota Luther made her move. Luther ran her down to win it by hundredths, 1:52.47 to 1:52.54. Gati has now dropped nearly 3 seconds today, while Luther dropped half a second. Luther is the 20th fastest performer in history and now leads the NCAA this season.

Georgia’s Courtney Harnish and Tennessee’s Tess Cieplucha were neck-and-neck for the bronze, with Harnish (1:53.24) edging out Cieplucha (1:53.23), the 400 IM champion, by a hundredth. Texas A&M’s Jing Quah, the 2019 silver medalist, was 5th in 1:53.96. Teammate Taylor Pike was 7th in 1:54.29.

South Carolina’s Hallie Kinsey swam another best time for 6th in 1:54.12. Georgia’s Callie Dickinson had the 7th fastest time of the night to win the B final. She dropped 2 seconds in 1:54.22.

MEN’S 200 FLY

• SEC Meet Record: Hugo Morris (Auburn), 2016, 1:40.59
• NCAA Record: Jack Conger (Texas), 2017, 1:37.35
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.76
• 2019 NCAA Invited: 1:42.35
• 2019 Champion: Camden Murphy (Georgia), 1:40.62

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Camden Murphy, Georgia, 1:40.93
2. SILVER: Micah Slaton, Missouri, 1:42.01
3. BRONZE: Harry Homans, Georgia, 1:42.02

Auburn’s Santiago Grassi and Georgia freshman Harry Homans set the pace on the front half, with Homans leading at the 150. Teammate Camden Murphy, the reigning champion, outsplit everyone by a second on the final 50. He closed in 26.16 to win by over a second in 1:40.93. That broke the Pool Record, formerly set by UGA’s Mark Dylla in 2009. Murphy is now 2nd in the NCAA this season behind Texas’ Sam Pomajevich, who swam a 1:39.95 at the Minnesota Invite.

Homans held on for 3rd in 1:42.02, but was just out-touched for silver by Missouri’s Micah Slaton. Tennessee teammates Kayky Mota (1:42.66) and Marc Hinawi (1:42.69) rounded out the top 5. Mota has now dropped nearly 3 seconds today. Grassi, who led at the 100-mark, was 6th in 1:42.85.

Kentucky’s Mason Wilby clipped his best for 7th in 1:43.23. Florida’s Miguel Cancel was 8th in 1:44.52.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK

• SEC Meet Record: Gemma Spofforth (Florida), 2009/Rhyan White (Alabama), 2020, 50.53
• NCAA Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 2019, 49.67
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.93
• 2019 NCAA Invited: 52.46
• 2019 Champion: Aly Tetzloff (Auburn), 50.92

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Rhyan White, Alabama, 50.02
2. SILVER: Sherridon Dressel, Florida, 50.64
3. BRONZE: Asia Seidt, Kentucky, 50.73

Alabama’s Rhyan White was out quick, splitting 23.95 to the feet. She went on to smash the SEC Meet Record in 50.02. That moves her ahead of Olympian Rachel Bootsma as the 8th fastest swimmer in history and also sets the overall SEC Record. It’s her 2nd school record of the weekend, as she broke Bama’s 100 fly record to take silver last night.

Florida’s Sherridon Dressel dug in to catch Kentucky’s Asia Seidt on the final lap. Dressel surged to a 50.64, taking a few tenths off her best. Seidt was hundredths behind, just a tenth shy of a best in 50.73. Missouri’s Sarah Thompson swam a lifetime best 51.07 as she was just off the podium.

Kentucky freshman Caitlin Brooks and Florida’s Emma Ball were tied at the 50, but Brooks came back slightly faster to nab 5th in 51.91. Ball, who had a breakthrough swim this morning with her first best time since 2017, was 6th in 52.04.

MEN’S 100 BACK

• SEC Meet Record: Connor Oslin (Alabama), 2017/Shaine Casas (Texas A&M), 2020, 44.73
• NCAA Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal), 2016, 43.49
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.95
• 2019 NCAA Invited: 46.06
• 2019 Champion: Zane Waddell (Alabama), 44.77

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Zane Waddell, Alabama, 44.24
2. SILVER: Shaine Casas, Texas A&M, 44.68
3. BRONZE: Daniel Hein, Missouri, 45.93

Just as Georgia swept the 200 fly, Bama swept the 100 back.

Alabama’s Zane Waddell led from the start. He flipped in 21.09 on the way to a new SEC Meet Record. His 44.24 was a best by half a second and took down the former mark shared by Bama’s Connor Oslin and Texas A&M’s Shaine Casas. Waddell is now the 5th fastest performer in history and the new overall SEC Record holder.

After setting the record in prelims, Casas was slightly faster tonight, but still a couple tenths shy of his best in 44.68. Casas, the 200 IM champion, had started to make a move on the 3rd 25, but Waddell blasted off the final wall to take the win. That’s his 2nd individual title of the meet.

Missouri’s Daniel Hein took the bronze in 45.93, making his move on the final 25 to out-touch LSU’s Karl Luht (46.02). Tennessee’s Matthew Garcia was a nail behind in 46.10.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST

• SEC Meet Record: Breeja Larson (Texas A&M), 2014, 57.28
• NCAA Record: Lilly King (Indiana), 2019, 55.88
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.60
• 2019 NCAA Invited: 59.93
• 2019 Champion: Anna Belousova (Texas A&M), 57.99

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Zoie Hartman, Georgia, 58.12
2. SILVER: Danielle DellaTorre, Georgia, 58.88
3. BRONZE: Anna Belousova, Texas A&M, 59.60

Georgia won 2 of the 3 individual races tonight. They went 1-3 in the 200 fly, but performed even better here with a 1-2 finish. Freshman Zoie Hartman put up a lifetime best 58.12 to win it, while teammate Danielle DellaTorre broke 59 for the first time with a 58.88 for silver.

This is a huge improvement from recent years for the Bulldogs. Their highest finish in 2017 was 17th and in 2018 it was 16th. Last season, Sofia Carnevale was 3rd and DellaTorre was 15th. Carnevale won the B heat in 59.67, the 4th fastest time of the night.

Texas A&M’s Anna Belousova, the 2019 champion, came back on the final 25 to out-touch South Carolina freshman Taylor Steele, 59.60 to 59.74. Fellow Gamecock Albury Higgs was 5th in 59.82.

LSU freshman Niamh Robinson broke 1:00 for the first time, touching 6th in 59.85.

MEN’S 100 BREAST

• SEC Meet Record: Caeleb Dressel (Florida), 2018, 50.03
• NCAA Record: Ian Finnerty (Indiana), 2018, 49.69
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.67
• 2019 NCAA Invited: 52.52
• 2019 Champion: Itay Goldfaden (South Carolina), 51.72

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Itay Goldfaden, South Carolina, 51.35
2. SILVER: Liam Bell, Alabama, 51.39
3. BRONZE: Dillon Hillis, Florida, 51.46

South Carolina’s Itay Goldfaden repeated as champion, out-touching Alabama freshman Liam Bell in a lifetime best 51.35. Bell knocked nearly a second off his best time with a 51.39. Fellow Crimson Tide freshman Derek Maas was 6th tonight in 52.24.

Florida’s Dillon Hillis, who broke the Pool Record in prelims, took the bronze in 51.46. Notably, his 51.28 this morning was the fastest time of the day. Teammate Marco Guarente, the 2019 bronze medalist, was 5th in 52.15.

Texas A&M’s Ben Walker dropped half a second for 4th in 52.00. Teammate Andres Puente, a freshman, clipped a few hundredths off his best from prelims as  he finished 7th in 52.27. Michael Houlie of Tennessee, who led the SEC ahead of this meet, was 8th in 52.34.

Kentucky’s Wyatt Amdor won the B final in 52.71, holding off Missouri’s Danny Kovac on the back half by 3 hundredths. Kovac, who won the 100 fly last night, matched his prelims swim in 52.74. He was just a hundredth off his best.

MEN’S PLATFORM DIVING

• SEC Meet Record: Hernandez (LSU)/Henschel (Texas A&M), 2017, 496.55
• 2019 Champion: Zhipeng Zeng (Tennessee), 452.25

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Mingli Zhang, Kentucky, 422.10
2. SILVER: Chase Lane, Kentucky, 403.65
3. BRONZE: Manny Vazquez, LSU, 393.60

Kentucky got a big boost as they went 1-2 on the platform. Mingli Zhang won the title, while 2019 runner-up Chase Lane repeated as the silver medalist. LSU’s Manny Vazquez rounded out the podium. Auburn got big points here with 3 in the final: Logan Andrews (5th), Conner Pruitt (6th), and freshman Skip Donald (8th).

WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY

• SEC Meet Record: Tennessee, 2019, 3:28.43
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:31.66
• 2019 Champion: Tennessee, 3:28.43

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Tennessee, 3:28.83
2. SILVER: Alabama, 3:28.90
3. BRONZE: Kentucky, 3:29.69

Alabama got off to the lead as Rhyan White put up a 50.85 on the back leg. The Tide held on to their lead through the breast leg with Kaila Wong‘s 59.32. Then entered American Record holder Erika Brown of Tennessee on the fly, taking over for the Volunteers with her 49.88 split. Alabama’s Morgan Scott (47.77) and Tennessee’s Stanzi Moseley (47.79) battled on the anchor leg, with Tennessee holding on by 7 hundredths to repeat as champions. They were within a few tenths of their Meet Record from last season.

Kentucky earned the bronze as Asia Seidt led off in 50.90 and Izzy Gati put up a 51.08 on the fly. Florida and Georgia battled closely for 4th place. Georgia had moved ahead after Danielle DellaTorre gave them a 58.84 breast split. Sherridon Dressel then pushed the Gators ahead with a 50.84 fly split. Veronica Burchill anchored for UGA in 47.48, but they came up just short as Florida held them off 3:31.13 to 3:31.18.

Auburn (3:33.68) finished 7th overall, winning heat 1 as Claire Fisch anchored in 46.78. Arkansas (3:35.68) was 10th, with sprint star Anna Hopkin anchoring in 45.78.

MEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY

• SEC Meet Record: Missouri, 2019, 3:03.37
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:05.95
• 2019 Champion: Missouri, 3:03.37

MEDALISTS

1. GOLD: Alabama, 3:02.17
2. SILVER: Florida, 3:04.96
3. BRONZE: Texas A&M, 3:05.15

Bama’s Zane Waddell broke the 100 back SEC Record twice in one night. He clipped another tenth off the mark as he led off in 44.10. Freshman Liam Bell (breast- 50.89), Tyler Sesvold (fly- 45.09), and Jonathan Berneburg (free- 42.20) kept the lead as they smashed the Meet Record in 3:02.17.

Florida (3:04.96) came from behind to take the silver as Will Davis put up a 45.47 fly and Kieran Smith anchored in 41.79 to outpace Texas A&M (3:05.15.). The Aggies’ Shaine Casas led off in 45.50, while Ben Walker put up a 51.21 breast split.

South Carolina (3:06.88) and LSU (3:07.02) had the fastest anchors of anyone as they battled in heat 1. Brooks Curry raced to a 41.25 split for the Tigers, but the Gamecocks held on with Lewis Burras‘ 41.58. Tennessee had touched 4th but they were ultimately disqualified for an early takeoff on the butterfly leg. Alec Connolly anchored that relay in 42.11.

TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 4 – MEN

  1. University of Florida           887.5   2. Texas A&M University              727
  3. Georgia, University of          682.5   4. Missouri                        681.5
  5. University of Alabama           655.5   6. Tennessee, University of, Knox    615
  7. Auburn University                 586   8. Kentucky, University of           583
  9. Louisiana State University        418  10. South Carolina, University of,    392

TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 4 – WOMEN

  1. Tennessee, University of, Knox    817   2. University of Florida           720.5
  3. Texas A&M University              713   4. Kentucky, University of         701.5
  5. Georgia, University of            692   6. Auburn University                 560
  7. University of Alabama             526   8. Missouri                          363
  9. South Carolina, University of,    352  10. Louisiana State University        318
 11. University of Arkansas            299  12. Vanderbilt University             120