For those unfamiliar with swimming terminology, the concept of “Ups” and “Downs” is a good way to track which teams performed best at prelims. In prelims, swimmers qualify for one of three finals heats: the top 8 finishers make the A final, places 9 through 16 the B final and places 17 through 24 the C final. In finals, swimmers are locked into their respective final, meaning a swimmer in the B heat (spots 9-16) can only place as high as 9th or as low as 16th, even if they put up the fastest or slowest time of any heat in the final.
With that in mind, we’ll be tracking “Ups,” “Mids” and “Downs” after each prelims session. “Up” refers to swimmers in the A final, “Mid” to swimmers in the B final and “Down” to swimmers in the C final.
2018 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 14 – Sunday, February 18
- Rec Center Natatorium, College Station, TX (Central Time Zone)
- Prelims 10AM / Finals 6PM
- Defending Champion: Florida (5x) (results)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live results
- Live Video (finals)
Georgia technically leads Texas A&M in women’s A finalists 7-5, but the Aggies have 17 scoring swims compared to just 9 for Georgia.
It’s a case where pure A finalists don’t tell the whole story, as Texas A&M’s depth has them in line for an army of scoring swims. Those two teams easily lead the rest of the field, though Tennessee and Kentucky had very nice mornings.
On the men’s side, Florida is dominating with 8 A finalists. No other team has more than 3.
Women’s Ups/Mids/Downs:
Note: does not include relays.
| TOTAL | |||
| Up | Mid | Down | |
| Georgia | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Auburn | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Alabama | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Florida | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Missouri | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| LSU | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Texas A&M should be set up to retain their points lead tonight, and Georgia should make a big run from 4th to 2nd. Tennessee has been the breakout SEC team this year, and they appear in line to lead the next tier of teams behind the Aggies and the ‘Dawgs.
Men’s Ups/Mids/Downs:
Note: does not include relays or 1-meter diving.
| Up | Mid | Down | |
| Florida | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| Georgia | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| South Carolina | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Auburn | 3 | 2.5* | 2.5* |
| Alabama | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Texas A&M | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 4.5* | 3.5* |
| Missouri | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| LSU | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*Pending results of 50 free swim-off.
Florida is safely ahead of the field and should be able to vault past the top three teams after last night (Texas A&M, Tennessee and Kentucky). Keep an eye on South Carolina, which has six big scoring swims and could contend for a 1-2 finish in the 500 free.
Where is the top seed in Men’s 500 from UK??
Where is Aggie Beryl G? Sick? Injured?
All a spokesperson would share is “health issues,” and he didn’t know about her status for NCAAs.
Thanks for looking into it. She is a huge part as you know!