Ellen Walshe, Luca Urlando Earn SEC Swimmer of the Meet Honors

2022 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, February 15 – Saturday, February 19, 2022
• Jones Aquatics Center, Knoxville, Tenn. (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Men- Florida (9x) Women- Kentucky (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video (Watch ESPN)
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• 2021 SEC Scoring Breakdown

Tennessee freshman Ellen Walshe and Georgia sophomore Luca Urlando earned Swimmer of the Meet honors on Saturday as the 2022 SEC Championships wrapped up in Knoxville.

Walshe helped lead the Lady Vols to their second conference title in three years, putting up a program-record 1,313.5 points, while the Florida Gators roared to a 10th straight victory on the men’s side.

• Full SEC release

Walshe and Urlando earned both the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy, awarded to the student-athletes who score the most individual points at the championships, and the conference’s Swimmer of the Meet honors.

Both swimmers earned the maximum 96 points by sweeping their individual events.

WALSHE MAKES HISTORY

Walshe had a phenomenal showing in her debut SEC Championship meet, sweeping her individual events and contributing critical legs on four relays that all finished in the top two.

The 20-year-old Irish native became the third Lady Vol in history to go three-for-three in conference titles, joining Christine Magnuson (50/100 free, 100 fly in 2008) and Erika Brown (50/100 free, 100 fly in 2018, 2019 and 2020), and she also became the first SEC swimmer ever to win those three specific events, the 100 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM, at the same conference championship meet.

Walshe won the 200 IM (1:52.97), 400 IM (4:01.53) and 100 fly (50.34), with the latter two coming within 43 minutes of each other on Thursday night. Her swim in the 400 IM was also a new Tennessee school record.

She also split 1:44.06 swimming second on the victorious 800 free relay, and contributed to three other runner-up relays.

Walshe’s SEC Championship Swims (Finals)

• 200 medley relay – 2nd place, 1:34.63 (22.93 fly split)
• 800 free relay – 1st place, 6:56.81 (1:44.06 second split)
• 200 IM – 1st place, 1:52.97
• 400 IM – 1st place, 4:01.53 (UT Record)
• 100 fly – 1st place, 50.34
• 400 medley relay – 2nd place, 3:26.88 (49.75 fly split)
• 400 free relay – 2nd place, 3:11.38 (48.21 second split)

The second-highest scorer on the women’s side was Alabama senior Rhyan White, who swept the women’s backstroke events and added a runner-up finish to Walshe in the 100 fly for 92 individual points. Alabama’s Morgan Scott and Kentucky’s Riley Gaines hit 90 points with two individual wins apiece.

URLANDO GOES THREE-FOR-THREE

Just like Walshe, Urlando had a perfect record individually, and could’ve added even more hardware had swimmers been allowed to enter more than three events.

The 19-year-old sophomore was lights out with wins and personal best times in the 100 fly (44.41), 200 fly (1:39.00) and 200 IM (1:41.19), setting a new SEC Championship Record in the 200 fly and lowering a pair of UGA records in both the 100 and 200 fly.

Urlando’s standout showing didn’t end with his individual sweep, as he led off the Bulldogs’ 400 medley relay with a 100 back time of 44.38. That swim not only beat out Adam Chaney’s 44.51 that won the individual 100 back, but it was also a Georgia program record and the fastest time in the NCAA this season.

Urlando’s SEC Championship Swims (Finals)

• 200 medley relay – 4th place, 1:23.92 (19.57 fly split)
• 800 free relay – 2nd place, 6:09.32 (1:32.24 second split)
• 200 free relay – 4th place, 1:16.71 (19.00 second split)
• 200 IM – 1st place, 1:41.19
• 100 FLY – 1st place, 44.41 (UGA Record)
• 200 FLY – 1st place, 1:39.00 (SEC Meet, UGA Record)
• 400 MR – 4th place, 3:04.76 (44.38 back lead-off, UGA Record)

Trailing Urlando on the men’s side were Florida’s Kieran Smith, Alabama’s Derek Maas and Georgia’s Matt Sates, who all won two individual events and took second in another to score 92 points.

Also earning recognition at the end of the meet were South Carolina’s Brooke Schultz and LSU’s Juan Celaya Hernandez, who earned Diver of the Meet honors.

Schultz, a graduate senior who transferred from Arkansas for the second semester, swept the women’s 1-meter (334.30) and 3-meter (407.30) diving events, while Celaya Hernandez won the men’s 3-meter (459.75) and platform (430.55) events and took third in the 1-meter (420.30).