University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Louisville
UT Men Tie, Women Lose in Louisville Meet
October 29, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Tennessee swimming and diving team competed against a pair of top-15 Louisville teams, with the men drawing a tie and the women losing.
The No. 11 UT men (3-0-1) produced a rare dual meet tie with No. 14 Louisville, 150-150. The No. 10 Tennessee women (2-2) lost 163-135 to the eighth-ranked Cardinals.
"Neither result is satisfying," Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich said. "We certainly had some good performances, but I wouldn't call the team performances signature team performances. We didn't race with the same enthusiasm as Louisville did. They beat us in a lot of places by bringing more intensity."
The Tennessee squad is back in action with a quad meet Friday at Indiana which features IU, North Carolina and Kentucky. It is the second time UT has competed on back-to-back days in different cities this season. Diving starts at 1 p.m. and the formal swim meet begins at 2 p.m.
Senior Sean Lehane highlighted the Louisville meet for Tennessee by producing the fastest 200-yard backstroke in the nation this year in 1 minute, 42.84 seconds. He remained undefeated in backstroke competition this season by also winning the 100 back (47.73).
Tennessee's men won 9 of 16 events including both diving competitions, but Louisville rallied late for the tie by winning three of the last swimming events.
The Vols picked up big points in the distance freestyle racing, placing in the top four in the 1,000 freestyle and the top three in the 500 freestyle. Evan Pinion won both events, the 1,000 in 9:24.42 and the 500 late in the meet in 4:29.84. Senior Ben Miller was second in both events.
"Our distance guys did a very nice job," Kredich said. "Evan was very competitive, and Ben Miller had a really good day. Sean did everything he could to help us win the meet."
Other individual Tennessee race wins on the men's side included Peter John Stevens in the 100 breaststroke (55.18) and Sam McHugh in the 200 butterfly (1:48.24).
The Vols got a pair of victories in the diving well from SEC champs Mauricio Robles and Liam Stone. Robles won the 1-meter competition with a score 381.45 while Stone was second in 335.18. They switched placed on the 3 meter, with Stone winning with a season-best score of 397.28 and Robles finishing with 384.75. Freshman Nick Rusek also competed on both boards.
"Mauricio and Liam were challenging each other, each winning an event," Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. "It was good to see them make each other better."
The Tennessee women won just 5 of the 16 total events but kept the meet close by having multiple swimmers place well in certain races. UT took the top four spots in the 50 freestyle, the top three spots in the 200 butterfly and second through fifth in the 200 IM.
Senior diver Sarah Chewning led the way with her first two-win day in Tennessee uniform. She held off a pair of Louisville divers by four points to win the 1-meter with a score of 274.88 and also won the 3-meter board with 281.40.
"Sarah had an outstanding day winning both events, and freshman Sean Meyers continues to improve," Parrington said. "That's exciting for Sarah after coming off surgery in the summer. She's continuing to work her way back into things. She's making changes and getting back to the form I expect to see come championship season."
In the pool, Michelle Cefal took first in the 200 butterfly in 2:01.59, and Madeline Banic was a close second in the 100 butterfly (53.57). Newcomer Kira Toussaint won the 100 backstroke (54.39) and Faith Johnson was tops in the 50 freestyle (23.24).
"Our depth was good, but we needed to win more races," Kredich said. "We need to have people who are willing to put the team on their back and go. Sean does a great job with that on the men's team and we're looking for that person on the women's side."
