The Tennessee Vol and Lady Vol swim teams took to the water to face the Louisville Cardinals at the Allen Jones Aquatic Center on Thursday. This was the first combined dual meet for the Vols, and they emerged victorious on both sides.
Men’s
The men opened their regular season with a commanding win against the Cardinals, 197 to 103. Overall, out of a possible 15 men’s events, the Vols had someone finish first in all but four.
One hero for the Vols was Budapest, Hungary, native Norbert Kovacs, who swam his way to three individual wins. “Norbert had a solid day,” UT head coach John Trembley said .
One race that Trembley specifically pointed out was Norbert’s 200-yard butterfly, in which he faced a tough international competitor in Louisville’s Pedro Oliveira.
In that race, Norbert was able to come back in the final 50 yards and touch out Oliveira at the wall, beating him by 0.2 seconds.
“I really wanted to do my best,” Kovacs said. “Coach talked to me about making some changes this week, and I feel like I was able to make some of them.”
On the boards, the Vols were able to take first, second and third in the 1- and 3-meter events.
Michael Wright, the senior co-captain, took first in both events. In the 1-meter, he set a personal best and pool record with a score of 414 points.
“I feel great, I hit a personal high and I feel I did my best,” Wright said.
Other performances of note were turned in by Mike DeRocco, who won two individual events, and Ryan Harrison who took first in the 200-yard freestyle.
On his team’s overall performance though, Trembley was unimpressed, citing a loss of focus and intensity in the middle of the meet.
“There were spots where we did (remain focused): Norbert’s 200 fly, Michael DeRocco’s swims today and of course diving,” Trembley said. “But we’ve got a long way to go.”
Women’s
Like the men, the Lady Vols downed the Cardinals 186-113. This meet was the first home meet for the team, and its first against Louisville since last year’s loss to the Cardinals on the final relay.
Powered by three individual-event wins by freshman Linsay Gendron and a pool record for Kelsey Floyd in the 200-yard butterfly, the Lady Vols were able to cruise through the meet, placing first in all but three events.
“Today was a nice day for us,” head coach Mike Kredich said. Kredich said that it was good to see several swimmers back in the water after time off from injuries, especially junior Jenny Connolly.
Connolly returned strong from an abdominal surgery on the first of the month, taking first in two individual events and one relay.
“I feel great,” Connolly said. “I did so much better than I thought I would.”
Connolly’s swim in the 100-yard backstroke was good enough to make the NCAA Zone-B cut times.
As for other performances, Kredich found one of the most impressive to be Linsay Gendron’s 200-yard freestyle.
Gendron took first in the 200 with a time of 1:47:98. Her performance came as a surprise because it followed her victory in the 1000-yard freestyle, the event directly preceding the 200-yard freestyle.
“After the 1000, I had to reset, and I wanted to win,” Gendron said. “(And) that’s what I did.”
On the boards, Victoria Lamp had a clean sweep of both events.
The Lady Vols’ next meet will be Sept. 29 against Cumberland (Kentucky).
