The UT men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are looking to topple the University of Georgia in the pool this weekend. The Vols face the No. 10-ranked Georgia Bulldogs while the Lady Vols will take on the No. 1-ranked Lady Bulldogs, according to the CSCAA Division I swimming and diving polls.
Lady Vols
Last weekend’s meet in Charlottesville, Va., yielded a close loss for the Lady Vols as the swimming and diving team fell short to the University of Virginia, 124.5-175.5. Still, Lady Vols head coach Matt Kredich believed there was much to gain for the No. 13 Lady Vols who have their eyes on top-ranked Georgia Saturday.
“A lot of our athletes had their best meets of the year,” Kredich said. “We lost too many close races today, but we have some things we know we can work on and get better at for our next meet.”
The next meet features a showdown of top 20 teams in Athens, Ga., beginning Saturday at 1 p.m., and for Kredich, there is no better time of the year.
“People feel like Georgia is the best team in the country, which means we are going to be held to a really high standard in everything that we do,” Kredich said. “I love this part of our season because that is what we build towards. … Our ultimate goal is our best possible performance to the NCAA Championships and the SEC championships.”
This year the Lady Vols have felt a spark, courtesy of newcomer Kelsey Floyd. The three-time SEC Freshman Female of the Week won last weekend in Charlottesville in the 200-yard freestyle and placed second in the 200-yard backstroke event with a season-best time of 1:57.04.
Despite hostile waters, Kredich knows that much will be asked of his team this weekend.
Before losing to Texas last weekend, the Lady Bulldogs had won 33 consecutive dual meet competitions dating back 2006-2007.
Vols
On Senior Day last year, the Tennessee Volunteer men’s swimming and diving team defeated Georgia 169-129, marking the first victory against the Bulldogs in seven years. The Volunteers will look to repeat as they square off against No. 10 Georgia on Saturday and Sunday in the pool.
Junior captain Geoff Sanders, UT swimming’s first non-senior captain since 1969, says the magnitude of the meet is on the minds of each and every swimmer.
“Georgia has a very strong team,” Sanders said. “They pretty much have the same level of a program that we do. … Our team has a little more history than theirs.”
“As far as the matchups go, they’re even pretty much across the board. They have a couple All-Americans coming back for this season; we have a couple All-Americans back too as well, so it should turn out to be a good match.”
The men are coming off a defeat at the hands of the University of Virginia, 163.5-134.5, but are hoping to find key performances from swimmers like Sanders and the 200 medley relay team of Ricky Henahan, Mattias Kahlin, Michael DeRocco and Herbie Behm, who finished second against Virginia with a time of 1:30.50.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 163-126 loss to the nation’s top-ranked team, the Texas Longhorns, on Saturday.
