STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Other Sports

• Vols tied for lead at Wolf Pack Classic
• Lady Vols getting back in groove
• Abbott, Hosfield face off in alumni game

Share and Enjoy [?]

Get Reprints

Want to use this article? Click here for options!

Tennessee's Lady Vols reached a new high in SEC swimming.

They won three events Thursday in the SEC swimming and diving championships at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Christine Magnuson won the 50-yard freestyle, Lauren LeRoy - after finishing third in 1-meter diving Wednesday - won the 3-meter title and the Lady Vols capped the evening by taking the 200 freestyle relay.

The Lady Vols have 200.5 points, trailing Florida (272) and Auburn (230). The Vols (208) trail Auburn (322) and Florida (233).

To start the day, Magnuson looked at the scoreboard and saw a familiar sight after herqualifying race in the 50: Kentucky's Jenny Bradford had the fastest qualifying time. Bradford had set the 50 qualifying pace two years earlier when the SEC meet was held at UT Student Aquatic Center's Ray Bussard pool.

Magnuson came back to defeat Bradford on Thursday night for the SEC title with a winning time of 22.03. Bradford, whose qualifying time was 22.0, finished at 22.18.

Magnuson is the first Lady Vol to win the 50 sprint since NCAA champ Nicole deMan won titles in 1995-96. Magnuson's SEC time was faster than de Man's NCAA-winning 22.86.

Magnuson had close company in the 50 race as teammate Michele King tied for fourth place at 22.30.

LeRoy scored 321.85 points on the 3-meter board to 311.35 for South Carolina's Taryn Zack.

To cap off the night in an exhilarating note, Magnuson teamed with King, Carly Mathes and Brittany Nauta and to win the 200 freestyle relay - edging Kentucky with a 1:29 finish.

UT coach Matt Kredich could hardly contain himself, saying: "I will never forget this night, and there are some moments that really stand out. Lauren's last dive was brilliant. The last five yards of Christine's swim was brilliant."

Diving coach Dave Parrington said he was proud of LeRoy's effort "after a disappointing loss (third place) last night."

Meanwhile, the Vols' Andrew Thirwell and Nolan Morrell went 1-2 in 200 individual medley qualifying. Morrell (1:46.10) and Thriwell (1:46.62) finished 3-4 in the championship race and picked up valuable points.

A year ago Thirwell was recuperating from back surgery.

After getting off to a good start his sophomore season, the slender freestyle and individual medley swimmer from Newcastle, England, suffered a ruptured disk in November.

Defending IM champ Bradley Ally of Florida won in 1:44.45.

"Nolan and Andrew raced hard, and after qualifying 1-2 believed they could win," UT coach John Trembely said. "They just need a little more work. Morrell swam nine seconds faster than his best."

The Vols qualified five for scoring positions in the 50 freestyle. Senior Barry Murphy was the only finalist, finishing seventh in 20.11 as defending champion Cesar Cielo shattered his SEC record of 19.03 with an 18.91 swim. Cielo holds the NCAA record of 18.69.

The springboard wasn't as rewarding as it was on opening day. Michael Muscari finished 13th and Chris Davis 14th. Auburn's Kelly Marx scored 352.20 points on the 1-meter board.

The Vols finished second in the 200 freestyle relay as anchor Barry Murphy lifted the Vols from sixth place during his leg.

"We had to go without our usual anchor," Trembley said. "We had to hospitalize Octavio Alesi because of a sudden illness. "

Alesi, though not feeling well, finished 10th in the 50 freestyle race.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.