Seniors go out with a splash

Several of the seven seniors on the Tennessee men's swimming and diving team came from as far as the West Coast or Europe.

The whole group has also been on a lengthy journey returning the Vols to the upper echelon of the SEC.

"The seniors as a group came to Tennessee when we were down," said UT coach John Trembley. "But these kids saw something here they wanted."

According to Trembley, the group had arrived as freshmen in 2005 at a time when an accidental bookkeeping error resulted in sanctions that limited the number of scholarships. As a result, the 2005 team finished only sixth in the SEC meet and 17th in the NCAA, Trembley's worst finish since he became coach in 1988.

Since the current seniors' arrival, the team finished fourth in the SEC twice and third last year.

"They have evolved a lot and now we have all our scholarships back and we are ranked No. 4 in the country," said Trembley.

Saturday at 11 a.m. at Allan Jones Aquatic Center, the Vols will see their ranking tested as they try to beat No. 9-ranked Georgia for the first time since 2002.

Trembley believes the two teams are close enough in ability that the meet should be quite entertaining for fans.

"People will say, 'I wish I was there,''' he said.

In addition to excitement, the event is expected to have a little sentimentality, as it is the last home meet for seniors Stephen Fortney of California, Greg Houchin of Nashville, Nolan Morrell of Oregon, Barry Murphy of Ireland, Jonas Persson of Sweden, Andrew Thirlwell of England, and Scott Wherry of Georgia.

At least one of the seniors, Murphy, an All-American, is starting to realize the significance of the day.

"I feel like we already had a lot of last meets in the old pool (Student Aquatic Center), and this is our real last meet," he said. "It is going to be a strange feeling."

Trembley became noticeably emotional as he reflected on the seven seniors.

Morrell and Swedish Olympian Persson are All-Americans, Trembley said, while the others have shown to be All-American in the area of desire.

For example, Fortney and Houchin have been able to contribute despite being much shorter than the ideal swimmer, Trembley said.

Also, Thirlwell has overcome a serious back injury, and Wherry has recently found his niche as a sprinter after originally coming to UT as a distance swimmer.

After today's meet, Trembley plans to have the seniors climb up to the catwalk of the Jones Center to sign their names as part of a new tradition he has dubbed "Ghosts in the Rafters."

The team would also love to go to the top of the facility to hang an SEC championship banner.

"We don't like to talk about goals but we know what we want to do," Murphy said.