University of Louisville
AAC Championships
Swimming and Diving Win AAC Championship
February 22, 2014 | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 22, 2014
The University of Louisville men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined to win eight races and both relays to sweep The American Athletic Conference Championships Saturday night in the Ralph Wright Nstatorium.
"I think we're well on our way to the national scene, and to try to do something special," said U of L head coach Arthur Albiero. "We are trying to reach new levels in the program that we haven't had before."
The Louisville men tallied 1072.5 for the win followed by SMU (768), UConn (683.5) and Cincinnati (535). The Louisville women boarded a 977, followed by SMU (624.5) Rutgers (572) UConn (459.5) Cincinnati (431) and Houston (337).
"I'm just really proud of the way they raced, especially tonight," said U of L head coach Arthur Albiero. "On the last night, seventh session, I've asked for a lot. They've given us a lot as a program, and today, the seniors were fantastic. They carried the weight from beginning to the end, and I'm very proud of this group. You understand how much work goes into this and to be able to celebrate for a few minutes, to me, it's to see the joy in our kids' faces. I know how hard they work and I know how much we ask of them on a daily basis. It's just a little glimpse of why we do this, why I coach. Today is a coronation of that process, and I'm excited for the things to come."
Senior Joao De Lucca was named Most Outstanding Men's Swimmer and Tanja Kylliainen was the Women's Most Outstanding Swimmer. Men's Most Outstanding Diver was SMU's Devin Burnett and the Women's Most Outstanding Diver went to Houston's Natasha Burgess. U of L coach Arthur Albiero was named the AAC Men's Coach of the Year and Rutgers coach Phil Spinello was the Women's Coach of the Year.
"This group of seniors has been special. They have been major catalysts to really continue to shift our program," said Albiero. "Through their work effort, through their leadership, and the way they demonstrated their performances tonight. Seniors stepping up across the board, and I'm proud of them and I'm happy for them. It leaves a legacy that I think is so important for us to continue to grow as a program."
In all, the Cardinals set five school records, seven pool records, had four NCAA A-cuts, nine NCAA Invited (2013) cuts and seven B-cuts.
"This is why we train and prepare the way we do, for tonight, this session," said Albiero. "For the fourth day in this situation, and they responded. Emotionally it was a fantastic evening with some great swims that have national implications, this is an important one. This is a group I believe has some great opportunities, and we're excited to see how far we can take it.
Here is a race-by-race recap:
In the grueling 1650-free, senior Carly Munchel, who hit the wall in 16:35.63 to win the mile and lead the U of L top three sweep. Freshman Abigail Houck touched second in 16:44.64 and Abigail Chin was third in 16:46.79.
Louisville sophomore Bryan Draganosky set a pool record in the men's mile with a B-cut time of 15:13.57 for the win. Freshman Jake Schultz was third in 15:31.89.
In platform diving, Sean Piner finished third with a 313.50 behind winner Devin Burnett and Hayden Hodges of SMU.
In the 200-back,Erica Belcher was third as the top Cardinal finisher, posting a B-cut time of 1:56.35. Kristina Steins was fourth with another B-cut time of 1:56.93. Cardinal freshman Mackenzie Buss was sixth in 1:59.39.
In the men's 200-back, freshman Grigory Tarasevich put up the eighth fastest time in the nation with an NCAA Invite time of 1:41.50 which was also a pool record. Fellow freshman Aaron Greene touched second, going 1:43.44 and sophomore Nolan Tesone was third in 1:43.57, both were B-cuts.
In the women's 100-free, Kelsi Worrell set a pool record and a NCAA invite time of 48.47 for the win. Seniors Krissie Brandenburg (50.15) and Breann McDowell (50.29) were sixth and seventh.
Senior Joao De Lucca set a school and pool record and got an NCAA A-cut with a 41.95 with the win from lane 2 in the 100-free. It was the second fastest time in the country. Teammate Caryle Blondell was second in 42.72 an NCAA Invite time. Matthias Lindenbauer made it a sweep with a B-cut time of 43.91 in a hotly contested final lap.
In the women's 200-breast, Andrea Cottrell was the top finisher with a third place finish and NCAA Invite time of 2:10.81. There was just seven-tenths of a second between SMU's Tara Nicholas' winning time of 2:10.10 which was also a pool record. Senior Gisselle Kohoyda was fourth in 2:11.97 and an NCAA Invite time.
The Cardinals took the top three spots in the men's 200-breast, led by U of L senior Kameron Chastain, who posted a pool record and NCAA invite time of 1:54.68. Thomas Dahlia was second with time of 1:54.74 and Addison Bray completed the 1-2-3 sweep with a 1:55.73 and both were NCAA Invite times from 2013.
Tanja Kylliainen clocked the fourth fastest time in the nation with an A-cut time of 1:53.94 which resets her own school record. Teammate Devon Bibault was second in 1:57.34, also an invite time.
The Cardinal men had another sweep when they took the top three spots in the 200-fly led by Josh Quallen's 1:45.29. Juan Lopez was second in 1:47.29 with David Boland into the wall in 1:47.71.
In women's platform diving, Andrea Acquista finished third with a score of 245.65. Alessandra Murphy was fourth with a 240.95, Emily Stalmack was fifth posting a 224.35 and Maddy Ingmire boarded a 204.90 for seventh.
In the women's 400-free relay, Kelsi Worrell's leadoff leg split of 48.29 reset her school record that she had set earlier in the evening for a pool and school record NCAA A-cut time of 3:16.15. Tanja Kylliainen split 49.77, followed by Krissie Brandenburg's 49.02 and an anchor of 49.07 by Breann McDowell.
Not to be outdone, the Cardinal men put up an A-cut, pool and school record in their 400-free relay win. Joao De Lucca led off with a split of 42.04, followed by Caryle Blondell's 41.96. Next in the water was Matthias Lindenbauer who went 43.31 and Thomas anchored in 49.07.
Men's Swimming Coach of the Year Arthur Albiero, Louisville
Women's Swimming Coach of the Year Phil Spinello, Rutgers
Men's Diving Coach of the Year Jim Stillson, SMU
Women's Diving Coach of the Year Yulia Pakhalina, Houston
Men's Most Outstanding Swimmer Joao De Lucca, Louisville, Sr. Women's Most Outstanding Swimmer Tanja Kylliainen, Louisville, Jr.
Men's Most Outstanding Diver Devin Burnett, SMU, Jr.
Women's Most Outstanding Diver Natasha Burgess, Houston, Jr.
Men's Team Standings 1 Louisville 1072.5 2 SMU 768 3 UConn 683.5 4 Cincinnati 535
Women's Team Standings 1 Louisville 977 2 SMU 624.5 3 Rutgers 572 4 UConn 459.5 5 Cincinnati 431 6 Houston 337
Players Mentioned
