Cardinals Host Tennessee for Top-25 Matchup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's and women's swimming and diving teams are back in action for a top-25 matchup as they host Tennessee on Thursday, Oct. 24. The meet will begin at 2 p.m. at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.

About the Cardinals
The Cardinal women won the SMU Classic for the second-straight year, narrowly defeating No. 13 Auburn by two points. Throughout the two-day competition, Louisville won three events and collected 11 NCAA "B" cuts. Grace Oglesby had a stellar performance in Dallas, winning the 100 butterfly in the third-fastest time in the nation as well as the 200 butterfly with the fastest time in the country so far this season. She was named ACC Swimmer of the Week ending on Oct. 13.

Both the men's and women's teams started the season off with a win during the home opener against Xavier. The UofL men won 14 out of 16 events to post a 177-81 victory over the Musketeers while the women took the top spot in every race to win 194-62. Maria Sumida was a triple-event winner for the Cardinals, racing to first in the 1000 freestyle, 200 backstroke, and 200 individual medley. On the men's side, Jack Wever won the 100 backstroke and led the Cardinal sweep of the 200 backstroke.

History was made last season for the Cardinals as they became the first ACC program in history to have both its men's and women's teams finish among the top-five in the team standings at the NCAA Championships in the same year. The women's team recorded their highest finish in program history with a fourth-place showing at NCAAs while the men's team finished a program-high fifth place. The Cardinal men were the team runners-up at the ACC Championships and the women secured third place.

Scouting the Volunteers
Led by seniors Erika Brown and Meghan Small, the 15th-ranked Lady Vols are fresh off a big win over No. 2 Virginia this past weekend. Brown was victorious in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 butterfly, throwing down nation-leading times in all three events. Small was also a triple-event winner against the Cavaliers, taking the top spot in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, and 200 individual medley.

The 16th-ranked Volunteer men also defeated the fourth-ranked Cavaliers behind a strong performance from senior Alec Connolly, who won the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle for the sixth and third fastest times in the country, respectively. Senior Taylor Abbott also posted a pair of wins in the 500 freestyle and 1000 freestyle with times that currently rank in the top-10 nationally.

The Lady Vols earned 25 All-American honors at the 2019 NCAA Championships en route to finishing eighth overall in the team standings while the Volunteer men finished 11th for the second-consecutive year. Tennessee earned a combined total of 10 gold medals at last year's SEC Championships as the men finished third and the women placed fourth.

Last year's meeting
It was a close dual meet last year against the Volunteers, but the Cardinals used impressive depth to secure the team sweep by winning a combined 20 events. The Louisville women won 155-145 and the men earned a 156-144 victory.

Sophie Cattermole and Arina Openysheva put together a one-two finish in the 1000 freestyle and finished second and third, respectively, in the 500 freestyle. Mariia Astashkina got her hands to the wall first in both breaststroke events as Oglesby won the 200 butterfly and was the runner-up in the 100 butterfly. On the boards, Molly Fears swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter.

On the men's side, Andrej Barna grabbed crucial points for the Cardinals by taking the top of the podium in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. The 200 individual medley went to Jarrett Jones, who also took third in the 200 freestyle behind event winner Colton Paulson. Nicolas Albiero raced to first in the 200 backstroke and was second in the 100 backstroke.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nicolas Albiero

Mariia Astashkina

Andrej Barna

Sophie Cattermole

Molly Fears

Jarrett Jones

Grace Oglesby

Arina Openysheva

Colton Paulson

Maria Sumida

Jack Wever

University of Louisville Athletics