A Sophomore Surge at the SECs

Kailia Utley, Mercedes Traba lead the Dores on Day 3 of the conference championships

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Vanderbilt swimming was paced by a pair of sophomores as action continued Thursday at the SEC Championships being contested at the Rec Center Natatorium.

Kailia Utley and Mercedes Traba recorded the top individual finishes recorded by the Commodores over the first three days of the meet in the 100 butterfly and 400 individual medley, respectively. Ellie Taliaferro followed up a record-breaking performance on the opening night of the competition by leading Vandy in the 200 freestyle.

Their contributions paced an effort that once again saw the Dores post multiple season- and career-best performances.

“It was a pretty good morning for everybody, I’m really proud of how everyone is getting up and competing,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “Kailia had a great swim, she’s been working a lot this year on those little details and putting in extra work after practice. It’s all starting to come to fruition now and putting her in a really good spot to be successful moving forward.”

Meet Highlights
-Utley placed 29th in prelims of the 100 fly, missing qualification for the finals in the event by less than two-tenths of a second.
-Traba recorded a 34th-place finish as the Commodores’ lone entrant in the 400 IM in the opening event of the morning.
-Taliaferro touched the wall in 1:49.48 to lead Vandy in the 200 free.

Notes
-Utley remains ranked second on the Commodores’ all-time performer list after posting the best time of her career in the 100 fly.
-After touching the wall in 53.66 in the race, the sophomore became the first individual in the program to meet the NCAA B and CSCAA National Independent Championship A Standards this season.
-Not only did Traba post a season-best 4:20.11 time in the 400 IM, it was the fastest mark recorded in the event by a Dore in 2022-23.
-It’s also the fourth different event that the sophomore has met the B Standard for the NIC this season.
-Meredith DiPasquale now stands ninth on Vandy’s all-time performer list in the 100 fly after turning in a career-best 55.63 time.
-With times of 55.74 and 56.07, respectively, in the 100 fly, the duo of Alina Stout and Maddie Smith recorded new career-best marks in the event.
-Karsyn Cook (55.98), Kristen Nutter (56.25) and Jenna Ravarino (56.97) all posted season-best times in the 100 fly as well.
-The Commodores’ other three entrants in the 200 free—Ryen Bosuro (1:51.66), Kendall Hall (1:53.23) and Taylor Ward (1:53.30)—all had season-best times in the event.

The SEC Championships continue Friday with prelims in three events scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and finals set to get underway at 5:30 p.m.