Feb. 18, 2017
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After a successful day four in the pool, the Vanderbilt swim team looked to keep it going and finish the 2017 SEC Championships off on a high note. Saturday was the fifth and final day of SECs and the ‘Dores had a lot of swims in the morning prelims. The Commodores had 11 swimmers compete in the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, and 1650 freestyle prelims and had one relay team in the 400 freestyle relay final at night. At the end of the competition, head coach Jeremy Organ was pleased at how the week turned out.
“Thought we had a really great morning today,” said Organ. “We had three girls post lifetime bests this morning with many others throughout the week. Really proud of all the girls on the team, especially the six seniors.”
In the first event of the final morning prelims, the ‘Dores had four swimmers in the first two heats of the 200 backstroke. Kate Hornaday led the trio of Commodores in the first heat with a personal-best time of 2:02.86. Madeline Hunt finished right behind her also with a personal-best time of 2:03.45. Amanda Chabbott rounded out the ‘Dores in heat one with a time of 2:06.24.
Madison Eaker was the lone Commodore in the second heat of the 200 backstroke and posted a time of 2:00.87.
The next event of the morning prelims was the 100 freestyle and the ‘Dores had four swimmers in the first three heats. Kathryn Coughlin and Summer Brown swam in the first heat of the 100 free. Coughlin finished with a season-best time of 51.80 while Brown also posted a season-best time of 52.24.
Johanna Goldblatt swam in heat two of the 100 free. She finished with a personal-best time of 51.79. Goldblatt posted personal-best mark in both the 50 and 100 free during SECs.
Paige Hamilton was the final Commodore to swim in the 100 free prelims. She raced in heat three and finished with a time of 51.72.
The third event of the morning session was the 200 breaststroke. Kara Lucenti was the lone Commodore to compete and swam in the sixth and final heat. She finished with a time of 2:15.02 and just three spots out of qualifying for the finals race later this evening.
The final prelim event started in the afternoon and is the longest race of the championship, the 1650 freestyle. Kathryn Babbin and Selah Peacock were the Commodore swimmers in the event. Babbin swam in the first heat and finished with a time of 17:43.24. Peacock was in the next women’s heat and posted a time of 17:08.29.
The ‘Dores had one final swim at the 2017 SEC Championships. The relay team of Johanna Goldblatt, Paige Hamilton, Kathryn Coughlin, and Kayla Moran swam in the first heat of the 400 freestyle relay final and finished with a time of 3:25.81. At the end of the competition, the Vanderbilt swim team finished with 104 points and in 12th place.
This caps off the 2016-17 season for most Commodore swimmers. A few ‘Dores will travel next weekend to a Last Chance Meet to improve their times before NCAAs.
