Feb. 16, 2010
SEC Swimming & Diving Championship Central
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt swimming and diving team returns to the pool this week after an 11-day layoff as they travel to Athens, Ga., for the 2010 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. The meet will be held Feb. 17-20 at the Gabrielson Natatorium on the campus of University of Georgia.
The Commodores (2-8, 0-4 SEC) will look to continue its recent trend of swimming its best times of the year at the conference meet. Last year, Vanderbilt notched five school records in addition to 17 swimmers setting new personal records at the SEC meet. Head coach Jeremy Organ has said this year’s team is deeper than previous year’s and that they are looking forward to competing this week.
“I think we have the potential to set seven-eight school records at the conference meet,” head coach Jeremy Organ said earlier in the week.
Freshman freestyler, Erika Deardorf is one of the many Commodores that have made an immediate impact in the pool during her first year of collegiate swimming. Deardorf holds the school records in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:14.87) and 1650-yard freestyle (17:02.98).
Fellow freshmen Chelsea Morey and Jess Eccher will try to set the VU school record in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke this week after flirting with the times during the regular season.
The sophomore tandem of Dillon and Voss as well as freshman Sarah Lynch will look to continue their strong seasons this week as they will likely compete in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. Dillon has posted three first-place finishes in the 200-breaststroke while Voss and Lynch have put together solid seasons.
Amy Salce and Ellen Kilgore will likely compete in the 1000 and 1650-yard freestyle while Rose Cornelson and Betsy Galenti will swim in the backstroke and shorter freestyle events.
Despite having one of the youngest Division I teams in the country with 15 underclassmen and only four upperclassmen, the ‘Dores are looking forward to the difficult challenge of competing against the best swimmers in the country in Athens this week.
The 2010 SEC Championships will mark the final collegiate meet of Vanderbilt’s lone senior, Jess Cohen. Earlier this week, Cohen was selected to the SEC Swimming and Diving Community Service Team for the second straight year.
Click the links at the top of the page for full coverage on the 2010 SEC Swimming and Diving Page.
Additional Coverage
The 2010 Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will be more extensive than ever due to the television agreement with ESPN. ESPNU will air two, 90-minute shows, the first for men’s championship coverage and the second for women’s. “SEC Weekly” on ESPNU, airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT, will also incorporate preview pieces, athlete profiles, and event recaps in their shows leading up to and after the championships.