NCAA Championships
Swimming
ATHENS, Ga. — Kailia Utley led Vanderbilt swimming on Day 4 of the SEC Championships with a return to finals on Friday at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
One night after making the C Final in the 100 fly, the senior advanced to the 200 fly B Final on the next-to-last day of the competition. The Commodores were paced in two other events in the morning—the 100 back and 100 breast—by a pair of freshmen, Aubrey Hull and Emily Constable.
“We had a really good day overall, capping the night with that relay that had four good swims and was just a little bit off the record. But we were happy with each individual swim that added up to that,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “I was pleased with the day, of course having Kailia in the B Final — that means a lot to the program and is a testament to everything she’s done. There was a lot of learning today, the freshmen had a lot of nerves to get through but those two are going to have a lot success in future years. There was a little road bump in the morning, but they came back tonight and had some great swims.
“We’re looking forward to what comes tomorrow.”
The meet will conclude on Saturday, with prelims in the 200 back, 100 free and 200 breast getting underway at 8:30 a.m. CT.
Meet Highlights
-Utley posted the 10th-fastest mark in 200 fly qualifying to make the B Final.
-Hull and Quinlan Hinerfeld followed by both finishing among the top 40 in prelims of the 100 back.
-Constable was also among the top 40 overall in 100 breast prelims.
-Utley opened the meet’s night session by placing fifth in the B Final of the 200 fly.
-In the 400 medley relay, the team of Hull, Constable, Utley and Reagan Mathieson defeated Arkansas while posting a season-best time.
Notes
-It’s the fourth time in as many seasons that Utley has advanced to finals of the 200 fly at the SEC Championships, and the second year in a row that she has reached the B Final.
-After posting a 1:55.32 mark in prelims of the event, she broke her own school standard set last March in the same pool at the Bulldog NCAA Qualifying Meet.
-The Dores’ 400 medley relay team didn’t just post a time more than 10 seconds faster than the previous best mark of the season, it missed tying the school record in the event by .01 seconds.
-With a 54.42 time, Hinerfeld moved up to fourth on Vandy’s all-time performer list in the 100 back.
-Madelyn Porter was the first Commodore to record a career-low time on the day after finishing the 200 fly in 2:02.54; not only was it the third morning in a row the sophomore has achieved the feat, she missed entering the top 10 all-time at Vandy by less than a quarter of a second.
-Both Megan Ciezczak and Olivia Solimine recorded career-best marks in 100 back prelims after touching the wall in 55.10 and 57.34, respectively.
-A trio of Dores—Taylor Carey (1:03.62), Liv Gooding (1:03.71) and Amelia Harper (1:04.21)—posted career-low times in the opening heat of the 100 breast in the morning.
-After finishing the 200 fly in a season-low 2:03.30, Meredith DiPasquale achieved the CSCAA National Invitational Championship B standard in the event for the first time in 2024-25.
-Vandy also had three individuals put together season-best swims in prelims of the 100 back: Libby Gilbert (55.66), Hannah Weissman (56.53) and Grace Ciaramitaro (57.14).
