University of Georgia
SEC Championships (finals)
Smoliga, Clark Earn SEC Titles For Georgia
February 17, 2017 | Swimming & Diving
Head Coach Jack Bauerle and title winners Pace Clark and Olivia Smoliga recap the fourth day of SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
Feb. 17, 2017
Photo Gallery 
Friday's Results 
Saturday's Prelims
1,650 Heat Sheets
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- Olivia Smoliga and Pace Clark earned individual titles to highlight Georgia's showing in the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Friday.
After four days of competition, both Georgia squads remain in second place. The Bulldogs have 788 points, trailing Florida's 929.5. The Lady Bulldogs have accumulated 843 and are behind only Texas A&M's 961.
Smoliga claimed the women's 100 backstroke for the third straight year as she reached the wall in 50.60. Her time lowered the pool record of 51.10 she set during prelims on Friday. Chelsea Britt placed eighth in 53.02, followed by Katherine Parker in 10th in 52.97, Kylie Stewart in 12th in 53.18 and Chantal Van Landeghem in 17th in 53.36.
"Winning the 100 backstroke is a great feeling," Smoliga said. "It didn't feel good as it was happening, but it feels so good now. The last 25 really shows what you have. I saw Hannah (Stevens of Missouri) flip before me on the third wall, so I closed as fast as I could. That's going to be a fun race at NCAAs. ... As a team, I think we're showing how tough we are, especially at this point in the training. We're going to give it all we have and leave it all in the pool."
Clark won the men's 200 butterfly with a time of 1:40.87, breaking the pool record of 1:41.01 set by Dylan Bosch of South Africa in 2013. Chase Kalisz, the 2015 champion, took third in 1:41.03, followed by Gunnar Bentz (1:43.06) in fifth, Mick Litherland (1:43.36) in seventh, Powell Brooks (1:44.07) in 12th and Blake Atmore (1:45.74) in 24th.
"Going into my last SEC individual swim, that's what I wanted to do," Clark said. "Training with all of those guys and getting to race them at the end was great. Jack (Bauerle) trains us to get home, so I put my head down and went for it."
In the women's 200 butterfly, Britt came in second in 1:52.72, posting the second-fastest time in school history. Megan Kingsley placed third for the second year in a row in 1:54.80, while Caitlin Casazza claimed 12th in 1:57.56.
Taylor Dale placed third in the men's 100 backstroke as he reached the wall in 45.48, while Javier Acevedo won the consolation final for ninth in 46.55.
Casazza won the C final in the women's 100 breaststroke in 1:01.82 to come in 17th, followed by Lexi Glunn in 18th with a time of 1:01.87.
In the men's 100 breaststroke, James Guest placed 13th in 53.14, John Mattern took 15th in 53.66 and Colin Monaghan came in 20th in 54.14.
McKensi Austin finished 20th in women's platform diving with 229.15 points.
The women's 400 medley relay of Smoliga, Emily Cameron, Britt and Van Landeghem placed second with a time of 3:30.11.
The men's 400 medley relay of Dale, Kalisz, Clark and Acevedo finished fifth in 3:06.76.
The SECs will conclude on Saturday with the 1,650 freestyle, the 200 backstroke, the 100 freestyle, the 200 breaststroke, the 400 freestyle relay and men's platform diving. Swimming prelims will begin at 10 a.m., followed by diving prelims at 1 p.m. Heats in the 1,650 freestyle will start at 2:40 p.m. Finals will open at 6 p.m. All sessions can be viewed on SEC Network+.
A recap of the men's championship will air on Monday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m. on ESPNU, followed by the women's championship recap at 5:30 p.m., also on ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
