Tag: swimming and diving

UNC diver Vazquez Montano wins Silver at World Aquatic Championships

Aranza Vazquez Montano, a diver at UNC, won two individual medals and helped win a team medal at the World Aquatic Championships this week.

The college sports season is just a month away, with fans anticipating the start of football, volleyball, soccer and field hockey season.

There’s plenty to be excited about if you’re a UNC fan, particularly around the Drake Maye-led football team coming off an appearance in the ACC Championship Game.

Carolina fans should also be excited about one of its Winter athletes.

Diver Aranza Vazquez Montano, a rising senior, claimed her second medal of the 2023 World Aquatic Championships on Tuesday by winning silver in diving’s mixed three-meter and 10-meter team event.

Vazquez helped Mexico score 455.35 points in its second-place, 10-meter team finish. She won her first medal earlier that day, finishing third in the one-meter springboard competition.

There was another Tar Heel connection in the competition, as former diver Anton Down-Jenkins helped New Zealand to a 13th-place finish.

Vazquez will have a few more chances to add onto her medal total, as the Championships run until Sunday, July 30. She can compete in Wednesday’s 10-meter Women’s Platform event, two 3-Meter Springboard events on Thursday, a 3-meter Springboard event on Friday and a 3-meter Springboard Mixed Synchro event on Saturday.

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Ten Lady Vols qualify for NCAA swim championships

Ten Lady Vols qualify for NCAA swim championships.

Ten Lady Vol swimmers have qualified for the NCAA Swimming and Diving  Championships.

The event will be held March 15-16 at Tennessee’s Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

Mona McSharry, Jasmine Fuller and Sara Stotler each qualified in three events. Elle Caldow, Brooklyn Douthwright, Kate McCarville, Julia Mrozinski and Kristen Stipe each made the national field in two events.

Claire Nguyen and Alyssa Bresnan each qualified for the 1,650 freestyle.

McSharry is slated to compete in the 100 breaststroke, the 200 breaststroke and the 50 freestyle.

Fuller will compete in the 200 individual medley, the 200 backstroke and the 100 backstroke, while Stotler qualified for the 200 butterfly, the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly.

Caldow will compete in the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle.

Douthwright qualified for both the 200 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, while McCarville and Stipe both made the field 500 freestyle and the 1,650 freestyle.

Mrozinski qualified 200 and 500 freestyle events.

Gators swim coach Katie Ledecky wins AP Female Athlete of the Year award

It’s safe to say Katie Ledecky’s move to Florida has paid off as she claims her second AP Female Athlete of the Year award.

Swimming star [autotag]Katie Ledecky[/autotag], who trained and coached at the University of Florida this year, was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

Ledecky joined Florida’s swim staff as a volunteer coach in September 2021 after spending time at Stanford, where she competed and earned a psychology degree. Although the move across the country was big, Ledecky has little to no regrets regarding it.

“It’s been a lot of fun every day,” Ledecky said. “This is the right place for me to be at this point in my career. I’m training really well and learning a lot along the way.”

Since moving to Gainesville, Ledecky has done plenty of winning. She finished first in the 800-meter freestyle by more than 10 seconds at this year’s world aquatics championship, won the 1,500 free by more than 15 seconds, earned gold in the 400 free and won the 4×200 free relay with the U.S. team. She also claimed two more world records in the short-course 800 and 1,500 before the year ended.

The move to Florida has also brought out some competitiveness in Ledecky, not that she lacked any motor before. Practicing with the men’s team has opened her up to the world of trash talk, and she’s finally found her footing in her new environment.

“Guys are guys,” she said. “They love to trash-talk with each other. “I’ll poke a little fun at some of the guys, give them a little push here and there. I’m definitely pretty comfortable in this environment now.”

Ledecky doesn’t plan on slowing down, either. She’s currently focused on the 2024 Olympic games in Paris and expects to compete in the 2028 games in Los Angeles. By then, she’ll be 31, and learning how to keep her body fresh as she gets older is one of her major lessons from Florida coach Anthony Nesty.

There’s plenty left to be written in the book of Ledecky, and her time at the University of Florida could play a major part in keeping her on top of the swimming world. This is the second time she has received the AP honor, but no one should count on it being the last.

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Joe Hendee set for induction into Greater Knoxville Area Sports Hall of Fame

Longest tenured coach in UT history to be inducted into Greater Knoxville Area Sports Hall of Fame.

University of Tennessee’s longest tenured coach in its history will be inducted into the Greater Knoxville Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Joe Hendee, who died of cancer in 2011, was an assistant coach for the Vols’ swimming and diving teams, beginning his career as a graduate assistant.

During his tenure, Hendee coached under Ray Bussard and John Trembley. During that stint, Tennessee had a 177-32 dual meet record.

Hendee coached on three SEC championship teams and one national title team. He also coached three Olympic gold medalists and more than 100 All-America athletes.

Hendee was also a coach and manager for Team USA in many meets, including the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

He was inducted into the Tennessee Swimming Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Greater Knoxville Area Interclub Swimming Association Hall of Fame in 2010.

The Greater Knoxville Area Sports Hall of Fame will host its induction ceremony Aug. 25.

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Meet the nominees for All-USA Today HSSA Boys Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Year

These 24 standouts will be honored as nominees for national Softball Player of the Year.

The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards is pleased to announce the 2021-22 All-USA TODAY HSSA Boys Swimming & Diving Team!

These 24 standouts will be honored as nominees for national Softball Player of the Year. The winner and three finalists will be revealed on July 31 during an on-demand broadcast. This year will feature top athletes in 29 boys and girls sports awards categories as well as special honors like Special Olympics Athlete of the Year, Rising Star and Play of the Year. 

All national nominees must register to provide show information and receive important updates regarding the show. To register, click on the “REGISTER” button on the event website.

Here are the nominees…

2021-22 All-USA TODAY HSSA Boys Swimming & Diving:

Charley Bayer

East Grand Rapids High School (Michigan) — SR

Drew Bennett

Madison Memorial High School (Wisconsin) — SR

Michael Cotter

Green Hope High School (North Carolina) — SR

Charlie Crosby

Breck High School (Minnesota) — SR

Charlie Crush

St. Xavier High School (Kentucky) — SR

Liam Custer

Riverview High School (Florida) — SR

Andres Dupont Cabrera

Bolles School (Florida) — SR

Alec Filipovic

Saint Charles North High School (Illinois) — SR

Connor Foote

Alamo Heights High School (Texas) — SR

Landon Gentry

Patriot High School (Virginia) — SR

Roman Jones

Pingry School (New Jersey) — JR

Dawson Joyce

Seminole High School (Florida) — SR

Ryan Malicki

Carmel High School (Indiana) — SR

Rex Maurer

Loyola High School (California) — JR

Quintin McCarty

Discovery Canyon High School (Colorado) — SR

Kevin Mendez

Pine Crest School (Florida) — SR

Will Modglin

Zionsville Community High School (Indiana) — JR

Baylor Nelson

Community School of Davidson (North Carolina) — SR

Sam Powe

McCallie School (Tennessee) — SR

Will Scholtz

St. Xavier High School (Kentucky) — JR

Sebastien Sergile

Centennial High School (Georgia) — SR

Joshua Thai

Alhambra High School (California) — SR

Max Weinrich

Sherwood High School (Maryland) — SR

Josh Zuchowski

King’s Academy (Florida) — SR

Ranking Tennessee’s top-five sports championships during 2021-22 academic year

Ranking Tennessee’s top-five sports championships during the 2021-22 academic year.

The University of Tennessee competes in the following NCAA sanctioned sports: Baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, track and field/cross country, and volleyball.

Tennessee also competes in club-level sports.

The Vols’ baseball contest against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament Knoxville Super Regional concluded competition for Tennessee teams during the 2021-22 academic year.

Tennessee’s 2022-23 academic year competition is slated to begin Aug. 20 with the Lady Vols’ exhibition volleyball match against Belmont.

Tennessee claims 2021-22 USA TODAY Network SEC Overall All-Sports championship

Vols Wire ranks the top-five sports championships at the University of Tennessee during the 2021-22 academic year. Rankings are listed below.

Lady Vols win swim meet at Vanderbilt

Lady Vols win swim meet at Vanderbilt.

The Lady Vols’ swim team defeated Vanderbilt Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.

No. 6 Tennessee defeated the Commodores, 207-58, at Centennial Sportsplex.

The Lady Vols won all 14 events.

In the 500 freestyle, Claire Nguyen claimed victory with a time of 4:50.33. Lauren Wetherell was second (4:52.20) and Summer Eaker was third (4:59.73).

Wetherell won the 1,000 freestyle, posting a time of 10:00.47, a personal best time in the event. Eaker touched the wall in second with a mark of 10:06.29.

Nguyen also posted a victory in the 200 fly (2:01.63).

Emma Carlton won the 100 fly (54.40) and the 100 back (53.67).

Olivia Harper won the 200 back (1:59.97) and finished second in the 100 back (55.44).

The Lady Vols swept the 200 back as Ellie Caldow finished second and Danika Katzer claimed third.

Alexandra Gebel led UT with three individual wins on the day. She posted victories in the breaststroke events and the 200 individual medley race.

Five Tennessee swimmers earn SEC weekly awards

Five Tennessee swimmers earn SEC weekly awards.

Five University of Tennessee aquatic athletes have earned Southeastern Conference weekly honors.

Anna-Julia Kutsch and Lyubomir Epitropov were named SEC Swimmers of the Week. Josephine Fuller and Jordan Crooks were each named Freshman of the Week as the Vols and Lady Vols swept Duke and Queens University.

Diver Bryden Hattie was named the SEC’s Co-Diver of the week after his performance in the UT Diving Invitational at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatics Center.

Kutsch was named SEC Female Swimmer of the Week after she won the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. She was also a member of two Lady Vols’ relay teams that posted top times.

Epitropopov, a transfer from East Carolina, claimed weekly honors as he won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:00.55 and took second in the 100 breaststroke (54.89).

Fuller, the SEC’s Female Freshman of the Week, accounted for three victories and a third-place finish for the Lady Vols against Duke and Queens.

She won the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke events and was a member of UT’s “C” team in the 200 free relay team that took third.

Crooks was named Male Freshman of the Week after he won the 100 freestyle and took second in the 50 freestyle. He also helped UT take second in both the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay.

Hattie was named Male Co-Diver of the Week after his performance at the UT Invitational as he swept the platform events.

Gators News: Volleyball continues to roll, men’s basketball and swimming on tap

A look at the latest sports news from around the Gator Nation.

The weekend is nearly in sight as we pass the midway point of the week and for today’s Gators sports update, we have three teams to review. The volleyball team continued its winning ways on Wednesday night while the swimming and diving team returns to the pool for a mid-November invite and the men’s basketball team gets set to host its third game of the nascent season. Take a look at the latest from the greatest university in the nation.

Gators News: A few Florida sports on tap for the upcoming weekend

Take a look at all of the action around the Gator Nation this weekend.

The weekend is nearly here and with it comes a slate of sports to keep Gator Nation satiated for the next few days. On tap, we have volleyball’s big win last night, plus both the men’s and women’s tennis teams are in action while the women’s basketball team warms up for the season with an exhibition game. Unfortunately, the swimming and diving team had its dual meet canceled, but there is still the football game scheduled for Saturday night. It should be a fun weekend for Florida fans, so let us dive right into things.