Arkansas Wraps Up Day One In Knoxville
3m Prelim Results | Tuesday’s Finals Results
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Arkansas swimming and diving team concluded the first day of competition at the 2017 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Tuesday.
“The highlight today was Nicole Gillis making the 3m final,” head coach Neil Harper said. “It was good to see the other three divers make some progress. We had a tough break in the 200 medley relay. We had a couple of good splits but it was disappointing. However, we bounced back well in the 800 free relay. All four girls had best times, great splits and it was a successful relay for us. It was a good way to finish the first day and we look forward to the first full day of competition on Wednesday.”
Junior diver Nicole Gillis started the day with a strong performance on the 3m springboard during afternoon prelims. Gillis posted a score of 321.10 to place seventh and earn a spot in the evening finals.
In the finals, Gillis notched her three best rounds of the day (65.80, 62.10 and 61.50) but her second round score of 39.20 set her back. She finished sixth in the event with a score of 336.80, the second highest score by an Arkansas diver this season. Her prelim (321.10) and final (336.80) scores both qualified for NCAA Zones, increasing her 3m total this year to eight. Gillis now owns the top-six 3m dives on the team this season.
Sophomore Marissa Green finished 29th (260.55), freshman Caroline Welch claimed 33rd (247.30) and sophomore Molly Harvie placed 35th (239.20).
In the 200 medley relay, the quartet of Natalie Burnett, Madison Strathman, Olivia Weekley and Kiera Michailoff-Russell were disqualified, as were three other teams, on an error in the third exchange.
In the final event of the day, the team of freshman Ayumi Macias, junior Chelsea Tatlow, senior Aiden Lister and junior Jessie Garrison finished 10th in the 800 freestyle relays with a time of 7:10.12, the fourth fastest time in school history.
Competition will pick back up on Wednesday as swimming prelims begin at 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET with the prelims for the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and 1m springboard.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WEDNESDAY
Prelims (9 a.m.)
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
Diving Prelims (12 p.m.)
Women’s 1-meter
Finals (5 p.m.)
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
Women’s 1-meter
THURSDAY
Prelims (9 a.m.)
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
Finals (5 p.m.)
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
FRIDAY
Prelims (9 a.m.)
200 Butterfly
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
Diving Prelims (12 p.m.)
Platform
Finals (5 p.m.)
200 Butterfly
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
SATURDAY
Prelims (9 a.m.)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
1650 Freestyle Prelims (TBD)
Finals (5 p.m.)
1650 Freestyle (Final Heat)
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
For more information on Arkansas Swimming and Diving, follow @RazorbackSD on Twitter.