Strong Start For Arkansas On Day One

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Arkansas swimming and diving team got off to a strong start Friday evening, winning the first six swimming events in Nashville, while diving is competing at Clemson. Following the first day of swimming, Arkansas holds a solid lead over Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt (117-50) and the Houston Cougars (111-56).

Of the nine events on day one, Arkansas finished with seven total victories – five individual and two relays. Two of those victories came on season-best times as Aiden Lister took the 1000 freestyle title with a time of 10:09.88, which is also a lifetime best. Chelsea Tatlow recorded a season best with her 2:01.98 performance in the 200 butterfly. Tatlow also touched first in the 100 backstroke in a time of 55.98.

The other two individual victories were by Jessie Garrison (1:51.97) in the 200 freestyle and Madison Strathman (1:03.78) in the 100 breaststroke.

The quartet of Natalie Burnett, Sarah Chambliss, Olivia Weekley and Erin Kelly opened the meet winning the 200 freestyle relay in a time of 1:36.09, the fourth fastest time by Arkansas this year. In the only other relay of the day, Tatlow, Strathman, Weekley and Kelly won the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:48.35.

In all, Tatlow acquired three total victories on the day, while Strathman, Weekley and Kelly collected two each.

“I thought the ladies competed well today. It was great to see Aiden Lister, Chelsea Tatlow, Jessie Garrison and Madison Strathman step up and lead the team by winning their individual events today,” said head coach Neil Harper. “The team complemented those wins with many second and third place finishes, also. Winning both relays provided the start we needed and finished the day strong. Tomorrow will be a key test for us. We need to be confident on a day two and continue to perform as a great team with everyone executing race plans and improved technique.”

At Clemson, Nicole Gillis performed well in the 1m and platform dives, recording NCAA Zone scores and second place finishes in both events with a score of 294.40 and 237.15, respectively. Her platform result was a season-high and marked the highest score by a Razorback in the event this season, as well as the first zone qualifying score of the year in the platform.


Diving competition will pick back up on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. CT from Clemson. Team diving scores will be calculated tomorrow. Swimming will begin at 11 a.m. CT from Nashville.

Diving Event Schedule (Clemson, South Carolina)
3m Springboard

Swimming Event Schedule (Nashville, Tennessee)
200 Medley Relay
400 IM
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Butterfly
500 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
400 Freestyle Relay

For more information on Arkansas Swimming and Diving, follow @RazorbackSD on Twitter.