LSU women, Texas A&M men lead after Day One

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (February 14, 2023) - The LSU women and the Texas A&M men have the early lead after the first day at the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, held at Texas A&M's Rec Center Natatorium.

In the men's 1-meter, Texas A&M earned two podium finishes as Victor Povzner took the top spot with a final score of 375.50 and teammate Rhett Hensley placed third with a score of 343.60. Bryden Hattie of Tennessee came in second place with a score of 364.40.

Alabama won the women's 200 medley relay for the third consecutive year as Rhyan White, Avery Wiseman, Emily Jones and Kalia Antoniou set the pool record with their time of 1:34.20. Florida finished second with a time of 1:34.76, followed by Tennessee in third with a time of 1:35.53. LSU's Maggie MacNeil swam the fastest 50 back in history with her leadoff mark of 22.52 for the Tigers.

Tennessee claimed the men's 200 medley relay with an SEC record time of 1:21.43 by Bjoern Kammann, Michael Houlie, Jordan Crooks and Guilherme Santos. Crooks swam the fastest 50 fly in history with his split of 18.90. Florida placed second with a time of 1:21.73, and Auburn finished third with a time of 1:22.98.

Brooke Schultz of South Carolina won her fourth overall title in the women's 3-meter, posting a final score of 356.35. Fellow Gamecock Sophie Verzyl was runner-up with a score of 349.65, and LSU's Chiara Pellacani finished third with a score of 341.85.

In the women's 800 free relay, Florida won its first title in the event since 2005 as Ekaterina Nikonova, Talia Bates, Emma Weyant and Micayla Cronk posted the top time of 6:57.11. Tennessee finished second with a time of 6:58.26, while Georgia placed third with a time of 6:58.90.

Closing out the first day, Florida defended its title in the men's 800 free relay, with Macguire McDuff, Julian Smith, Alfonso Mestre and Jake Mitchell combining for a pool record time of 6:08.64. Auburn was second with a time of 6:12.39 and Alabama finished third with a time of 6:12.46.

Day two of the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships begins on Wednesday, February 15 at 9:30 a.m. CT with the prelims for the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and the women's 1-meter. The finals of the 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and the women's 1-meter will start at 5:30 p.m. CT. Both sessions can be viewed on SEC Network+.