ATHENS, Ga. -- Top-ranked Florida continues to hold the team lead at the 2014 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, heading into the final day at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of Georgia.
The final day of the 2014 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships begins at 10 a.m. EST Saturday with the prelims and 4 p.m. with the finals.
Florida holds the team lead with 1097.5 total points, while No. 10 Auburn is second with 1017.5 points and Georgia is third with 806 points.
After winning the 200-meter freestyle Thursday night, Florida’s Sebastien Rousseau returned to win the 200 butterfly in an SEC-record time of 1:41.07. He becomes the first athlete to win both those titles in the same year since teammate Marcin Cieslak did so in 2012. Rousseau broke the SEC record of 1:41.35, set by Georgia’s Mark Dylla in 2011. Georgia’s Chase Kalisz was second in 1:41.74, while Cieslak was third in 1:41.75.
Auburn’s Kyle Darmody won his team’s third consecutive SEC 100 backstroke title after Kyle Owens was victorious in 2012 and 2013. Darmody clocked a winning time of 45.66 in the event. Georgia’s Taylor Dale was second in 45.98, while Tennessee’s Sam Rairden was third in 46.05.
Georgia’s Nic Fink broke an SEC record from 1997 en route to winning the 100 breaststroke in a time of 51.25. The previous SEC record of 51.86 was set by Tennessee’s Jeremy Linn in 1997. Alabama’s Anton McKee was second in 51.70, while Florida’s Eduardo Solache-Gomez was third in 52.43.
Texas A&M’s Ford McLiney won the platform diving event with a score of 415.20 after claiming the 3-meter diving on Tuesday. He becomes the first athlete to win the SEC title in both the 3-meter and the platform in the same year since Auburn’s Dan Mazzaferro in 2011. Auburn’s Fraser McKean was second with a score of 413.25, while Kentucky’s Greg Ferrucci was third at 409.90.
Auburn won a tightly contested 400 medley relay for the third consecutive year and the 12th time in the last 14 years in a time of 3:05.38. The Tigers used the quartet of Darmody, Michael Duderstadt, Arthur Mendes and Marcelo Chierighini. Georgia was second in 3:05.55, while Florida was third in 3:05.65.
