ATHENS, Ga. -- The Georgia women continue to hold the lead following the second day of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, which took place Wednesday in front of 1,289 fans at the Gabrielsen Natatorium.
The Georgia women have won each of the seven events that have been contested so far at the SEC championship and have tallied 577 total team points. Florida is second with 421 points, while Texas A&M is third with 417 points.
The tournament will continue through Saturday.
Georgia’s Brittany MacLean captured the women’s 500-yard freestyle event, doing so in an SEC meet-record time of 4:34.63. She broke the previous meet record of 4:34.87, set by former Florida standout Caroline Burckle in 2008. It was the second title for Georgia in that event in the last three years, as Amber McDermott won in 2012. It was a 1-2-3 finish for Georgia in the event, as Shannon Vreeland was second in 4:34.73 and McDermott was third in 4:35.00.
Georgia’s Melanie Margalis broke her own SEC meet record en route to winning the women’s 200-yard individual medley in a time of 1:52.87. It bested her time of 1:54.55 that previously set the SEC record last year. Georgia has won three of the last four SEC women’s 200-yard IM titles. Florida’s Elizabeth Beisel, the 2012 champion in the event, was second in a school-record time of 1:54.26, while Texas A&M’s Erica Dittmer was third in 1:55.58.
Georgia defended its SEC title in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay, clocking a winning time of 1:27.09 with the quartet of Olivia Smoliga, Maddie Locus, Jessica Graber and Chantal Van Landeghem. Tennessee was second in 1:28.37 and Texas A&M was third in 1:28.48.
Last lap:
The Pac-12, Big Ten, and Big 12 championships will all get underway this week. ... In Division II action, No. 2 Florida Southern will head to the Sunshine State Conference championships while No. 8 Delta State will go to the New South Intercollegiate Championships.
