LOUISVILLE, KY – by Nancy Allison Worley (Assoc SID)- The University of Louisville No. 8-ranked women’s team beat No. 10 Tennessee 163-135 and the No. 14-ranked men tied at 150 with the No. 11 Vols in the swimming and diving meet Thursday afternoon at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.
“In the beginning of the week, we saw they were ranked and we have a lot of respect for a team like Tennessee,” said UofL head coach Arthur Albiero. “We challenged our kids to step up and really perform better than they have up to this point this season. This opponent deserved our best effort. Across the board this group did a great job. There were a lot of highlights today. It was an exciting day of racing today and we are proud how our men came from behind to tie. It looked bleak for most of the meet for the men and it came down to the final relay so we were happy to comeback with the tie, which is better than the alternative. The women haven’t beaten Tennessee in quite a few years so it was a big accomplishment.
The Cardinals posted 15 NCAA B-cuts and had eight multiple event winners, led by freshman Mallory Comerford’s wins in the 1000, 200 and 500-freestyles. On the men’s side, the Cards were paced by Trevor Carroll’s wins in the 200-free, 50-free and the 400-free relay. Kelsi Worrell won the 100-free, 100-fly and the 200-medley relay. Another freshman, Rachael Bradford Feldman, took the 200-breast and the 200-IM. Pedro Countinho was first in the 100-fly and then helped the 400-free relay A team hit the wall first.
In the women’s 200-medley relay, the Cardinals led wire–to-wire, posting a 1:39.43 for the win. The Cards split: Alina Kendzior (25.71), Andrea Cottrrell (27.91), Kelsi Worrell (22.98) and Andrea Kneppers (22.83).
In the men’s 200-medley relay, the Cards touched second in 1:28.99 posted by Grigory Tarasevich (22.75), Carlos Claverie (25.14), Josh Quallen (21.05) and an anchor of 20.05 by David Boland.
In the grueling 1000, Mallory Comerford was into the wall in 9:57.97 Marah Pugh was third, going 10:11.61. In the men’s 1000, Tennessee’s Evan Pinion won in 9:24.42 to lead a Volunteer 1-2-3 sweep. UofL Jake Schultz was the top UofL swimmer with a fifth place time of 9:43.93.
The women’s 200-free Mallory Comerford’s winning time 1:48.57. Andrea Kneppers was second in 1:49.12.
In the men’s 200-free, Trevor Carroll put up an NCAA B-cut time of 1:37.49 for the win. Matthias Lindenbauer was second in 1:38.08 and Jonathan Zoucha completed the sweep at 1:40.35.
In the 100-back, Cardinal Alina Kendzior was second in 54.76 for an NCAA B-cut. Ashley LeClair scored fourth place points with a 56.53. In the men’s 100-back, UofL’s Grigory Tarasevich was second in 47.81 for an NCAA B-cut. Aaron Greene was third in 49.74.
The Cards swept the top three spots in the 100-breast led by Andrea Cottrell’s NCAA B-cut time of 1:02.07. Rachael Bradford Feldman was second in 1:03.22 and Lucy Kramer completed the sweep with a third place time of 1:05.05.
The men’s 100-breast saw UofL’s Carlos Claverie touch second in 55.26 for an NCAA B-cut. Dexter Thomas also scored with a time of 57.42.
In the women’s 200-fly, Marah Pugh was the top Cardinal swimmer with a fourth place finish of 2:04.20. Devon Bibault scored with a time of 2:05.44.
Zach Harting was second in the men’s 200-fly with a time of 1:49.94 with Josh Quallen into the wall third in 1:50.22 and Nolan Tesone touching fourth in 1:51.28.
The women’s 50-free was won by Tennessee’s Faith Johnson’s 23.24. UofL freshman Grace Long was the top Cardinal, with a 24.09 for fourth place points.
UofL men won the 50-free when Trevor Carroll posted a 20.42. David Boland was third in 20.86 and Pedro Coutinho was fourth in 20.97.
Kelsi Worrell won the 100-free in NCAA B-cut time of 48.82 with teammate Andrea Kneppers touching third in 50.90.
The men’s 100-free was won by Matthias Lindenbauer’s 44.83. Newcomer Max Grodecki was fourth in 45.81.
In the women’s 200-backstroke, Alina Kendzior put up a B-cut time of 1:58.71.14 for her second win of the day.
In the men’s 200-back, Sean Lehane of Tennessee touched first in 1:42.84 for a B-cut. Grigory Tarasevich was second in 1:45.03 and Aaron Greene was third in 1:46, both were B-cuts.
In the women’s 3-meter diving, Maddy Ingmire was second with a score of 267.60 with Andrea Acquista finishing third with a score of 261.68. For the men in the 1-meter diving, Sean Piner was third with a score of 288.83 and freshman Daniel Fecteau was fourth with a score of 280.66.
Rachel Bradford Feldman won the 200-breaststroke with a B-cut time of 2:15.28. Andrea Cottrell was second in 2:17.10.
The men’s 200-breaststroke was won by Carlos Claverie with a time of 1:59.53 as the only swimmer under 2:00 which also gave him a B-cut. Nolan Tesone was third in 2:02.86.
In the 500-freestyle, freshman Mallory Comerford touched first in 4:51.11 for the Cardinals. Teammate Marah Pugh was third in 4:57.90.
For the men, in the 500-free Carroll was fourth with a 4:31.78 after Tennessee swept the top three spots. Matthias Lindenbauer scored with a 4:38.05.
Women’s 100-butterfly, Kelsi Worrell picked up her third win, touching in 53.03 for a B-cut.
The Cards took the top two spots in the 100-butterfly, led by Pedro Coutinho’s 48.57 with Josh Quallen in hot pursuit for second in 48.77. David Boland picked up fourth with a 49.24.
In the women’s 200-IM, Rachael Bradford Feldman was first with a 2:01.80. Manuela Sampaio scored with a time of 2:08-78.
Sean Piner was third on the 3-meter board with a 326.63. Daniel Fecteau was fourth and posted a 254.78. In the women’s 1-meter board, Andrea Acquista put up the second place scorer of 270.83 and Mady Ingmire was third in 270.68.
Nolan Tesone won the men’s 200-IM, holding off the Vols at the end for the NCAA B-cut time of 1:48.30. Carlos Claverie was third in 1:50.61 and Josh Quallen was fourth in in 1:51.81.
In the women’s 400-free relay, the Cardinal foursome of Andrea Kneppers (50.73), Kelsi Worrell (49.20), Mallory Comerford (50.14) and an anchor of 51.74 by Andrea Cottrell.
The meet came down to the final relay for the men and the A relay team of Pedro Countinho (45.94), Trevor Carroll (43.67), Grigory Tarasevich (44.07 and Matthias Lindenbauer (44.11) held off Tennessee for the win. The B-relay team had to finish third for the tie and the foursome of David Boland (45.08), Christian Garkani (43.52), Max Grodecki (44.76 and Jonathan Zoucha (45.08) touched third with a time of 3:00.54.
“We will enjoy this feeling for a bit but we have to prepare to face North Carolina on the road,” said Albiero, whose team faces the Tar Heels Nov. 6 and 7 in Chapel Hill.