For the first time in school history the University of Louisville Men’s Swimming and Diving beat the University of Tennessee with a winning score of 167.5-132.5.
The men’s team multiple event winners were headlined by senior Kameron Chastain who won the 100 breast and was part of the winning 200 medley relay team. Senior Joao De Lucca, defending National Champion, won two events in the 100 and 200 free. Freshman Josh Quallen also took two events, the 100- and 200-butterfly. The Cardinal Men are now 2-0 and Women are 1-1 in dual meets.
The Women’s team battled the Lady Vols, who finished third at NCAAs last year, but were edged 170-130 in a dual meet Thursday afternoon at the Ralph Wright Natatorium.
“We had a solid all-around effort to achieve a good team win,” said U of L head coach Arthur Albiero. “Most importantly, we competed well and fought for every point. It was good to see our freshmen mature a bit more and perform under pressure.”
“I am proud of the way we performed tonight. Our ladies kept competing tough until the end. Even though we just fell short on the final score, I am pleased with the progress this group of women has made. ” said Albiero.
The women’s multiple team finished had one multiple event winner in junior Tanja Kylliainen, who took the 200 butterfly and the 200 IM.
Here is a race-by-race rundown:
In the women’s 200-medley relay, the team of Krissie Brandenburg, Lucy Kramer, Kelsie Worrell and Andrea Kneppers combined for a 1:42.40 time and second place finish. The men’s medley team of Grigory Tarasevich, Kameron Chastain, Pedro Coutinho and Caryle Blondell posted a 1:28.96 for the first Cardinal win of the meet.
In the grueling 1000 free, Abbie Houck touched third at 10:07.45. For the men, Jake Schultz was the top Card, touching in 9:30.71 for a second place finish.
Andrea Kneppers posted a 1:50.48 in the 200-free for second. The men’s 200-free saw the top three spots go to the Cardinals as Joao De Lucca, the reigning 200-free NCAA champion, earned the win with a 1:37.44. According to swimswam.com, that makes De Lucca the owner of the fastest two-swim composite time in the country in this event. Trevor Carroll (1:39.92) and Matthias Lindenbauer (1:40.07) rounded out the top three.
The 100-back saw the Cardinals take two of the top three spots with Kelsi Worrell (55.60) and Erica Belcher (55.90) finishing in second and third. For the men it was a similar result as Grigory Tarasevich was second at 48.96 and Evan Noble was third at 50.34.
In the 100-breast Andee Cottrell finished second with a time of 1:03.62 and Lucy Kramer finished third with a 1:04.73 result. For the men, Kameron Chastain won the event with a 54.43 as Louisville swept its second event of the meet with Thomas Dahlia (55.42) and Addison Bray (56.25) in second and third.
The women’s 200-fly was won by Tanja Kylliainen with a 1:57.12, a new pool record and one of the top three times currently in the country. Devon Bibault gave the Cardinals two of the top three finishing third with a 2:02.85 time. The men’s side saw Josh Quallen win with a 1:48.94 and Juan Lopez finished third at 1:50.73.
The women’s team was shut out of the 50 free top spots. The Cardinals were just edged out of the top spot in the men’s 50 free as Joao De Lucca (20.47) and Caryle Blondell (20.48) rounded out the top three in the heat.
The women’s 100 free saw Andrea Kneppers come in third with a 51.29 time. For the men, Joao De Lucca won the race at 44.02 and Caryle Blondell finished third at 44.30.
Erica Belcher won the women’s 200- back with a 1:59.85. The men’s race saw Louisville take two of the top three spots as Grigory Tarasevich finished second at 1:47.03 and Aaron Greene finished third at 1:48.10.
The women’s 200-breast saw Gisselle Kohoyda and Andrea Cottrell finish second and third with times of 2:19.76 and 2:21.58. For the men, the Cardinals took the top two finishes with Thomas Dahlia winning the event at 2:01.29 and Kameron Chastain right behind him at 2:01.31.
In the women’s 500 free, Abbie Houck finished second at 4:57.19. For the men, Trevor Carroll finished second with a time of 4:33.15 and Jake Schultz rounded out the top three at 4:36.99.
Kelsi Worrell won the 100 butterfly at 53.52 and Devon Bibault finished third at 56.15. The men were almost able to sweep the race for the Cardinals as Josh Quallen took the event with a 49.23 time. Pedro Coutinho finished second at 49.70 and Mihael Vukic tied for third at 49.99.
The women’s 200-IM race saw Tanja Kylliainen win the event with a time of 2:01.53. Erica Belcher finished in third at 2:04.49. For the men, Josh Quallen took second at 1:52.17 and Nolan Tesone finished third at 1:53.06.
Louisville women won the 400-free relay as the team of Kelsi Worrell, Andrea Kneppers, Rachael Lewis and Breann McDowell finished with a time of 3:24.87. The men’s race finished in a close matchup as the team of Caryle Blondell, Lemar Linton, Trevor Carroll and Joao De Lucca came up just short with a time of 2:58.39.
In the diving events, the women’s 1-meter competiton resulted with Andrea Acquista finishing third with a 253.27 score. For the men, Sean Piner was the Cardinals top finisher at second with a 295.27 score.
In the 3-meter event, Louisville took two of the top three spots as Emily Stalmack won the event with a 302.03 score and Andrea Acquista finished third for the second time during the meet with a 287.32 score. For the men, Sean Piner took second with a score of 296.55 and Matthew Ryan rounded out the top three with a 279.91 score.
“I am honored for the leadership and guidance our captains are providing on both sides. This is early in our season, but their vision and maturity are setting the tone for our overall team development,” said Albiero.
