MEN’S
The SMU men’s swimming and diving team finished second place out of four at the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship.
They finished with a score of 768 points.
The winner of the event was Louisville, the host, with 1,072.5 points. Finishing behind the Mustangs was UConn (683.5 points) and Cincinnati (525 points).
Junior diver Devin Burnett led the way for SMU, as he claimed all three of SMU’s individual titles. He won the platform dive with a 399.65 on the event’s fourth and final day.
His three victories earned him the title of the 2014 American Athletic Conference Diver of the Meet.
Burnett also won the 1-meter dive with a score of 386.8, and he emerged victorious in the 3-meter dive with a score of 389.45.
Sophomore diver Parker Meinecke finished a spot behind Burnett with 322.25 points in the platform dive.
With the divers putting up great scores all four days, Jim Stillson was named the 2014 Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.
Other standout performers in the event include senior captain Nicolai Hansen in swimming, junior diver Hayden Hodges and first-year diver Bryce Klein.
Hansen finished third in the 200-yard individual medley (1:47.06), fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (54.34) and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:58.58).
Hodges had a third-place finish in the 1-meter dive (346.95), finished third in the 3-meter dive (357.85) and placed second in the platform dive (322.25).
Klein put together a second-place finish in the 1-meter dive (376.60) and the 3-meter dive (379.90).
WOMEN’S
The SMU women’s swimming and diving team gathered runner-up honors at the inaugural American Athletic Conference championship. The Mustangs finished the four-day event with a 624.5 score.
Finishing ahead of the Mustangs were the Louisville Cardinals, the host.
Behind SMU in the standings was Rutgers at third, UConn at fourth, Cincinnati at fifth and Houston at sixth.
In the first day of the event, the SMU women’s swimming and diving team took runners up in both the 800-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley relay.
SMU’s 200-yard freestyle relay team winning the event highlighted day two of the event. The team of senior Monika Babok, juniors Isabella Arcila and Nathalie Lindborg, and first-year Marne Erasmus finished with a time of 1:29.83, a pool record.
Senior Nina Rangelova finished second in the 500-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 4:43.97.
Day three of the event featured Erasmus winning the 100-yard butterfly with a 51.73, a pool record and new school standard.
The final day was highlighted by first-year Tara-Lynn Nicholas taking home the championship in the 200-yard breaststroke with a pool-record 2:10.10. That time narrowly beat Rachel Nicol, her teammate.
Nicol, a junior, finished the event with a 2:10.33.
Next up for the women’s swimming and diving team is the NCAA Championship that is scheduled to take place March 20 to March 22 in Minneapolis.
