Camille Spink, Ella Jansen, Gui Caribe Among Double Winners for Tennessee Against Duke
A planned two-day meet between Tennessee and Duke was condensed to one session with snow expected throughout the region, but that did not prevent Tennessee from hitting fast times at home. The women won 184-110 while the men topped the Duke 198-88.
The Lady Vols’ team of Mizuki Hirai, Simone Moll, Ella Jansen and Camille Spink placed first in the 200 medley relay in 1:35.52. This group was actually in third place at the halfway point after McKenzie Siroky split 26.44 on breaststroke for the Tennessee “B” team and Duke’s Kaitlyn Gridley split 27.10, but Jansen took the lead before Spink anchored in 20.82.
Spink continued her strong performances in the sprint freestyle events. She won the 50 free in 21.52 before going 47.01 to dominate the 100 free. Spink is currently a top-five swimmer in the country in both events, with season bests of 21.25 in the 50 and 46.54 in the 100. The team of Lilly Daley, Julia Burroughs, Emily Armen and Spink took the win in the 200 free relay in 1:28.60.
Jansen also put up an impressive pair of individual wins. She won the 200 butterfly in 1:52.88, jumping to No. 7 in the national rankings, and she returned to the pool to win the 400 IM in 4:02.50, good for fourth in the country.
Tennessee’s Emily Brown, fresh off a school record in the 200 fly last week, won the 200 free in 1:45.18. Brown sat out the 200 fly this time, but she did finish second in the 400 IM with a strong time of 4:05.45. Tennessee’s Avery Luedke won the 1650 free in 16:36.44, and Emma Rhines topped 1-meter diving (293.50). Nicole Zettel finished first in the 500 free (4:47.88)
Duke’s Ali Pfaff swept the backstroke events, clocking 51.74 in the 100 and 1:52.94 in the 200. A high-profile race in the 100 breaststroke went to Gridley in 58.53, well ahead of Siroky (59.47) and Moll (1:00.21). Gridley then finished five seconds clear of the field in the 200 breast (2:09.12). In diving, Duke’s Keira Lu won 3-meter (314.55).
Tennessee’s Ulises Saravia, Gabe Nunziata, Gui Caribe and Nikoli Blackman blasted off in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:24.17. Caribe was in his usual strong form with wins in the 50 free (19.02) and 100 fly (46.46) while Nunziata cruised in the 200 breast (1:55.05). The team of Caribe, Pedro Sansone, Blackman and Kamal Muhammad secured the win in the 200 free relay in 1:17.07.
Mac Clark secured wins in the 1650 free (15:13.83) and 500 free (4:25.00), and diver Bennett Greene swept 1-meter (381.45) and 3-meter (432.55). Koby Bujak-Upton raced to a winning time of 1:32.83 in the 200 free, and he returned to take first in the 100 free (42.67). Ben Bricca topped the 100 back (46.60) and 200 back (1:44.06) while Tony Laurito topped the 400 IM by 4.73 seconds (3:51.21).
The Blue Devils’ Kalen Anbar scored a win in the 100 breast (54.00), and Justin Wong followed that with a top finish in the 200 fly (1:47.26).
