Tennessee Ladies Dominate Pool: Sweeping Victory Over Arkansas in Swimming Showdown!

Arkansas vs. Tennessee

• January 16, 2025
• Knoxville, Tenn. — Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Scores: #5 Tennessee, 164 def. NR Arkansas, 72

The #5 Tennessee women faced no challenges from the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks, extending their streak to five consecutive dual meet victories against SEC rivals. They dominated all events in the pool at this competition, which included some unconventional dual meet events like the 1650 freestyle, 400 IM, and 200 freestyle relay.

Mona McSharry participated in her second dual meet of the season as the Lady Volunteers overwhelmed Arkansas. McSharry astonished everyone with a bronze medal finish in the women’s 100 breaststroke at the Paris Olympics and took the first semester of her fifth year at Tennessee off to travel. She returned to the team during last weekend’s victory over Alabama, where she recorded 1:00.67 in the 100 breaststroke and competed in Tennessee’s 200 freestyle and medley relays.

Once again, she swam in only one individual event. However, at this meet, she primarily concentrated on her sprint freestyle races, which are her main specialty apart from breaststroke in the yards pool. She tied with Jillian Crooks for the 50 freestyle title, as the teammates reached the wall simultaneously in 22.94. This was her solitary individual event of the day; she claimed another triumph in the 200 free relay. McSharry recorded a split of 23.07 as Sara Stotler (23.92), alongside Camille Spink (21.94) and Julia Mrozinski (23.25), joined to secure victory in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.19. She did manage to get some breaststroke racing in, splitting 27.60 on the breaststroke leg of Tennessee’s 200 medley ‘B’ relay.

Spink was the sole swimmer to secure two individual victories during the day, maintaining her strong sophomore season. She first triumphed in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:45.74, leading a powerful performance by Tennessee as the team occupied the top four positions in the event. Following this, she won the 100 freestyle in 48.35, being the only competitor in the field to dip below 50 seconds.

Freshman Emily Brown has already improved her 400 IM personal best twice this season. After clocking 4:13.17 at the Tennessee Invite, she achieved 4:13.07 at the Volunteers’ dual against Alabama last week. She came within half a second of that time against Arkansas, winning in 4:13.68. Kate McCarville claimed the 1650 freestyle title with a time of 16:16.88, just over two seconds shy of her season-best, completing the unconventional dual meet events.

Olympian Ella Jansen captured victory in the 500 freestyle (4:46.22). Stotler (100 fly, 54.73), Lexi Stephens (100 back, 53.50), and Hannah Marinovich (100 breast, 1:02.52) handled the 100s of stroke for the Volunteers.

Arkansas did not achieve any victories in the pool, but Maria Jose Sanchez dominated the diving events for the team. She amassed 304.88 points to win the 1-meter dive and was the only diver to exceed 300 points on the board. Following that, she earned 330.98 points to triumph on the 3-meter board.

Although the Razorbacks didn’t win any pool events, they managed to secure several second-place finishes. Sydney Craft (1650 free, 16:52.49), Holly Robinson (400 IM, 4:23.53), and Bradi Jones (100 breast, 1:05.01) all finished second for Arkansas. Tennessee captured the top two positions in the 200 medley relay, but Delaney Harrison, Allie Thorne, Bara Matoskova, and Eleonora Camisa finished second in the 200 freestyle relay, concluding the meet.

Upcoming Events

The Arkansas women will have a swift turnaround. On Friday, Jan. 17, they travel to Nashville to compete against Vanderbilt, another SEC challenger. Tennessee’s sequence of SEC dual meet victories will encounter its most challenging test thus far on Saturday, Jan. 26, as the team welcomes Georgia.