Outstanding performances all around for Vanderbilt Swimming led to a competitive contest with Arkansas on Jan. 17, but the Razorbacks secured the top two positions on the podium in the meet’s closing event — the 200-yard freestyle relay — clinching a 133-129 victory on West End.
Rookie stars Emily Constable and Aubrey Hull dazzled once again, while senior Kailia Utley achieved a team-leading 18th career race triumph. However, the Commodores ultimately fell short in their final SEC dual meet of the season.
Hull, Constable, Karsyn Cook, and Reagan Mathieson kicked off the meet with a victory for the Commodores in the 200 medley relay — an event that has consistently performed well for the Commodores this season. The team recorded a time of 1:43.57, finishing ahead of Arkansas’ A-team by 17 hundredths of a second.
The Razorbacks took the next two events (1000 free and 200 free). Hull and Hannah Weissman then executed a one-two finish in the 50 backstroke, interrupting Arkansas’ momentum with times of 26.29 and 26.63, respectively. Constable followed up with a win in the 50 breaststroke, hitting the wall at 29.48.
Utley pushed the Commodores’ victory streak to three consecutive wins with a time of 2:03.84 in the 200 butterfly. Arkansas won the 50 free, but the Commodores retaliated with another trio of victories: Mathieson in the 100 free (51.46), Quinlan Hinerfeld in the 200 back (2:03.01), and Constable in the 200 breast (2:21.48).
Arkansas then secured wins in the 500 free and 50 fly before Mathieson triumphed in the 100 individual medley with a time of 58.10, leading into a thrilling 200 free relay. The Commodores entered the event with a 127-118 advantage, but a one-two finish from Arkansas dealt the Commodores a gut-wrenching 133-129 defeat.
Vanderbilt Swimming will be back in action on Feb. 1 to honor its seniors at Centennial Sportsplex in a dual meet against Southern Illinois.