SEC Championships, Day 4: Camille Spink Blasts 20.87 50 Free, Becomes Fourth-Fastest Woman Ever
Friday evening’s action at the SEC Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., included the women’s and men’s 200 breaststroke, 50 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay along with men’s platform diving.
One night after tying the second-fastest time ever in the 100 butterfly, Florida’s Josh Liendo returned to competition for a shot at a huge performance in the 50 free, with Tennessee’s Gui Caribe standing in his way. The women’s version of the splash-and-dash featured Tennessee’s Camille Spink, who was hundredths away from joining the sub-21 club in prelims. Additionally, both 500 free races included the reigning national champion, Texas teammates Jillian Cox (women) and Rex Maurer (men), with Maurer racing distance superstar Ahmed Jaouadi in the men’s event.
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 23 1. University of Texas 718 2. University of Tennessee 647 3. University of Florida 563.5 4. Auburn University 431.5 4. South Carolina, University of, 431.5 6. University of Alabama 401 7. Louisiana State University 358.5 8. Georgia, University of 342 9. Texas A&M University 325 10. Missouri 278 11. Kentucky, University of 197 12. University of Arkansas 185 13. Vanderbilt University 86
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 24 1. University of Texas 813.5 2. University of Florida 703 3. University of Tennessee 585.5 4. Georgia, University of 496 5. Auburn University 462 6. Kentucky, University of 371 7. Louisiana State University 356 8. University of Alabama 313.5 9. Missouri 279 10. Texas A&M University 234.5 11. South Carolina, University of, 204
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
Florida’s Anita Bottazzo has established herself as the country’s best sprint breaststroker, and she has strong ability in the 200-yard event as well. Bottazzo cruised to a conference title in the event with a time of 2:07.26, entering the top-10 in the national rankings. The native of Italy jumped out to a lead of more than a second by the 50-yard mark, and it took until the closing splits for anyone to close the gap.
Florida finished 1-2 here as Grace Rabb touched in 2:08.48 for second place. Rabb held off a strong closing split from Texas’ Angie Coe, who ended up third in 2:08.80. Even quicker on the final split were LSU’s Grace Palmer (2:09.07) and LSU’s Martina Bukvic (2:09.23), who ended up fourth and fifth, respectively.
Event 25 Women 200 Yard Breaststroke
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NCAA: N 2:01.29 3/18/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
SEC: S 2:03.26 3/17/2018 Bethany Galot, Texes A&M
Meet: M 2:03.84 2/22/2024 Mona McSharry, Tennessee
Pool: P 2:01.29 3/18/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
2:11.27 NC
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Bottazzo, Anita SO FLOR-FL 2:09.16 2:07.26 NC 32
r:+0.66 27.74 59.04 (31.30)
1:32.18 (33.14) 2:07.26 (35.08)
2 Rabb, Grace FR FLOR-FL 2:09.46 2:08.48 NC 28
r:+0.63 28.75 1:00.80 (32.05)
1:34.18 (33.38) 2:08.48 (34.30)
3 Coe, Angie A JR Texas 2:09.55 2:08.80 NC 27
r:+0.62 28.77 1:01.33 (32.56)
1:34.84 (33.51) 2:08.80 (33.96)
4 Palmer, Grace SO LSU-LA 2:10.11 2:09.07 NC 26
r:+0.68 29.74 1:02.57 (32.83)
1:35.60 (33.03) 2:09.07 (33.47)
5 Bukvic, Martina FR LSU-LA 2:10.21 2:09.23 NC 25
r:+0.67 29.31 1:02.02 (32.71)
1:35.84 (33.82) 2:09.23 (33.39)
6 Moore, Anna C SR FLOR-FL 2:09.43 2:09.60 NC 24
r:+0.64 29.39 1:01.92 (32.53)
1:35.46 (33.54) 2:09.60 (34.14)
7 Mayne, Molly JR FLOR-FL 2:10.05 2:09.91 NC 23
r:+0.68 29.09 1:01.28 (32.19)
1:34.74 (33.46) 2:09.91 (35.17)
8 O'Leary, Hannah SO Texas A&M-GU 2:10.10 2:10.14 NC 22
r:+0.69 29.46 1:02.33 (32.87)
1:35.90 (33.57) 2:10.14 (34.24)
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
Just like Bottazzo in the women’s competition, Texas’ Nate Germonprez completed the breaststroke split with a massive effort over 200 yards. Germonprez blasted out in front of the field in the 100 breast and never looked back, opening up his lead to more than a second by the 150-yard mark and winning by 1.65 seconds over Tennessee’s Gabe Nunziata. Germonprez became the fastest swimmer in the country by a wide margin with his final time of 1:48.94, with just Texas teammate Will Scholz and North Carolina’s Ben Delmar also under 1:50 this season. The junior became now the 10th fastest swimmer in history.
Second place went to Nunziata in 1:50.59, good for No. 5 in the country, while Campbell McKean of the Longhorns was third in 1:51.03. Scholz ended up back in fifth place in 1:52.12 while Baylor Nelson added more Texas points with a B-final win in 1:52.59.
Event 26 Men 200 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 1:46.35 3/30/2024 Leon Marchand, ASU
SEC: S 1:49.59 11/20/2025Will Scholz, Texas
Meet: M 1:50.02 2/22/2025 Alexsas Savickos, Florida
Pool: P 1:51.56 2/19/2022 Derek Maas, Alabama
1:54.95 NC
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Germonprez, Nat JR Texas 1:50.47 1:48.94SNC 32
r:+0.64 23.94 51.33 (27.39)
1:19.66 (28.33) 1:48.94 (29.28)
2 Nunziata, Gabe Tennessee-SE 1:52.52 1:50.59PNC 28
r:+0.64 24.71 52.61 (27.90)
1:21.35 (28.74) 1:50.59 (29.24)
3 McKean, Campbel FR Texas 1:52.10 1:51.03PNC 27
r:+0.62 24.16 52.01 (27.85)
1:20.80 (28.79) 1:51.03 (30.23)
4 Brown, Logan H JR Texas A&M-GU 1:52.20 1:51.55PNC 26
r:+0.61 25.40 53.71 (28.31)
1:22.34 (28.63) 1:51.55 (29.21)
5 Scholtz, Will T JR Texas 1:52.57 1:52.12 NC 25
r:+0.72 25.13 53.12 (27.99)
1:21.98 (28.86) 1:52.12 (30.14)
6 Martter, Cale A SR UGA-GA 1:53.35 1:52.94 NC 24
r:+0.69 25.48 54.17 (28.69)
1:23.44 (29.27) 1:52.94 (29.50)
7 Camossato, Guil LSU-LA 1:53.21 1:52.95 NC 23
r:+0.64 25.74 54.67 (28.93)
1:23.85 (29.18) 1:52.95 (29.10)
8 Ballew, Maston FR Auburn-SE 1:53.10 1:55.22 22
r:+0.66 25.47 54.14 (28.67)
1:23.94 (29.80) 1:55.22 (31.28)
Women’s 50 Freestyle
Camille Spink was the winner of the 200 free Thursday, and now she is the sixth swimmer in history to swim below 21 seconds in the 50-yard race. Spink blasted a time of 20.87 to dominate the event at the SEC meet, going out in 9.99 and returning in 10.88 to dominate the field on both lengths. Spink’s time of 20.87 made her the fourth-fastest performer in history, trailing only the Olympic-gold-medal-winning trio of Gretchen Walsh, Maggie Mac Neil and Kate Douglass. Spink had previously gone 21.01 in prelims, tying Torri Huske for tops in the national standings, but now she holds pole position on her own.
Second place went to Texas’ Eva Okaro in 21.26, bumping her up to No. 5 in the national standings. Auburn’s Lisa Klevanovich touched out Alabama’s Cadence Vincent and Michaela De Villiers for third, with Klevanovich recording a itme of 21.55.
Event 27 Women 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 20.37 3/21/2024 Gretchen Walsh - Also 3/20/25, Virginia
SEC: S 20.79 3/16/2023 Maggie MacNeil, LSU
Meet: M 20.98 2/15/2023 Maggie MacNeil, LSU
Pool: P 20.54 11/20/2024Gretchen Walsh, Virginia
22.28 NC
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Spink, Camille Tennessee-SE 21.01 20.87MNC 32
r:+0.65 9.99 20.87 (10.88)
2 Okaro, Eva FR Texas 21.71 21.26 NC 28
r:+0.66 10.25 21.26 (11.01)
3 Klevanovich, Li GS Auburn-SE 21.67 21.55 NC 27
r:+0.73 10.58 21.55 (10.97)
4 Vincent, Cadenc JR Alabama-SE 21.59 21.58 NC 26
r:+0.65 10.57 21.58 (11.01)
5 De Villiers, Mi SR LSU-LA 21.74 21.59 NC 25
r:+0.65 10.34 21.59 (11.25)
6 Crooks, Jillian Tennessee-SE 22.14 21.87 NC 24
r:+0.59 10.56 21.87 (11.31)
7 Littlefield, Av SO LSU-LA 22.00 21.93 NC 23
r:+0.62 10.52 21.93 (11.41)
8 Sikes, Katie Be SO UGA-GA 22.05 22.03 NC 22
r:+0.67 10.53 22.03 (11.50)
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Josh Liendo has his second win of the meet by virtue of a clutch effort in the men’s 50 free. The Florida senior needed every bit of his 18.42 effort to defeat Tennessee’s Gui Caribe by four hundredths at the finish. Liendo finished in 9.49 on the second length to clock 18.42 to Caribe’s 18.46. Those two swimmers rank third and fourth all-time, respectively, with Liendo owning a best time of 18.07 and Caribe at 18.26. The only swimmers to ever go faster are Caeleb Dressel and Caribe’s former Tennessee teammate Jordan Crooks. The times were just off this season’s best time, shared by Liendo and Arizona State’s Ilya Kharun at 18.40.
Third place went to LSU’s Jere Hribar in 18.57. Missouri’s Luke Nebich (18.80), Tennessee’s Nikoli Blackman (18.80) and Florida’s Alex Painter (18.84) also clocked elite times in the fastest heat, which saw all eight men swim below 19 seconds.
Event 28 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
SEC: S 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Meet: M 17.85 2/15/2023 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
Pool: P 18.12 11/20/2024Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
19.43 NC
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Liendo, Josh SR FLOR-FL 18.52 18.42 NC 32
r:+0.65 8.93 18.42 (9.49)
2 Caribe, Gui C Tennessee-SE 18.69 18.46 NC 28
r:+0.59 8.83 18.46 (9.63)
3 Hribar, Jere JR LSU-LA 18.83 18.57 NC 27
r:+0.70 8.97 18.57 (9.60)
4 Nebrich, Luke SO Missouri-MV 19.10 18.74 NC 26
r:+0.63 8.99 18.74 (9.75)
5 Blackman, Nikol Tennessee-SE 18.97 18.80 NC 25
r:+0.62 9.13 18.80 (9.67)
6 Painter, Alex J SO FLOR-FL 18.90 18.84 NC 24
r:+0.61 8.96 18.84 (9.88)
7 Gould, Garrett SO Texas 18.89 18.92 NC 23
r:+0.58 9.08 18.92 (9.84)
8 Scholl, Ben T JR Texas A&M-GU 19.03 18.94 NC 22
r:+0.62 8.94 18.94 (10.00)
Women’s 500 Freestyle
An SEC record fell in the women’s 500 free as defending national champion Jillian Cox of Texas fended off a stellar effort from Georgia freshman Kennedi Dobson. The two swimmers were neck-and-neck for the majority of the race, with Cox taking over the lead at the 100-meter mark and narrowly holding Dobson at bay for each ensuing split. After the opening laps of the race, the margin between the two swimmers never exceeded four tenths, but Cox had enough to hold on as Dobson closed in.
Cox finished in 4:30.53 to lower the conference record of 4:30.68 she set in November 2024. Cox remained the eighth-fastest woman in history in the event. Dobson, meanwhile, finished in 4:30.70 to annihilate her previous best of 4:32.96 and move into the No. 9 spot all-time in the race. Dobson was under the previous SEC meet record of 4:31.54 set by Cox last season.
Tennessee’s Ella Jansen made it her third podium finish in as many individual races. Already the winner of the 400 IM and third-place finisher in the 200 fly, Jansen finished in 4:34.10 here for third, two seconds clear of the rest of the field. As for the team standings, the Longhorns extended their margin to almost 200 points over the Lady Vols with Nikolett Padar, Kate Hurst, Lillie Nesty and Erin Gemmell all racing in the championship final.
Event 29 Women 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 4:24.06 3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
SEC: S 4:30.68 11/20/2024Jillian Cox, Texas
Meet: M 4:31.54 2/18/2025 Jillian Cox, Texas
Pool: P 4:33.09 11/19/2020Paige Madden, Virginia
4:43.70 NC
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Cox, Jillian SO Texas 4:38.49 4:30.53SNC 32
r:+0.69 25.27 52.18 (26.91)
1:19.42 (27.24) 1:46.89 (27.47)
2:14.50 (27.61) 2:41.92 (27.42)
3:09.29 (27.37) 3:36.52 (27.23)
4:03.79 (27.27) 4:30.53 (26.74)
2 Dobson, Kennedi FR UGA-GA 4:35.44 4:30.70MNC 28
r:+0.71 24.81 51.92 (27.11)
1:19.29 (27.37) 1:46.85 (27.56)
2:14.45 (27.60) 2:42.06 (27.61)
3:09.47 (27.41) 3:36.84 (27.37)
4:04.06 (27.22) 4:30.70 (26.64)
3 Jansen, Ella Tennessee-SE 4:37.66 4:34.10 NC 27
r:+0.74 25.12 52.42 (27.30)
1:20.09 (27.67) 1:47.74 (27.65)
2:15.52 (27.78) 2:43.17 (27.65)
3:10.91 (27.74) 3:38.69 (27.78)
4:06.43 (27.74) 4:34.10 (27.67)
4 Brousseau, Juli SO FLOR-FL 4:37.12 4:36.33 NC 26
r:+0.75 25.53 52.44 (26.91)
1:19.81 (27.37) 1:47.10 (27.29)
2:14.79 (27.69) 2:42.52 (27.73)
3:10.65 (28.13) 3:39.01 (28.36)
4:07.74 (28.73) 4:36.33 (28.59)
5 Padar, Nikolett FR Texas 4:39.03 4:37.33 NC 25
r:+0.73 25.02 52.30 (27.28)
1:20.03 (27.73) 1:48.28 (28.25)
2:16.27 (27.99) 2:44.23 (27.96)
3:12.27 (28.04) 3:40.75 (28.48)
4:09.43 (28.68) 4:37.33 (27.90)
6 Hurst, Kate SO Texas 4:40.21 4:39.33 NC 24
r:+0.72 25.89 53.69 (27.80)
1:21.84 (28.15) 1:49.95 (28.11)
2:17.92 (27.97) 2:46.11 (28.19)
3:14.61 (28.50) 3:43.16 (28.55)
4:11.56 (28.40) 4:39.33 (27.77)
7 Nesty, Lillian SO Texas 4:39.39 4:40.39 NC 23
r:+0.76 25.62 53.26 (27.64)
1:21.17 (27.91) 1:49.20 (28.03)
2:17.27 (28.07) 2:45.58 (28.31)
3:14.00 (28.42) 3:42.55 (28.55)
4:11.51 (28.96) 4:40.39 (28.88)
8 Gemmell, Erin M JR Texas 4:40.87 4:45.50 22
r:+0.75 25.07 53.01 (27.94)
1:21.54 (28.53) 1:50.25 (28.71)
2:18.92 (28.67) 2:48.03 (29.11)
3:17.23 (29.20) 3:47.07 (29.84)
4:16.62 (29.55) 4:45.50 (28.88)
Men’s 500 Freestyle
This year’s conference meet has not been a perfect showing for Rex Maurer, who finished behind teammate Baylor Nelson in the 400 IM, and he struggled in his leadoff leg on Texas’ 800 free relay. But in his signature event, the 500 free, Maurer handled world-title-winning competition in impressive fashion. The Texas junior was racing against Florida teammates Ahmed Jaouadi and Ahmed Hafnaoui; Jaouadi swept the 800 and 1500-meter gold medals at last summer’s World Championships while Hafnaoui pulled off that same double in 2023 after winning Olympic gold in the 400 free in Tokyo.
The 500-yard race still belongs to Maurer, the second-quickest man ever over 20 laps with his American record of 4:04.45 from November 2024. Maurer jumped out to a narrow lead over the two Tunisian swimmers and stayed just in front throughout. Hafnaoui was the closest to Maurer throughout the race until Jaouadi responded with a 23.62 split over the final 50 yards. It was not enough, though, and Maurer won by eight tenths.
Maurer’s final time was 4:08.46, the best in the country so far this season. Jaouadi moved into the second spot in the standings with his time of 4:09.28 while Hafnaoui was third in 4:10.18, which ranks fifth nationally. The Gators ended up finishing 2-3-4 here as Gio Linscheer came home in 4:10.23, a bit ahead of Alabama’s Leonardo Alcantara (4:10.45).
Event 30 Men 500 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 4:02.31 3/28/2024 Leon Marchand, ASU
SEC: S 4:04.45 11/20/2024Rex Mauer, Texas
Meet: M 4:06.32 2/17/2021 Kieran Smith, Florida
Pool: P 4:09.06 2/16/2022 Matthew Sates, Georgia
4:18.07 NC
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== Championship Final ===
1 Maurer, Rex JR Texas 4:12.11 4:08.46PNC 32
r:+0.72 22.21 47.46 (25.25)
1:12.97 (25.51) 1:38.67 (25.70)
2:03.89 (25.22) 2:29.28 (25.39)
2:54.46 (25.18) 3:19.74 (25.28)
3:44.15 (24.41) 4:08.46 (24.31)
2 Jaouadi, Ahmed FR FLOR-FL 4:10.26 4:09.28 NC 28
r:+0.75 22.52 47.57 (25.05)
1:13.17 (25.60) 1:39.22 (26.05)
2:04.80 (25.58) 2:29.97 (25.17)
2:55.31 (25.34) 3:20.78 (25.47)
3:45.66 (24.88) 4:09.28 (23.62)
3 Hafnaoui, Ahmed SO FLOR-FL 4:12.75 4:10.18 NC 27
r:+0.76 22.92 47.79 (24.87)
1:13.20 (25.41) 1:38.92 (25.72)
2:04.35 (25.43) 2:29.71 (25.36)
2:54.99 (25.28) 3:20.15 (25.16)
3:45.25 (25.10) 4:10.18 (24.93)
4 Linscheer, Giov SR FLOR-FL 4:12.21 4:10.23 NC 26
r:+0.68 23.55 48.65 (25.10)
1:13.98 (25.33) 1:39.51 (25.53)
2:05.27 (25.76) 2:30.75 (25.48)
2:56.22 (25.47) 3:21.52 (25.30)
3:46.24 (24.72) 4:10.23 (23.99)
5 Alcantara, Leon JR Alabama-SE 4:11.83 4:10.45 NC 25
r:+0.70 23.15 47.97 (24.82)
1:13.40 (25.43) 1:39.12 (25.72)
2:05.08 (25.96) 2:30.41 (25.33)
2:55.83 (25.42) 3:21.43 (25.60)
3:46.48 (25.05) 4:10.45 (23.97)
6 Largeron, Pierr JR South Carolina-S 4:13.70 4:11.88 NC 24
r:+0.64 22.60 47.56 (24.96)
1:13.00 (25.44) 1:38.82 (25.82)
2:04.71 (25.89) 2:30.29 (25.58)
2:56.11 (25.82) 3:21.65 (25.54)
3:47.08 (25.43) 4:11.88 (24.80)
7 Green, Sean T FR UGA-GA 4:12.38 4:12.01 NC 23
r:+0.65 22.99 48.07 (25.08)
1:13.58 (25.51) 1:39.24 (25.66)
2:04.88 (25.64) 2:30.45 (25.57)
2:55.94 (25.49) 3:21.55 (25.61)
3:47.27 (25.72) 4:12.01 (24.74)
8 Bujak-Upton, Ko Tennessee-SE 4:12.56 4:13.02 NC 22
r:+0.66 22.59 47.62 (25.03)
1:13.11 (25.49) 1:38.99 (25.88)
2:04.62 (25.63) 2:30.39 (25.77)
2:56.26 (25.87) 3:22.16 (25.90)
3:48.13 (25.97) 4:13.02 (24.89)
Men’s Platform Diving
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay
