The No. 14/21 LSU swimming and diving program led all teams after the first day of the Air Force quad-meet at Cadet Natatorium Friday night.
The No. 14 Tiger men lead Air Force, 105-81, Denver, 115-71, and Wyoming, 117-69. The No. 21 LSU women have the advantage over Air Force, 97-89, Denver, 99-87, and Wyoming, 96-90.
In the first event of the day, the 200-medley relay, the Tigers won both the men’s and women’s races. The LSU women’s group of Jessie Liao, Sabrina Lyn, Malou Douillard, and Anastasia Bako took the top spot, posting a time of 1:43.53. On the men’s side, LSU’s squad of Stepan Goncharov, Volodomyr Lisovets, Diggory Dillingham, and Jere Hribar touched the wall first with a time of 1:26.34.
Nicole Santuliana notched first place in the 400-IM. The sophomore recorded a time of 4:31.21.
LSU took first, second, and third in the men’s 100-free. Hribar took the top spot, putting up a time of 44.10. Andrew Garon finished second with a time of 44.90, and Meubry followed in third with a time of 45.24.
Goncharov touched the wall first in the 200-back for LSU. The junior clocked in at 1:50.06.
In the 200-breast Martina Bukvic claimed the top spot with a time of 2:19.03. The event was the freshman’s first individual event of her collegiate career. On the men’s side, Lisovets placed third, recording a time of 2:04.91.
Giulia Zambelli finished second in the 100-fly, coming in with a time of 55.71, while Caleb Ellis placed third, putting up a time of 49.47.
Despite the change of elevation felt strongly during the 500-free, the Tigers placed second in both the men’s and women’s races. Santuliana recorded a time of 5:03.31 for the women, while Jovan Lekic posted a time of 4:36.71 for the men.
The Tigers took the top spots in the final event of the day – the 400-free relay. The women’s group of Michaela de Villiers, Zoe Carlos-Broc, Douillard, and Bako touched the wall first with a time of 3:24.66. The men’s squad of Goncharov, Hribar, Garon, and Dillingham also grabbed the top spot, clocking in at 3:00.73. The second group of Simon Meubry, Ellis, Albert Bouley, and Jon Avdiu followed right behind with a time of 3:00.90.
In the diving well, Carson Paul earned the top spot in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving. The senior totaled 330.80 points in the 1-meter diving and 408.20 points in the 3-meter. Both of Paul’s scores met the NCAA Division I qualifying standard. Sophomore Travis Keith took second in the 1-meter diving, scoring 320.95 points – meeting the NCAA Division I qualifying standard – and placed fourth in the 3-meter with 309.20 points.
On the women’s side, Eve Nelson led all women in 3-meter diving with 292.10 points and took tenth in the 1-meter. The freshman’s score in the 3-meter met the NCAA Division I qualifying standard.
A total of nine Tigers made their LSU debut Friday night. Freshmen Avdiu, Bukvic, Douillard, Kara Jones, Lalonde, and Nelson made their first collegiate appearance. Transfers Dillingham, Ellis, and Keith donned the purple and gold for the first time in their careers.
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