Razorbacks Prepped for SEC Championships in Athens

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.- After a successful regular season, the Arkansas swimming and diving team sets its sights on the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga. The five-day event will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 23.

Action on all five days will be streamed on SEC+ while live stats will be available on meetmobile.com and divemeets.com.

“We are excited that the SEC Championships are finally here,” head coach Neil Harper said. We measure our success by individual improvement so our goal is for all of our individuals to step up in the heat of battle and perform their personal bests. If we do that we will have swimmers and divers competing in the finals and possibly challenging for a win, a podium finish, an NCAA qualifying time, or another personal best. These ladies have worked hard and improved their capabilities, so we have every reason to be confident and embrace the opportunity for great competition.”

The Razorbacks finished the regular season with a 6-3 record, highlighted by the first pre-season ranking under Harper and a win over then-No. 25 Houston. The team went undefeated in the 2019 calendar year, recording four wins to close the regular season.

Arkansas had a banner year in the pool, with junior Anna Hopkin breaking seven individual records 11 times and sophomore Brooke Schultz breaking four records on the springboards. The team also set records in the 200 and 400 yard freestyle relays in November.

Hopkin and Peyton Palsha lead the team in top times with four each, while Sydney Angell comes in second with two. Freshmen Vanessa Herrmann, Kobie Melton, and Rachel Rodriguez have stepped-up in their first season as Razorbacks, with each holding a top time.

Hopkin holds the top times in the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyles as well as the 100 yard butterfly, while distance swimmer Palsha leads the team in the 500, 1000, and 1650 yard freestyles and the 400 yard IM. A breaststroke and IM specialist, Angell holds the top time in the 100 yard breaststroke and the 200 yard IM.

The Hogs have combined for two NCAA ‘A’ cuts, both of which belong to Hopkin, and 26 NCAA ‘B’ cuts, with Hopkin recording 14 and Melton recording five.

On the boards, the team has combined for 36 NCAA Zone scores. Schultz leads the divers with 18 while Maha Amer is a close second with 12. Schultz followed her record-setting freshman campaign with a record-setting sophomore season. She will look to defend her two conference titles at the championships, taking both springboard titles last year in College Station, Texas.

SEC Championship Schedule

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