@RazorbackSD Dives In at 2015 SEC Championships

February 15, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas women’s swimming and diving officially kicks-off its championship season at the 2015 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Auburn, Alabama at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center on Feb. 17-21. The Razorbacks enter the championship season with a dual meet record of 4-3 (1-3 SEC). During the regular season, seven swimmers earned NCAA ‘B’ cut times and four divers recorded NCAA zone-qualifying scores.

Every session of the 2015 SEC Championships will be broadcasted on SEC Network+, excluding diving prelims on Tuesday.

The Razorbacks enter SECs riding a four-meet win streak after trouncing Nebraska, Vanderbilt, Missouri State and Kansas. In the last four meets combined, Arkansas has out-touched its opponents in 57 of 64 events.

At the 2014 SEC Championships, the Razorbacks took sixth place, with 10 top-10 finishes. Current Razorbacks Anna Mayfield and Nikki Daniels both clocked top-10 times at the 2014 SEC Championships in the 100 breaststroke and 200 backstroke, respectively.

All swimming prelims will start at 10 a.m., Feb. 17-21. Finals sessions will take place at 6 p.m. (with the exception of Tuesday’s 5:30 p.m. finals) each day of the championships. A 90-minute highlight show of the women’s competition will air on ESPNU on March 4 at 5:30 p.m.

Click here to access Championship Central where live results will be located for each day. Fans interested in purchasing tickets can buy standing room only tickets on Monday, Feb. 16.

STORYLINES

Daniels to Go Out with a Bang

In her final season in the Cardinal and White, senior breaststroke specialist and All-American Nikki Daniels remains one of the top 100-yard breaststrokers in the country. After debuting on the charts at No. 2 following the Florida dual meet (Sept. 27), Daniels has stayed in the top-10 national charts in the 100 breast for 20 straight weeks. Daniels currently is pegged No. 9 in the national rankings with a time of 59.58 and was one of the first swimmers to dip below the one-minute mark in 2014.

#MAYHEM

Junior Anna Mayfield has emerged as one of the standouts for the Razorbacks. The San Antonio, Texas native holds three swims ranked in the top-50 in the nation, led by her 500 freestyle time of 4:39.67 that ranks No. 11 in the country and No. 6 in the league. After helping contribute 40 points to Arkansas’ win over Kansas, Mayfield also became the first Razorback in over a year to win a weekly honor from the conference when she was tabbed Swimmer of the Week.

Frosh out the Pool

Arkansas’ freshman class has stepped up to the plate for the Razorbacks this season. In Arkansas’ top-5 swims this season, 28 of those times have come from a freshman. Leading the frosh charge is Chelsea Tatlow and Chloe Hannam. Tatlow boasts nine top five times, while Hannam holds six. Tatlow holds the top times in the 200 and 400 IMs with times of 1:58.32 and 4:13.71, respectively.

#RAZORFACTS

The Razorbacks hold eight top-50 times in the nation, led by junior Anna Mayfield with three ranked swims in the 500 free (No. 11, 4:39.67), 200 backstroke (No. 27, 1:54.84) and 200 free (No. 44, 1:46.84).
Senior Nikki Daniels holds two top-50 times ranked on the national charts in the 100 breast (No. 9, 59.58) and the 200 breast (No. 26, 2:11.66). Freshman Chelsea Tatlow also holds a pair of ranked swims in the 200 IM (No. 24, 1:58.32) and 400 IM (No. 33, 4:13.71). Senior sprinter Susanna White holds the No. 41 time in the 50 free (22.59).
The Razorbacks hold 19 top-25 times in the SEC, led by Mayfield with four ranked swims: No. 12 200 free (1:46.84), No. 6 500 free (4:39.67), No. 13 100 back (53.61) and No. 9 200 back (1:54.84). Tatlow follows-up Mayfield with three ranked times in the league.
For three consecutive dual meets, Mayfield has swept all of her individual events.

VINTAGE STOCK

Against Kansas, Mayfield broke her own pool record she set when Arkansas traveled to Kansas in 2013, with a time of 4:51.78.
Daniels swept the Georgia Tech Invite breaststroke events, leading the field in the 100 and 200 breast in the prelims, winning each final handily. Daniels out-touched the runner-up in the 100 breast by almost two full seconds with a time of 59.89. In the 200 breast, she defeated Florida’s Lindsey McKnight by nearly three seconds with a time of 2:11.66.
The Arkansas 200 medley relay team of Mayfield, Daniels, White and Nina Drolc touched the wall first in the 200 medley against Nebraska. The team’s time of 1:42.90 topped the Devaney Natatorium’s previous pool record of 1:43.03 that was set in 1983 by Stanford.

For more information on Arkansas swimming and diving, follow @RazorbackSD.