The final home meet for Alabama swimming and diving was nearly the perfect send-off for Alabama’s seniors.
The Alabama men won 15 of their 16 events, defeating Emory 192-62. On the women’s side, Alabama won 13 of 16 events, outscoring the Eagles 178-110.
Senior Paige McCleary set new school records on both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, scoring 377.70 and 325.88, respectively. Present at the meet were school officials, including President Judy Bonner, and one of the loudest Alabama Aquatics Center crowds in recent memory.
Notably missing, however, was head coach Dennis Pursley, who is currently serving a two-meet, in-house suspension for Level III NCAA Violations.
According to the NCAA’s official website, Level III violations which result in a head coach suspension “are isolated or limited in nature; provide no more than a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage; and provide no more than a minimal impermissible benefit.”
Many Level III violations involve recruiting outside of designated times or excessive amounts of communication with recruits. They are the most minor of NCAA recruiting violations, and are frequently “inadvertent.” Furthermore, a program’s head coach is “presumed to be responsible for the actions of all assistant coaches and administrators who report, directly or indirectly, to the head coach.”
Over the summer, the swimming and diving team reported eight secondary violations from last season, which led all UA teams. The violations ranged from texting a recruit while on an on-campus visit to paying for a club coach’s meal to posting bond for a student-athlete.
In the pool Saturday, Alabama sent its seniors off on a high note. McCleary set both diving school records, an achievement she said she hopes will cement her legacy in the program.
“For me it’s been an honor,” McCleary said. “It’s so much about tradition, and to be a part of that tradition for four years has been great. For this last meet, leaving a part of myself here has been awesome.”
Senior BJ Hornikel was part of the relay teams that opened and closed the meet with Alabama victories, swimming 3:13:99 in the 400 medley and 2:56:21 in the 400 freestyle. Hornikel owns several Alabama records, including the 100 freestyle, but said he looks forward to seeing those records broken in the future.
“I hope other guys step up and break those soon,” Hornikel said. “It’s getting great to be on this team, moving forward, and I wish I had four more years to spend on the team … The freshmen are really impressing me, going forward. They bring so much to the team. It’s just a different level.”
In fact, many of the strongest performances on Senior Day came from freshmen. Kristian Gkolomeev, the spring enrollee and Greek Olympian won the 50 freestyle for the second time in as many meets with the Crimson Tide, swimming it in 20.33 seconds. Leah Bird won the 500 freestyle for the women, while Anton McKee won the 1,000 and 500 freestyles, Szymmy Day won the 200 backstroke, Alex Gray won the 100 backstroke, and Connor Oslin won the 100 freestyle all freshmen.
Hornikel said he has faith that the Crimson Tide will do well at the upcoming conference and national championships.
“I think we’ve been doing pretty well so far,” Hornikel said. “I think people will be surprised when we get to the SEC [Championships] … I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people.”
The Alabama swimming and diving teams will close out the regular season against the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga, Feb. 1.
