Tennessee's McKenzie Siroky announced her arrival among the nation's elite with a silver medal wrapped around her neck.

The sophomore swimmer posted a time of 57 seconds in the 100-meter breaststroke on the second day of the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships at McAuley Aquatics Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

While Siroky was just .60 seconds off first place, this marks the fourth consecutive year that a Lady Vols swimmer has taken second place in the 100-meter breaststroke, with LVFL Mona McSharry being the previous one to do so for the last three years.

Siroky tied with Florida's Anita Bottazzo after touching the wall with a time of 57 seconds. However, she set a new personal best with 56.93 in the prelims, improving her second-best mark in program history.

Entering the season, she was already viewed as a top contender in the breaststroke events, having built an impressive resume that includes SEC medals and All-American performances. She has consistently proved to overcome high-pressure situations, which has led her to become one of Tennessee’s most reliable performers.

Siroky boasts a resume that contains four All-America certificates and five SEC medals, including a gold in the 200-meter medley relay, three silvers in the 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter medley relay, and a bronze in 200-meter breaststroke.

Before her Tennessee days, Siroky was originally a D1 hockey commit to the University of Minnesota Duluth and was only swimming full-time for a year prior to college.

However, that didn't keep her from success. She also placed seventh at the U.S Olympic Team Trials in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:07.71.

How Did Others From the Lady Vols Perform?

Thursday was a massive success overall for the Lady Vols, who featured in six podium finishes and earned seven All-American certificates as well.

Other notable performances for the Lady Vols included Ella Jansen, who finished fourth in the 400-meter individual medley with a program record time of 3:59.59, previously set by Ellen Walshe.

Meanwhile, Camille Spink finished sixth in the 200-meter freestyle championship with a time of 1:41.72 to earn First-Team All-America recognition for the second time at this season's national championships.

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar