Grigory Tarasevich

Photo by: Reagan Lunn

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Omsk, Russia
High School:
Grammar School #19

Junior: Grigory is one of Louisville's three returning Olympians. Racing in Rio for Russia, he posted a 53.46 in the semifinals of the 100-backstroke for ninth place at the 2016 Olympic Games. He swam in the qualifying heats of the 4x100 medley relay, helping Russia to qualify third going into the finals, splitting 25.63 as part of the 3:32.95 effort. He competed in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke at the 2016 European Championships and won medals in the 50-meter and 100-meter, to qualify for Rio. At NCAAs, he scored 25 points. He won a bronze medal in the 100-back with a time of 45.33. He was ninth in the 200-back with a 1:39.81. He helped the 800-free relay team to a seventh place finish (6:15.86) with a split of 1:33.76. He was on the 15th place 200-free relay (1:18.24) with a split of 19.21. He made the podium, winning bronze in the 400-medley relay (3:04.73) with a leadoff leg of 45.24 and was on the fifth place 200-medley relay team (1:24.08) with a split of 21.14. He was the second leg (42.27) in the 13th place 400-free relay (2:52.18). At ACCs, he scored 73 points with gold in the 100-back (45.88) and gold in the 200-back (1:39.28). He was the leadoff leg (21.28) on the silver medal 200-medley relay team (1:24.01) and then won silver in the 800 free relay (6.14.96) splitting 1:32.29. He finished 17th in the 200-IM (1:44.66). He collected bronze as a part of the 200-free relay (1:18.15) with a split of 19.06. He won gold in the 400-medley relay (3.04.90) with a leadoff leg of 45.81. At the Arena Pro Series in Orlando, he was second in the 100-meter back (53.84) and third in the 200-meter back (1:58.04). In the regular season, he had wins in the 100-back against Cincinnati, North Carolina, Florida State, Kentucky and Indiana. In the 200-back, he won versus Xavier, North Carolina, Florida State, Kentucky and Indiana. He was named an CSCAA Scholar All-American and a member of the All-ACC Academic squad. He was All-ACC in three events.

Sophomore: Grigory was named to the All-ACC Academic squad, was an All-ACC performer in five events and was an All-American and a two-time honorable mention All-American. He scored 60 points at the ACC Championships. He won gold in the 100-back (46.21) and silver in the 200-back with a 1:40.86. He helped the Cards win the 400-medley relay at ACCs with a leadoff split of 46.21. He won ACC silver as part of the 800-free relay, swimming the third leg in 1:35.60. At the NCAA Championships, he was 10th in the 100-back with a 45.97 and 11th in the 200-back with a 1:40.96. In the 200-medley relay team, he led off with a 21.54 en route to a fourth place finish. At the USA Short Course Nationals, he finished third in the 100-back (46.09) and won the 200-back in 1:40.71. He was also a part of the winning 4x100 medley relay where he split 46.19. At the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Grisha was 11th in the 200-meter backstroke in 1:57.77 and was 13th in the 50-meter back with a 25.27. At the Moscow World Cup, he was second in the 100-backstroke. Dual meet highlights include a sweep of the backstroke events versus Florida State and a win in the 100-back against North Carolina (48.28). He swept both back events versus Kentucky in 48.83 and 1:46.13. In the Michigan Quad with Indiana and Texas, he was second in the 100-back (48.81) and second in the 200-back in 1:46.30. At the Louisville Invitational, he won the 100-free in 44.50 and was part of the winning 200-medley relay and the 800-free relay teams.

Freshman: As a freshman, Grigory qualified in individual events for the NCAA Championships, in the 200-backstroke. He was placed on the All-American Conference team for winning both the 100- and 200-backstroke events, as well as helping the winning 200- and 400-medley relays at the American Conference Championships. He was the 18th-fastest in the 200-backstroke with a time of 1:41.50. Grigory posted a school record time with a 1:41.33 finish in the 200-backstroke at the NCAA Championships. He also finished 18th in the prelims of the 200-back and 32nd in the 100-back at the NCAA Championships.

Prep: Grigory Tarasevich hails from Omsk, Russia where he attended Grammar School #19. Tarasevich has earned three European Junior Champion Titles, he is a two time Russian Junior National Record Holder, and was crowned 2013's World Junior Champion in the 50- meter backstroke.

Personal: Son of Arkadiy and Galina Tarasevich. Born August 1, 1995. Major is Mechanical Engineering.