Swimcloud

Georgia Tech Invite - Day 3

Georgia Tech

 The Georgia Tech swimming & diving team concluded the Georgia Tech Invitational on Saturday night, as the men finished 3rd and the women finished 5th. The Jackets will be swimming long course events tomorrow.
 
Junior Ben Southern led the way for the Jackets with a win in the men’s 200 butterfly final. The Falls Church, Va., native was able to edge Alabama’s Taylor Charles with a time of 1:45.84.
 
“I’m very proud of the team this weekend,” head coach Courtney Shealy Hart said. “I think we did a good job from start to finish. We did a good job of getting behind each other, supporting each other and racing hard. Obviously, we went up against some great competition. I’m looking forward to the long course tomorrow and seeing what we can do.”
 
The Jackets’ next meet will come against Cincinnati and Florida Atlantic on Dec. 18 in Naples, Fla.  
 
Men’s Final Standings
1. Alabama 1360.5 
2. South Carolina 1107
3. Georgia Tech 1075.5  
4. Indian River State College 491
5. UNLV 373  
6. Florida Atlantic 279
7. Carson-Newman 241  
8. Minnesota 225
9. Stanford 132 
10. Auburn University 116
11. Hawai’i 100
 
Women’s Final Standings
1. Arkansas 1112  
2. Alabama 1022.5
3. Florida Gulf Coast 850  
4. South Carolina 819.5
5. Georgia Tech 441.5
6. UNLV 343
7. Indian River State College 254  
8. Florida Atlantic 229.5
9. Campbell 184.5 
10. Georgia Southern 184
11. Carson-Newman 183  
12. Minnesota 171.5
13. UNC Asheville 134 
14. Stanford 102
15. Hawai’i 85 
16. Auburn 51
17. Clemson 18
18. Tulane 4

 

Alabama

Alabama swimming and diving’s Emma Saunders opened and closed the final day of the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational in smashing fashion, bettering her own school record in the 200 backstroke to get the night started and capturing the school record in the 100 freestyle to cap things off.

She won the 200 backstroke with a 1:53.88, becoming the first UA woman under 1:54 in the event. She then led off the Tide’s second-place 400 freestyle relay with a 48.89, becoming the first Tide woman under 49 second and breaking Ida Persson’s 2009 school record of 49.26 by more than three-tenths of a second. Saunders now owns the school 100 and 200 freestyle and the 100 and 200 backstroke marks.

This weekend marks the second year in a row in which Saunders set a pair of school records in November. The senior also bettered her own 200 backstroke record at last year’s mid-season H2Okie Invitational.

Overall, the Tide won five individual events and a relay on the final day of the meet. The Tide earned the most combined team points over the three-day event with 2147.50 points while the Tide won the men’s title with 1360.5 points and was second in the women’s standing after scoring 787 points.

Sophomore Christopher Reid led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 backstroke after touching the first wall with a 1:41.82. Junior Kristian Gkolomeev won the 100 freestyle with a 42.85 while junior Anton McKee took first in the 200 breaststroke with a 1:53.00. Newcomer Hannah Musser won the women’s 200 butterfly with a 1:58.91, which ties her for fifth all-time at UA.

Junior Taylor Charles posted a career-best 1:46.06 in the men’s 200 butterfly to take second place while junior Bridget Blood posted the second fastest time of the night in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:11.95. Freshman Justine Macfarlane posted a 2:14.00 in the 200 breaststroke which ranks her 10th all-time at Alabama and was good for sixth in Atlanta.

Junior Alex Gray, senior Crews Wellford, freshman Robert Howard and Gkolomeev posted a 2:53.83 to win the 400 freestyle relay, finishing more than three seconds ahead of the field. On the women’s side of the slate, paced by Saunders’ school-record leadoff, she joined sophomore Lindsay Morrow, Musser and sophomore Temarie Tomley to take second in the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:18.90.

 

Arkansas

The University of Arkansas swimming and diving team downs the competition at the Georgia Tech Invitational, beating 19 teams with a total score of 1112 points.

The competition consisted of Alabama, Auburn, FGCU, Georgia Institute of Technology, Indian River State College, Campbell, Carson-Newman, Stanford, Hawaii, Clemson, South Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Nevada- Las Vegas, Georgia Southern, Minnesota, Tulane, and UNC Asheville.

Arkansas finished first with 1112 points, followed by Alabama with 1022.5 points, FGCU in third with 850 points and in fourth South Carolina with 819.5 points.

“We are in a good spot for November. I am extremely proud of the work the team has done up to this point.” Head coach Sean Schimmel said. “It was a very exciting weekend and a great win for the program and Arkansas.”

Aiden Lister went a personal best time in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:29.23. Co-Captain and teammate Rachel Stoehr finished third (16:46.16). Lister and Stoehr totaled 48 points in the 1650 freestyle.

The Razorbacks had five swimmers in the 200 backstroke finals. Senior Anna Mayfield finished second (1:54.09), sophomore Chloe Hannam finished right behind Mayfield (1:56.21), freshman Madison Umberger in 12th (2:00.40), sophomore Chelsea Tatlow finished 15th (2:00.97) and junior Sarah Easterling finished 24th (2:03.22).

Maddie Monroe had an exceptional weekend at the GT Invitational. She finished first in the 100 freestyle in a time of 48.73, followed by Nina Drolc in fourth (49.61), Natalie Burnett finished eighth (50.23) and Caitlin Tootill placed 19th (51.73).

“Maddie not only broke team records, she also had lifetime best swims in all her events, plus she was on all five relays.” Schimmel said.

Freshman Madison Strathman had a personal best time in the 200 breaststroke and finished third (2:13.56). She had big drops in her breaststroke events this weekend. Freshman Sydney Angell finished seventh (2:15.40) and teammate Easterling finished 18th (2:19.93).

Arkansas represented in the 200 butterfly with six swimmers in the finals. Sophomore Jessie Garrison finished fifth in a time of 2:00.33, followed by Tatlow in seventh (2:00.66) and Taylor Weiss in ninth (2:00.93). Senior Rachel Kessler finished 14th, Lister placed 17th, and Olivia Weekley in 20th.

The last and final event of the weekend, Arkansas downed the competition in the 400 free relay. Monroe (49.26), Drolc (49.38), Burnett (49.26), and Mayfield (49.42).

On the last day of the GT Invitational, sophomore Nicole Gillis finished ninth in the platform diving (243.30). Senior Shelby Bartlett finished 11th (224.15), senior Hannah Bortnick finished 23rd (190.50), and freshman Marissa Green finished 32nd (165.10).

“The divers did a fantastic job on the one meter and tower this weekend. The three meter was a little off, but as a whole, we’re developing and progressing like we should be.”‘ Diving coach Jeff DiNicola said. “Mid seasons are always a good trial run to see where we need to modify to make us better for SEC Championships, Zones and NCAA.”

 

Florida Gulf Coast

Coming off impressive performances in the opening two days of the Georgia Tech Invite, the No. 24 FGCU swimming and diving team finished strong en route to placing third among the eighteen competing universities. The Green and Blue finished ahead of the likes of No. 46 South Carolina, Stanford, Auburn, Alabama and Georgia Tech, among other prominent programs.

"I'm extremely proud of the way the girls competed this weekend," said FGCU head coach Neal Studd. "We stacked up well against some of the best competition we've seen this season. I hope we can keep it going once the season starts back up after the new year."

To start the day off, Lani Cabrera (Bridgetown, Barbados/St. Ursala's Secondary School) set her second school record of the weekend, this time in the 1650-yard freestyle as she touched the pads in 16:35.50 and finished second in the event. Teammate Melissa Marinheiro (Davie, Fla./West Broward HS) finished eighth in the event in a time of 17:01.72.

Freshman Elise Haan (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) continued to stellar start the her collegiate career as she achieved a NCAA 'B' cut in a pair of events. The Naples native clocked a season-best time of 1:56.43 and finished fourth in the 200-yard backstroke. Later, she touched the pads in 49.82 seconds and finished sixth in the 100-yard freestyle.

Sophomore Katie Armitage (Bushey, United Kingdom/Queens School Bushey) swam a season-best time of 2:15.60 in the 200-yard breaststroke and achieved a NCAA ' B' cut in the event for the second time this season.

Then, freshman Christina Kaas Elmgreen (Charlottenlund, Denmark/Ordrup Gymnasium) recorded the fifth season-best time of the day in as many events and finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly after swimming a 2:00.17.

To cap off the swimming events, the 400-yard freestyle quartet of Sara Hamilton (Stonehaven, Scotland/Mackie Academy), Barbara Caraballo (Ponce, Puerto Rico/Indian River/Newsome HS), Katie Latham (Deal, Kent, United Kingdom/Sir Roger Manwood's School) and Haan finished fourth in a season-best time of 3:20.10.

 

South Carolina

The South Carolina swimming and diving program wrapped up the fall portion of its schedule Saturday night at the Georgia Tech Invite. The men would take second overall in the three-day meet with 1,107 total points, the women held fourth with 819.5 points.

The distance groups made sure the final day opened with a bang for the Gamecocks. Akaram Mahmoud, Cody Bekemeyer and Tomas Peribonio went 1-2-3 in the 1650-free event. Mahmoud came just a few seconds off his school record, finishing in 14:48.52. Travis Morrin would also score for the team with a seventh-place finish in the event. For the women, Sarah Smith and Elizabeth Maltby would be the top two finishers, coming in fifth and sixth, respectively.

At the start of sprints, Carolina picked up ‘B’ flight winners in the women’s 200-yard backstroke (Jordyn Barham) and in the men’s 100 free with Jonathan Boland. The women would put a trio in the ‘A’ final of the 200-yard breaststroke final, and had Kersten Dirrane (4th), Emma Barksdale (5th) and Brittany Oxley (10th) score crucial points. A second-place result from Marissa DelGado in the 200 fly would help the Gamecocks maintain their place in the 18-team field.

Nils Wich-Glasen earned a second-place finish in the 200 breastroke for the men, taking more than four seconds off his previous season best with a touch in 1:54.74. Phillip Willett (6th) and Jeremiah Bohon (8th) would also score for the men in the ‘A’ final.

To close out the meet, the men placed third in the 400 free relay. The women finished sixth.

Arkansas won the overall team title on the women’s side, Alabama would win for the men. The Gamecocks will race next in the New Year, taking on Duke on Jan. 8.

 

Campbell

Michelle Case set her second school record of the weekend, leading Campbell on the final day of the Georgia Tech Invitational Saturday.

Case registered a 51.20 in the 100 freestyle finals, breaking her own Campbell record, set at last season’s Georgia Tech Invitational (51.96). The sophomore took 15th on the day. Case, a sophomore from Fort Mill, S.C., also set the CU 50 free mark on Friday.

Geena Squartino also took 13th in the 1,650 free with a 17:23.52, while Taylor McMinn placed 30th in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:23.39.

In the 200 back, Karah Sizemore placed 19th in the preliminary round with a 2:03.27, and 20th in the finals with a time of 2:04.01.

Caroline Clark was one of three Camels to make the 200 butterfly finals, finishing 18th with a time of 2:04.51. Michelle Case took 23rd with a 2:05.68, while Karah Sizemore finished 27th with a 2:06.22.

Campbell took 10th in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:28.60.

Campbell took ninth with 184.5 points, edging Georgia Southern’s 184, and Carson-Newman’s 183. Arkansas took the team title with 1,112.

Next up for the Camels will be a Jan. 15 meet at Liberty. Campbell returns home on Feb. 6, hosting UNC Wilmington and Mount St. Mary's.

 

Georgia Southern

Georgia Southern Swimming & Diving closed out the first half of the year in the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational finale on Saturday. The distance swimmers shined in the finale, taking a pair of top-10 finishes in the 1650 Free. The Eagles are back in action on January 9th at UNC Asheville.

Anna Rose Moore (FR – Watkinsville, Ga.)
9th – 1650 Free – 17:45.45

Mae McWhorter (SO – Statham, Ga.)
10th – 1650 Free – 17:45.47
46th – 200 Back - 2:09.86 (Prelims)

Anna Kassis (FR – Charleston, S.C.)
13th – 1650 Free – 17:58.44

Madison Heydinger (FR – Kansas City, Mo.)
16th – 1650 Free – 18:10.84

Kalyn Thomas (SO – Cumming, Ga.)
19th – 100 Free – 51.55 (B-Final)

Bre Stuart (FR – Stafford, Va.)
31st – 200 Breast – 2:24.14 (Prelims)

Christina Moran (SR – Johns Creek, Ga.)
32nd – 200 Back – 2:05.04 (Prelims)

Athena Cimino (FR – Land O’ Lakes, Fla.)
37th – 100 Free – 52.36 (Prelims)

Amber Cortazzo (SO – Reading, Pa.)
38th – 200 Fly – 2:07.90 (Prelims)

Madison Litchefeld – (SO – Louisville, Ky.)
38th – 200 Breast – 2:26.45 (Prelims)

Abbey Moore (FR – Chicago, Ill.)
38th – 100 Free – 52.38 (Prelims)

Megan Liebl (JR – Muskego, Wisc.)
49th – 200 Fly – 2:12.87 (Prelims)

RELAY RESULTS
7th – 400 Free Relay – Kaylyn Thomas | Abbey Moore | Athena Cimino | Kylee Parsons – 3:26.93

"Overall, I was pleased with our performances today," Head Coach Nate Kellogg said. "We had some strong performances that just didn't make it back tonight. I thought our 400 Free Relay was the highlight of the day for us. Kaynun, Abbey, Athena, and Kylee did a great job. We are excited about where we are and how we will move forward to the championship season."

With the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational in the books, Georgia Southern is wrapped for the first half of the season. The Eagles dip their toes in the competition pool again on Jan. 9th in Asheville, N.C.

 

UNLV

With the Georgia Tech invitational coming to an end on Saturday night, the Rebels brought home more victorious times as well as further improved personal best times. 

The men's team finished fifth in the meet with 373 points. In first place was Alabama, followed by South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Indian River. 

Some of UNLV's top swimmers for the final day were in the 200 fly with Avi Cohen finishing in fourth while Dillion Virva placed seventh in the 100 free. Boris Kulizhnikov was also seventh in the 200 breast. 

In the relay events the men took fourth in the 400 free with the team of Kasey Foley, Virva,Christian Sobczak, and Forrest Beesley. UNLV's time of 3:00.02 was a personal best for this year's team.. 

On the women's side they finished in sixth with 343 points. Leading the meet was Arkansas, Alabama, Florida Gulf Coast, South Carolina, and Georgia Tech. One of the consistently dominant swimmers throughout the invitational was Lina Rathsack, who won the 200 breast with a 2:11.84. This is both a personal best for Rathsack, as well as a new UNLV record. Among other strong contenders were both Julia Fehervari in seventh and Michelle Troup in tenth in the 100 free. The team of Fehervari, Lena Gavrilova, Rathsack, and Michelle Troup finished up the day for the women with a third in the 400 free.

Interim Head Coach Bobby Folan on the weekend's performances - "Today was another great day. We had more lifetime bests and some swims that lead the conference. The divers had a great learning experience by competing against the best divers in the country, which is the goal of this meet. For a very short amount of rest, I am very happy and proud of how our athletes handled themselves. We got to witness a lot of toughness this week, which will definitely help us with the remainder of our season." 

The Rebels now get a well deserved two week break before they return to action. They will host the UNLV Winter Invitational on December 12-14 in Buchanan Natatorium. 

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