Georgia
Georgia's swimming and diving teams continued to post stellar performances on Saturday in the UGA Fall Invitational at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Georgia notched five more individual NCAA automatic qualifying times during Saturday's competition.
In the men's team standings, the Bulldogs are leading with 611 points, followed by California with 594 and Auburn with 416. Cal is atop the women's standings with 620 points, while Georgia has 587 and Virginia has 483.
"We continue to be pleased with the way our kids are competing," said Harvey Humphries, Georgia's Acting Head Coach. "We're seeing some really fast times, and that's satisfying at the midpoint of the season. You can tell the training is paying off. We just need to keep it going one more day."
The Bulldogs dominated the 400 individual medley and posted three A cuts in the process. Chase Kalisz went 3:29.28 for first place, followed by Gunnar Bentz in 3:40.57 and Jay Litherland in 3:41.52. Matias Koski took first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:34.67.
The 800 freestyle relay of Bentz, Kalisz, Alec Cohen and Koski capped the meet with a victorious A-cut effort of 6:20.91, which is the second-fastest time in school history. The 200 medley relay of Taylor Dale, Nicolas Fink, Pace Clark and Michael Trice posted an A-cut time of 1:25.47 with a third-place finish.
Hali Flickinger and Amber McDermott recorded A-cut times with their second- and third-place finishes in the 400 individual medley, respectively. Flickinger touched in 4:05.16, followed by McDermott at 4:05.25.
The 800 freestyle relay of Flickinger, Jordan Mattern, Maddie Locus and Brittany MacLean had an A-cut effort of 7:02.69 in finishing second.
The UGA Fall Invitational will conclude on Sunday with swimming prelims at 9:30 a.m., followed by tower diving at approximately 11:30 a.m. The swimming finals will take place at 3 p.m. There is no cost for admission.
California
Led by victories from sophomore Ryan Murphy, senior Chuck Katis and freshman Justin Lynch, the Cal men's swimming team had another strong performance Saturday at the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga. The Golden Bears also were the invitational's champion in the 200 medley relay with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:24.15 behind the swims of Murphy, Katis, Lynch and junior Tyler Messerschmidt.
Murphy, the defending NCAA champ in both the 100 and 200 back, won the Georgia Invite 100 back in a NCAA A qualifying time of 45.55. Breaststroker Katis was the champion in the 100 breast with a NCAA A standard time of 52.09, while newcomer Lynch was the winner of the 100 fly with an NCAA B standard time of 46.22.
Other top results for David Durden's squad were a runner-up finish for sophomore Long Gutierrez in the 200 free (B standard 1:35.50), followed by a third place finish by junior Trent Williams (B standard 1:36.04). Senior Sam Metz was the B Final champion with B standard time of 1:37.91.
The Bears were also runners-up in the 800 free relay with a B standard time of 6:24.03 behind the swims of senior Will Hamilton, Williams, Gutierrez and Murphy.
In the 400 IM, junior Josh Prenot placed fourth with an NCAA A qualifying time of 3:42.24. Hamilton was fourth (B standard 3:47.32) and senior Adam Hinshaw was the B Final champion with a B standard time of 3:48.63.
Besides Lynch's win in the 100 fly, senior Seth Stubblefield was sixth with a time of 47.33 (B standard) and freshman Kyle Gornay was the B Final champ with a mark of 47.66 (B standard).
Cal concludes the Georgia Invite Sunday. As a team, the Bears are currently in second place, 611 to 594, behind host Georgia.
Virginia
The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving team broke three more school records on the second day of the Georgia Fall Invitational Saturday (Dec. 6) at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The Cavaliers have now broken eight school records through two days.
After two days, Virginia’s women are in third with 483 points, behind California (620) and Georgia (587), but ahead of Auburn (246), Penn State (243) and Florida State (158). The UVa men (323) are fourth, behind Georgia (611), Cal (594), Auburn (416), but ahead of Penn State (243) and Florida State (158).
“Overall we had another good day with a few more school records and a bunch of best times,” UVa head coach Augie Busch said. “We need to work on swimming faster at night, but we have probably our best day tomorrow, so we are looking to end the meet on a high note.“
To start off the finals session, the women’s 200 medley relay of junior Courtney Bartholomew, sophomore Laura Simon, senior Ellen Williamson and sophomore Ellen Thomas touched first and broke the school record in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 1:36.07.
Junior Yannick Kaeser placed second in the men’s 100 breast in a school-record time of 52.47, breaking Olympic champion Ed Moses’ mark of 52.60, set in 2000, which was the oldest school record on the board.
“It felt pretty good obviously,” Kaeser said. “This was one of my goals for this season along with getting faster in the 200. I can still do a better job with my turns, as I missed the first wall again tonight, so it is good to know that I have more to work on so I can go even faster.
“I knew of Ed Moses when I was growing up in Switzerland because he held a bunch of short-course meter world records, so it is a great feeling to be able to break his UVa record.”
Simon captured the women’s 100 breast title in 59.41, while Bartholomew claimed the women’s 100 back championship in 50.39.
The women’s 800 free relay of sophomore Leah Smith, junior Hanne Borgersen, sophomore Kaitlyn Jones and Williamson placed third in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 7:05.85.
In the women’s 100 fly, Thomas placed fifth in a time of 52.49, third on UVa’s all-time list. In prelims, Williamson broke school record in a time of 52.03, while freshman Jennifer Marrkand (52.91) and Jones (52.93) now rank fifth and sixth on the school’s all-time ledger. Sophomore Shannon Rauth went 53.37 in the B final to reach eighth on UVa’s all-time list.
Smith placed fourth in the women’s 400 free in 1:44.53.
In diving, junior Carl Buergler (338.25), senior JB Kolod (329.95) and Colby Shinholser (322.15) placed 6-7-8 on the men’s 3-meter boards, respectively. In women’s 1-meter diving, junior Becca Corbett placed seventh with 256.50 points, while freshman Emily Langworthy was 16th with 239.10.
Senior Shaun Casey placed sixth in the women’s 400 IM in a time of 4:10.71, while Jones finished eighth in 4:11.29. In prelims, Jones set a time of 4:08.55, the third-fastest time on UVa’s all-time list.
In the men’s 200 medley relay, the team of sophomore Zach Bunner, junior Yannick Kaeser and sophomores Adam Whitener and Matt Lockman placed sixth in 1:28.14.
The men's 800 free relay of sophomore Austin Quinn, freshman Omer Tara and juniors Rodney Fentress and Greg Stoffa finished seventh in 6:36.37.
Quinn placed eighth in the men’s 400 IM in 3:52.61. In prelims, he went 3:48.45, 10th on UVa’s all-time list.
Auburn
Auburn’s 200 medley relays recorded NCAA automatic qualifying times on both the men’s and women’s side, and Fraser McKean provided the Tigers with a win in the 3-meter final during the second night of finals Saturday at the Georgia Invitational.
Auburn’s men swam the third-fastest 200 medley relay of the year as the team of Joe Patching, Michael Duderstadt, Arthur Mendes and Kyle Darmody went 1:25.41. The time by the Tigers was good enough for second overall in the championship final and secured another NCAA automatic qualifying standard.
In the women’s 200 medley relay, Jillian Vitarius, Natasha Lloyd, Megan Fonteno and Allyx Purcell opened the session by taking fourth place, recording a 1:37.81 to eclipse the NCAA ‘A’ cut mark.
“I thought overall we were a lot more consistent,” head coach Brett Hawke said. “I was happy with some of the swims up front. Going into the final day, we want to have a better morning and hit on all cylinders instead of just pieces. We need to come in tomorrow morning and attack.”
McKean led the way for the Auburn divers by winning the men’s 3-meter final with a six-dive list of 379.45. Pete Turnham also finished 12th overall by scoring 294.55. In the women’s 1-meter final, Carly Scheper was 10th overall with a score of 257.40 to lead the Tigers. Shanna Schuelein placed 12th (253.95) and Cinzia Calabretta was 13th (247.75) to give Auburn three top-15 finishes.
In the women’s 100 breast, Lloyd led the Tiger women with a second-place finish at 1:00.66, while Annie Lazor’s 1:00.83 allowed the junior to claim third overall. Brooke Malone won the C-final with a personal-best time of 1:02.64 to achieve a NCAA provisional standard, while Breanna Roman was second at 1:03.24.
In the men’s 100 fly, Mendes earned a third-place finish in the championship final, clocking a 46.88. Alex Hancock matched his prelim time, taking fifth overall at 47.16. Cam Jones went 48.41 to finish eighth in the ‘A’ final. Allen Browning provided the Tigers with a tenth-place finish, claiming second in the consolation final at 47.27. Taylor Copeland took 22nd overall with a time of 49.63.
Michael Duderstadt was third overall in the men’s 100 breast, tying a personal-best with a swim of 52.54. The sophomore’s time ranks as the fourth-best mark in school history in the event. Jacob Molacek dropped time from the morning session and claimed sixth overall at 53.92, a season-best time for the freshman.
Patching earned a fifth-place finish in the 100 back championship final with a swim of 47.10, lowering his NCAA ‘B’ cut time for the season. Kyle Darmody posted a 48.27 to notch a ‘B’ standard and win the consolation final, while Joshua Booth took fifth (48.50) and Copeland finished seventh (49.06).
Zoe Thatcher took 10th overall in the women’s 400 IM, swimming the ninth-best time in school history at 4:13.19 and improving her NCAA ‘B’ cut time. Sarah Peterson also finished 16th in the B-final (4:21.23). Ashley Neidigh won the C-final with a personal-best and NCAA ‘B’ cut swim of 4:15.61, while Kristen Murslack posted a 4:19.29 to set a PR. The sophomore’s time also was good enough for a NCAA ‘B’ cut standard.
Vitarius took second in the women’s 100 back consolation final, posting a 53.56. Sarah Reynolds won the C-final at 54.04 to lower her ‘B’ cut time and dropping nearly a second from the morning session.
Other highlights included, Valerie Hull winning the C-final of the women’s 200 free from lane eight. The freshman cut over a second off her prelim time, posting a 1:47.17 to get the win. In the men’s 200 free, Tommy McKee took 23rd overall at 1:41.53.
The men’s 800 freestyle relay team of Patching, Mendes, Browning and Hancock posted a 6:26.88, just shy of the NCAA ‘B’ cut standard. Patching’s leadoff split of 1:36.20 lowered his ‘B’ cut time in the 200 free and was a personal-best for the sophomore.
Penn State
On the second day of the Georgia Fall Invitational, the Penn State women’s swimming and diving team is fifth out of nine teams with a score of 243. The Nittany Lions earned four top-eight finishes in the championship-style competition.
Junior Melissa Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico) had the top individual finish on the day for Penn State, placing sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Rodriguez touched the wall in 1:01.41 in the finals, clocking in with a season-best 1:01.40 in the prelims. She accumulated 13 points for Penn State.
The 200-yard medley relay team also placed sixth and picked up 26 points, as junior Allie Pennetti (Wexford, Pa.), Rodriguez, senior Carolyn Fittin (Sea Girt, N.J.) and junior Alyson Ackman (Montreal, Quebec) posted a time of 1:39.35, a 2014-15 top time.
Penn State clocked in at 7:11.73 in the evening event of the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team, consisting of senior Caitlyn Karr (Reading, Pa.), sophomore Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.), senior Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) and Ackman, took sixth place in its first 800 free relay competition of the season.
Ackman joined Rodriguez with a top-eight individual finish, getting a hand on the wall in 1:45.56 in the finals for eighth place, Penn State’s top time on the year. She picked up 11 points for the Nittany Lions.
Fittin swam to a personal-best time of 53.05 in the finals of the 100-yard butterfly, placing 11th.
On the diving side, sophomore Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) took ninth in the 1-meter event, tallying a career-best total of 277.45 in the finals.
Senior Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.) placed second in the 100-yard backstroke as the Penn State men’s swimming and diving team currently sits fifth out of eight teams with a score of 222.5 following the second day of competition at the Georgia Fall Invitational, Saturday. The Nittany Lions posted four top-eight finishes in the championship style event.
Savoy got a hand on the wall in 46:56 in the finals of the 100 back for his second place finish, picking up 17 points for Penn State. In the morning prelims, the senior touched the wall in 46.46, the top time in the event for the Nittany Lions this season.
Sophomore Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) tallied 12 team points with a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Stasiunas clocked in with a 1:37.72, posting a 2014-15 top-time in the prelims with a 1:37.57.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Savoy, sophomore Andrew Schuehler (Camden, N.J.), senior Kyle Madley (Madison, N.J.) and junior Matt Grillo (Montreal, Quebec) also had a strong performance, collecting 30 team points with a fourth-place time of 1:27.53 in the evening competition. Their prelim time of 1:25.38 was a season-best.
Savoy, Stasiunas, senior Nick Ankosko (East Brunswick, N.J.) and freshman Ryan O’Neill (Howell, N.J.) earned 28 points for the Nittany Lions in their first 800-yard freestyle relay competition of the season, touching the wall in 6:31.23.
Schuehler also picked up a 10th-place finish, collecting seven points, in the 100-yard breaststroke, posting a time of 55.35 in the finals.
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech men’s and women’s diving teams completed the second day of competition at the University of Georgia Fall Invitational Friday night, led by Kaylea Arnett, who won the 1-meter event! , and Kyle Butts, who took third in the men’s 3-meter event.
“The guys did a great job on 3-meter. It was a really tough event and really tough final,” head diving coach Ron Piemonte said. “For three guys in the final to go third, fourth and fifth is a great accomplishment. For the girls, Kaylea Arnett’s win in the one-meter was great. She dove well and it was exciting for her to win that.”
For the women, Arnett won the 1-meter with a score of 294.55 and Kelli Stockton finished a few spots behind her in sixth with a score of 263.20. Ashley Buchter finished 11th after posting 270.90.
On the men’s side, Tech had four top-10 finishes in the 3-meter event, led by Kyle Butts in third place, who scored 351.65. Thomas Shinholser took fourth with a mark of 347.45 and Logan Stevens finished fifth with a score of 346.10.
For the second day in a row, Mauro Castro-Silva finished ninth, posting the highest score of the B final (325.55). Behind him, Jack Gigliotti placed 11th with a score of 300.75.
The male divers scored 60 total team points in Saturday’s event, the most by any male diving team on the day. In the dominating performance, they nearly doubled the second-place total from University of Virginia (31 points).
Florida State
Sophomore Chelsea Britt picked up a win in the 100 fly swimming a career best time of 51.80, lowering her school record as the Florida State swimming and diving teams competed in the second day of the Georgia Invite.
“We had a better day today,” FSU head coach Frank Bradley said. “I thought we had some kids step up and swim better than they did a few weeks ago. We still have a ways to go, but we had a good day. Chelsea was as good as she’s ever been today and it’s encouraging to see her improving.”
Before her individual win, Britt helped the 200 medley relay to an NCAA automatic time of 1:37.57, placing third with a team of Bianca Spinazzola, Natalie Pierce, Britt and Kaityln Dressel.
“Great for that relay to get an ‘A’ cut,” Bradley said. “It will take the pressure off later in the season and we can focus on improving and building off that race. Great to see that.”
The Seminoles placed two swimmers in the top heat of the 100 breast, with Sami Pochowski placing fourth with a season best swim of 1:01.02 and Pierce placed eighth with a 1:02.20.
Spinazzola placed eighth in the 100 back, finishing with a time of 53.21. Britt competed in the ‘B’ final, winning that head with a career best of 52.68.
The men’s team started off the night with a fifth place showing in the 200 medley relay. The team of Josh Friedel, Jason Coombs, Connor Knight and Jason McCormick, who touched with a 1:27.66.
In the 100 fly, Cadell Lyons and Knight competed in the top flight with Lyons placing second with a time of 46.54, edging out Knight who was fourth with a 46.91.
“Cadell had a nice 100 fly at the Georgia Tech Invite too,” Bradley said. “It’s good to see him emerging and doing well in that race.”
Florida State following that effort by placing two more athletes in the top heat with Anthony Lyons finishing sixth with a season best of 1:37.61, touching ahead of Kevin Rogers, who was eighth at 1:37.89. Jemal LeGrand also picked up 12th place points with time of 1:38.45.
Coombs represented FSU in the top heat and was fifth in the 100 breast with a time of 53.50. McCormick placed 11th with a time of 55.64 ahead of Storm Hewitt, who was 13th (55.99) and Marc Rojas in 15th (57.08).
“We’ve got one more session to the 2014 portion of the year,” Bradley said. “I’d like us to reload and be aggressive.”
