The Georgia swimming and diving teams posted a pair of victories over Georgia Tech on Wednesday at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
The No. 3 Bulldogs topped the Yellow Jackets 180-115, while the No. 3 Lady Bulldogs posted a 184-108 decision. Both Georgia teams improved to 3-0 on the season.
The Lady Bulldogs extended their UGA all-sports record to 96 straight dual or tri meet wins at home dating back to Nov. 8, 1995.
The Bulldogs have won 49 straight meets against Georgia Tech dating back to the 1961-62 season. The Lady Bulldogs boast 11 straight victories over the Jackets.
"I thought we had a really good meet today," Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. "I can't think of a bad swim from today, not even a mediocre one. We've been practicing well and it showed up in our performances today. I like the way our teams are developing. It's always good to swim against Tech. I thought they stood up and raced hard and made us work for everything today."
Gunnar Bentz, Matias Koski and Ty Stewart earned two individual victories apiece to lead the Bulldogs.
Bentz hit the wall in 4:26.80 in the 500-yard freestyle and 1:45.86 in the 200-yard butterfly. Koski wins victories in the sprint and distance freestyle events, clocking in at a time of 20.39 in the 50 and 9:09.59 in the 1,000. Stewart took the 100-yard butterfly and individual medley with times of 48.52 and 49.45, respectively.
Other winners for the Bulldogs included Ian Forlini on 3-meter springboard (380.35), Michael Trice in the 100-yard freestyle (44.19), Kevin Litherland in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.37), Jay Litherland in the 100-yard backstroke (49.52), Taylor Dale in the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.54) and James Guest in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:59.73).
The Bulldogs swept both relays. Dale, Guest, Pace Clark and Trice combined in the 200-yard medley relay for a time of 1:28.29. Chris Powell, Clark, Koski and Trice clocked the fastest time of 2:58.90 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Meaghan Raab paced the Lady Bulldogs with three individual wins, while Olivia Ball claimed both springboards.
Raab won both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle, finishing with times of 49.73 and 1:47.43 respectively. Raab also clocked the fastest time in the 100-yard individual medley at 55.63. Ball swept both diving events, finishing with 315.83 on the 1-meter and 326.85 on the 3-meter.
Other Lady Bulldogs to earn individual victories included Hali Flickinger in the 500-yard freestyle (1:41.92), Stephanie Peters in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:51.15), Olivia Smoliga in the 100-yard backstroke (55.03), Brittany MacLean in the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.73), Emily Cameron in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.75), Megan Kingsley in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:19.73), Kylie Stewart in the 100-yard butterfly (54.87) and Caitlin Casazza in the 200-yard butterfly (2:00.89).
The Lady Bulldogs earned victories in both relays as well. Smoliga, Raab, Stewart and MacLean won the 200-yard medley in 1:42.42. Anna Kolanowski, Shauna Lee, Peters and Annie Zhu hit the wall first in the 400-yard freestyle relay at 3:27.47.
Bauerle improved to 34-0 all-time against Georgia Tech (21-0 coaching the men, 10-0 coaching the women and 3-0 as a Georgia swimmer).
Georgia will take the block next against Emory on Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. in Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s swimming & diving squads both fell short on the road against in-state rival Georgia. The men were defeated 180-115, while the women were defeated 184-108. The defeat dropped the men to 3-1, while the women dropped to 1-4.
Moises Loschi and Iris Wang highlighted the swimming efforts for the Jackets, winning the men’s 100 breast and women’s 50 freestyle, respectively. Brad Homza led the way on the diving boards, winning the men’s 1-meter dive with a score of 370.88.
“I’m very proud of the way we raced today,” said head coach Courtney Shealy-Hart. “I thought it was a good meet from start to finish, and I’m looking forward to the Georgia Tech Invite in a couple of weeks.”
The Yellow Jackets’ next competition will be at home, with the Georgia Tech Invite taking place Nov. 19-21 at the CRC.
For the second time in program history, Georgia Tech and the CRC will serve as the host site for the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. The Women’s Championships will be held March 16-19, followed by the Men’s Championships March 23-26. Georgia Tech previously hosted the 2007 NCAA Championships and the CRC was also the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics swimming and diving competitions.
