Georgia pushed itself in front in both the men's and women's two-day meets against Wisconsin.
Georgia Press Release
ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia’s swimming and diving teams took the lead against Wisconsin after the first day of competition in Gabrielsen Natatorium on Friday.
The No. 2 Lady Bulldogs enter the final day of competition ahead of the No. 9 Lady Badgers 116-70. The No. 1 Bulldogs lead the No. 25 Badgers 130-56.
“We did a good job today,” head coach Jack Bauerle said. “There were some pretty spectacular performances. We’ve made a little bit of progress over the last week, since we’ve swum both Florida and Georgia Tech, which is also tough on the kids. I look forward to tomorrow.”
On the women’s side, Emily Cameron took the top spot in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.33) and 400 individual medley (4:13.71).
SEC Female Swimmer of the Week Meaghan Raab placed first in the 200 freestyle, stopping the clock in 1:46.17 and Olivia Smoliga won the 100 backstroke in 54.03.
Stephanie Peters won the 1,000 freestyle in 9:44.57, while Chelsea Britt earned a victory in the 200 butterfly, reaching the wall in 1:59.64.
SEC Diver of the Week McKensi Austin won the 3-meter springboard, posting a score of 302.78.
Smoliga, Cameron, Britt and Chantal Van Landeghem combined for the first win of the evening, reaching the wall in 3:38.96 in the 400-yard medley relay.
On the men’s side, Chase Kalisz continued his streak of dominance in the 100 breaststroke, winning the event in 55.11. The Olympian also took the win in the 400 individual medley by posting the fastest time of the year in the event (3:41.49).
Jay Litherland took the top spot in the 200 freestyle in 1:36.47 and Taylor Dale won the 100 backstroke in 48.03. SEC Male Swimmer of the Week Pace Clark remained undefeated on the season in the 200 butterfly, taking the top spot in the event in 1:46.10.
Ian Forlini earned a victory on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 328.13.
Javier Acevedo, Kalisz, Clark and Litherland placed first in the 400 medley relay in 3:13.03. Acevedo, Chris Powell, Dale and Litherland also had the fastest time in the 200 freestyle relay (1:20.97).
The meet will conclude on Saturday, with action beginning at 10 a.m. There is no cost for admission.
Wisconsin Press Release
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin continued its strong start to the season in the freestyle events, garnering four wins Friday during the first day of competition in a dual meet at Georgia.
Halfway through the two-day competition in Athens, the Georgia women lead 116-70 while the Bulldogs men also hold a 130-56 advantage over the Badgers.
Senior Matt Hutchins notched Wisconsin’s first win of the day, winning the men’s 1,000-yard freestyle in 9 minutes, 6.23 seconds, a time that ranks fifth in the nation.
Sophomore Cierra Runge saw similar success in the women’s 1,000 free, also notching the fifth-fastest time in the country in the event, touching the wall in 9:48.78 to earn runner-up honors.
Senior sprint freestyle specialists Chase Kinney and Cannon Clifton kept the momentum going for UW, sweeping the 50-yard freestyle events.
Kinney, who is undefeated in the event this season, won in 22.75, out-touching the Bulldogs’ Chantal Van Landeghem, who won a bronze medal at the Olympics with Team Canada.
Clifton completed the sweep for the Badgers, earning the victory in 20.15, nearly a half-second faster than Georgia’s second-place finisher, Chris Powell.
Wisconsin’s women’s 200-yard free relay team ended the day on a high note, with the team of Kinney, Emmy Sehmann, Jess Unicomb and Marissa Berg claiming victory with a blistering time of 1:30.80 that ranks third nationally.
The men’s 200 free relay team also ended its day strong with a runner-up finish. Clifton, Ryan Stack, Kevin Braun and Brett Pinfold posted a season-best time of 1:21.34, which is tied for the 11th-fastest time in the country.
The Badgers also saw top-three finishes in a variety of other events, including the 400-yard medley relay.
The men’s team of Pinfold, Griffin Back, Harrison Tran and Clifton took second in 3:17.41 while the women’s team of Beata Nelson, Maria Carlson, Dana Grindall and Kinney took third in 3:42.72.
Runge notched her second runner-up finish of the day in the 200 free, finishing in 1:48.56 while Sehmann was right behind to take third in 1:48.60.
In the 100 back, Unicomb was second in 54.59 after a neck-and-neck race with Olympic gold medalist Olivia Smoliga of Georgia. Junior Todd McCarthy placed third in the men’s race with a time of 49.82.
The Badgers went 2-3 in the women’s 100 breaststroke, with Berg earning runner-up honors (1:03.67) an Carlson finishing third (1:04.74).
Grindall and Tran each placed third in their respective 200 butterfly races, with Grindall notching a time of 2:00.35 and Tran clocking in at 1:48.10.
Freshmen Back and Cooper Hodge also stood out for Wisconsin, swimming to a pair of third-place finishes. Back earned a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (57.74) while Hodge took third in the 400 IM (3:58.80).
On the diving boards, sophomore Andrew Pearce led UW to a 2-3 finish on the 1-meter springboard.
Pearce took second with a total of 309.98 points, followed by freshman Kevin Pomeroy, who placed third with a score of 300.98.
Sophomore Hazel Hertting was the top finisher for UW on the 3-meter board, taking third with 280.95 points.
Day two of competition in Athens begins Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT) with the 400-yard medley relay.
