The Auburn women and Florida men lead after day 2 of the Georgia Tech Invitational
Auburn Press Release
AUBURN, Ala. – Another day, more success. After busting out on day one of the Georgia Tech Invitational on Thursday, Auburn’s women’s swimming and diving team extended its lead on the field and saw more season- and personal-best times show up on the board during Friday’s prelims and finals sessions.
“After this morning we felt a disconnect between how the women were analyzing post-race and how the coaches were analyzing,” Auburn associate head coach Lauren Hancock said. “These women chose Auburn because they want to be great – in and out of the pool. However, that strong desire can manifest itself into a style of thought that prevents merited celebrations.
“In other words, these ladies are very hard on themselves,” Hancock said. “It’s a great quality to possess, but not when it gets in the way of smiling after a great race! They recognized that what we were seeing was positive, gritty racing and well-split intelligent swimming.
“They came back tonight and in many cases swam season-best and even lifetime-best times,” Hancock said.
Auburn again had just one individual event winner on the night, that being Haley Black in the 100 fly in a personal-best 52.33. But Auburn piled up the points with its depth, putting 12 swims in the championship finals.
Both of Auburn’s relays took second place with the 200 medley relay of Aly Tetzloff, Natasha Lloyd, Black and Julie Meynen going a season-best 1:38.80 to open the night session. The 800 free relay team of Zoe Thatcher, Erin Falconer, Jessica Merritt and Caroline Baddock closed out the night session with a 7:15.99 in Auburn’s first attempt at the event this season.
Between relays Auburn saw three individual events with three championship finalist and another with two.
In the 400 IM Thatcher scored a NCAA provisional time of 4:13.58 to place fourth, Neidigh hit a 4:15.14 for another provisional time to finish seventh and Bailey Nero took ninth (4:19.64).
Following Black’s lead in the 100 fly, Tetzloff touched second in 52.44, a NCAA B cut, and Ashton Ellzey finished 10th in 55.21.
“Haley and Aly stole the show with their stroke-for-stroke one-two 100 fly finish, both swimming under the time it took to make NCAAs last year,” Hancock said. “We have women who now believe they can swim multiple events and bring the same, if not more, intensity and quality than the event before. This belief breeds versatility and depth and that’s what’s allowed us to extend our lead even further tonight.”
Breanna Roman dropped a personal-best 1:01.57 to finish fourth with a NCAA B cut in the 100 breaststroke. Right behind her was Natasha Lloyd in fifth (1:01.71) and Brooke Malone in eighth (1:02.54).
Falconer added a fourth-place finish and a NCAA provisional time in the 200 free (1:47.40) while Baddock was eighth in the same event in 1:50.31.
Tetzloff rounded out the individual championship swims with a fourth-place finish in the 100 back in NCAA B cut time of 54.32.
In the diving well Maddie Cox and Alison Maillard each advanced to the finals of the 1-meter. Cox finished fourth (278.55) and Maillard was seventh (273.50).
“When you are in a contest with 47 people you have to learn how to manage your body and the mental aspect when you are diving every 20- to 25 minutes,” Auburn head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “We didn’t do that very well but hopefully we’ll learn because that’s the way the zone meet will play out. We’re making progress but we are not where we want to be. But we’re at least heading in the right direction.”
Auburn’s men’s divers also competed on Friday night, taking their turn on the 1-meter. Scott Lazeroff placed second with a 371.15 and Pete Turnham was fifth with a 350.85.
“It was another strong day, especially on the men’s side,” Shaffer said. “In the prelims both Scott and Pete put together real solid lists to qualify for the finals. Justin (Checchin) missed finals by a point but he put up another personal best (299.35). That’s encouraging and you can see he is progressing. In the finals both Pete and Scott had a chance to win.”
After two nights the No. 11-ranked Auburn women hold a 150-point lead over second-place No. 16 Florida, 760-610. Alabama is in third (581), Arkansas fourth (465) and South Carolina fifth (449).
Saturday’s events will be the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breaststroke, 200 fly, platform diving and the 400 free relay.
Prelims begin every day at 10 a.m. ET and finals at 5:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern Press Release
ATLANTA, GA. – Georgia Southern Swimming & Diving earned five night swims and continued to deliver its fastest times of the season on Day Two of the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational. The meet is the stiffest competition of the season thus far for the Eagles with five opponents from the SEC.
“We another great day! We had 5 swims in finals tonight which is very impressive considering the level of competition at this meet,” said Head Coach Laura Thomas. “We continue to swim tough and fast.”
RELAY RESULTS
200 Medley Relay – 10th – 1:47.15
Mykala Arnold
Bre Stuart
Kaylyn Thomas
Anna Moers
800 Free Relay – 8th – 7:34.73
Kaylyn Thomas
Courtney Schaefer
Athena Ciminio
Anna Rose Moore
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
400 IM
24th – Courtney Schaefer – 4:25.80 (C-Final) / 4:28.96 (Prelims)
25th – Bre Stuart – 4:27.63 (C-Final) / 4:28.85 (Prelims)
39th – Amber Cortazzo – 4:34.56
40th – Riha Moss – 4:34.56
46th – Abby Duncan – 4:43.95
47th – Bri Mazzei – 4:51.18
100 Fly
42nd – Kaylyn Thomas – 56.70
56th – Anna Battistello – 59.27
57th – Madi Sarantakos – 59.60
60th – Bri Mazzei – 1:00.95
200 Free
36th – Anna Rose Moore – 1:52.75
43rd – Athena Ciminio – 1:53.39
57th – Rachel Pelzek – 1:55.96
59th – Ashley Kubel – 1:56.34
67th – Anna Kassis – 1:57.75
68th – Madison Heydinger – 1:57.87
74th – Elizabeth Chemey – 1:59.10
100 Breast
27th – Bre Stuart – 1:05.19 (C-Final) / 1:05.41 (Prelims)
32nd – Amber Cortazzo – 1:06.75
35th – Riha Moss – 1:07.36
36th – Mary Jane Coates – 1:07.49
100 Back
25th – Anna Moers – 56.79 (C-Final) / 57.08 (Prelims)
27th – Mykala Arnold – 57.13 (C-Final) / 56.41 (Prelims)
59th – Anna Battistello – 1:00.46
62nd – Abby Duncan – 1:02.05
1 Meter Diving
28th – Gretchen Mossburg – 218.20
44th – Markiyah Davis – 157.60
The Georgia Tech Invitational concludes on Saturday. Prelims start at 10 a.m. in Midtown Atlanta.
Alabama Press Release
ATLANTA, Ga. –The Alabama swimming and diving team opened day two of the Georgia Tech Invitational right where it left off in day one, by winning a pair of relay titles in the McAuley Aquatic Center on the Georgia Tech campus. The Crimson Tide went on to win three individual races.
The women’s 200 medley relay of sophomore Katie Coughlin, senior Bridget Blood along with juniors Hannah Musser and Bailey Scott opened the day by combining for a time of 1:39.29, bettering second-place Auburn by half a second.
The Tide men’s 200 medley relay of seniors Connor Oslin and Pavel Romanov along with junior Luke Kaliszak and freshman Zane Waddell posted a 1:24.52, bettering second place Florida, and the rest of the field by more than 1.7 seconds.
The Tide women kept the winning going with the first individual race of the evening, when junior Mia Nonnenberg won the 400 individual medley relay with a time of 4:08.30, more than 2.5 seconds better than second place. Freshman Alexis Preski took fifth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:14.62, which ranks her fifth all-time at Alabama. Blood came back later in the meet to win the 100 breaststroke with a 1:00.82, to be the only swimmer in the meet under 1:01.
Alabama went 1-2-3-5 in the men’s 100 backstroke led by Kaliszak's career-best 45.29. Oslin was second with a 46.59, followed by junior Christopher Reid in third with a 47.10. Waddell took fifth with a time of 48.15, which ranks him eighth all-time at Alabama.
The Tide men went 3-4-5-7-10 in the 200 freestyle, led by sophomore Robert Howard’s career-best time of 1:34.99, good for third place. Howard’s mark ranks him seventh all-time at Alabama. Romanov was third with a 54.00 in 100 breaststroke while fellow senior Anton McKee was fifth with a 54.35.
Sophomore Katie Coughlin was second in the women’s 100 backstroke after turning in a career-best 53.52, which moves her to third all-time for the Tide. In the women’s 200 freestyle, junior Temarie Tomley was seventh in a time of 1:48.29. Freshman Line Bruun won the B final of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:48.34, ranking her fifth all-time at Alabama.
Alabama returns to action on Saturday at 9 a.m. CT with prelims of the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 1650 freestyle and platform diving.
Georgia Tech Press Release
THE FLATS - The Georgia Tech swimming and diving team carried over its strong performances from day one on Thursday to day two on Friday, as the Yellow Jackets set three more school records, posted a total of 24 NCAA `B' qualifying times and two more Zone `B' diving scores overall on Friday at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
The Yellow Jackets, who set a total of four school records on Thursday if you included Chiara Ruiu breaking the women's 200 IM record twice, set three more school records on Friday.
Sophomore Laura Branton set the school record in the women's 100 fly prelims on Friday morning with a career-best time of 53.70, while Iris Wang set a new Tech record in the women's 200 free prelims, topping her own previous record of 1:46.94 with an NCAA `B' qualifying time of 1:46.66 on Friday morning. Wang followed that performance up with another recording breaking time of 1:45.92 in the 200 free finals event.
"We had a strong day today. We swam really well in the prelims in the morning and again in the finals this evening. We set another couple of records today and also had more NCAA qualifying times," stated head coach Courtney Shealy Hart. "We just talked about making sure we get a good meal, make sure we get good sleep and come in ready to go tomorrow morning. The third morning is always the tough one because you just swam two days, you are getting up in the mornings and the third morning is the tough one. We want to make sure that we are the best team out here tomorrow morning."
The men's team sits in third-place overall behind Alabama (850) and Florida (807).
The women's team is in seventh-place overall out of the 11-team field. Auburn leads the women's team standings with 760 points and is followed by Florida (610), Alabama (581), Arkansas (465) and South Carolina (449) to make up the top-five.
Men's Highlights
Junior Moises Loschi recorded a runner-up finish in the 100 breast finals event, as he clocked the second-fastest time in school history with a career-best and NCAA `B' qualifying time of 53.19 on Friday night.
Picking up a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay was the Tech `A' team of Rodrigo Quadros Correia, Loschi, Ben Southern and Oskar Zimowski who registered a time of 1:26.62, which is tied for the second-best time in the Tech record books.
For the second straight night, Matt Casillas posted a top-four finish on the springboard, as the sophomore followed up his third-place finish in the 1-meter dive event on Thursday night with a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter dive on Friday with a Zone `B' score of 356.10.
Sophomore Colt Williamson placed in a tie for fifth-place overall with an NCAA `B' qualifying time of 3:51.60 in the 400 IM finals, which is also a career-best time. His time in the 400 IM is also the third-best time in Tech history. Williamson also touched the wall in an NCAA `B' qualifying and a then career-best time of 3:51.87 in the 400 IM prelims.
Brennan Day, who turned in a career-best time of 3:52.70 in the 400 IM prelims, recorded a ninth-place finish in the 400 finals with another NCAA `B' cut time of 3:53.28, a new career best mark, while fellow first-year Yellow Jacket Tim Slanschek scored with his 10th-place 400 IM finals finish with his time of 4:00.13.
Four different Jackets scored points for the men's team in the 100 fly, as Southern placed third overall with an NCAA `B' qualifying time of 47.55, while Slanschek finished fifth with a `B' cut and career-best time of 48.21. Brad Oberg (48.62) and Zimowski (48.88) finished in sixth and seventh overall, respectively in the A-finals heat.
In the 200 free, Tech had a trio of swimmers post points led by senior Dan Cohen Solal who finished ninth with a new career-best and NCAA `B' qualifying time of 1:37.99. Junior Noah Harasz (1:39.57) placed 14th, while freshman Austin Whalen (1:41.26) finished 18th overall for the free event.
Alex Kimpel (54.37, NCAA `B' cut) and Joseph Portillo (56.61) both scored for the Yellow Jackets in the 100 breast finals, while five Yellow Jackets picked up points in the 100 back event. Alex Goerzen placed fourth with an NCAA `B' cut time of 47.74, finishing just in front of both Brian Woodbury (48.34, NCAA `B' cut) and Mark Keaveney (48.37, NCAA `B' cut) who placed in sixth and seventh overall. Oberg placed 11th in the 100 back with a time of 48.96, while Robert Borowicz finished in 19th with his time of 50.31.
Also scoring in the 3-meter diving event for the Jackets' was Nolan Mallet (293.10) and Omar Eteiba (276.75) who placed in 14th and 18th places overall, while the 800 free relay team of Loschi, Cohen Solal, Whalen and Harasz recorded a fourth-place finish with a time of 6:37.40.
Women's Highlights
The 200 medley relay team of Maddie Paschal, Chiara Ruiu, Laura Branton and Iris Wang recorded a Tech season-best and the second-best time in school history at 1:40.56 for a fourth-place finish in the finals to start the evening session, while the 800 free relay team of Wang, Emily Ilgenfritz, Kaitlin Kitchens and Ruiu touched the wall in fifth-place overall with their time of 7:21.06, which ranks sixth all-time in school history, to conclude the finals races.
Wang, who broke her own record in the 200 free prelims with a time of 1:46.66, placed second overall in the finals with a new school record and an NCAA' B' time of 1:45.92.
After setting the school record in the women's 100 fly prelims on Friday morning with a career-best time of 53.70, Branton picked up a fifth-place finish in the 100 fly finals with another NCAA `B' cut time of 53.84.
Ruiu, who turned in the second-best 100 breast time in school history at 1:02.15 in the prelims, topped that in the 100 breast finals with a new Tech school-record time of 1:01.21. The NCAA `B' qualifying time is also a career best mark and was good enough to place Ruiu in third-place overall for the event.
The redshirt-senior also posted an NCAA `B' qualifying time of 4:17.09 in the 400 IM prelims where she was exhibitioned. Ruiu's time was also a career-best mark for the fifth-year Jacket and a Tech season-best mark this year. It also ranks third all-time in Tech history.
Sophomore Florina Ilie touched the wall in a tie of 1:01.97 in the 100 breast finals to tally a seventh-place finish, while freshman Kristen Hepler picked up a 20th-place finish and a point for the Jackets with her time of 1:05.87. Ilgenfritz, another Tech freshman, picked up a 15th-place finish with a time of 1:49.75 in the 200 free finals.
Also scoring for the Yellow Jackets' women's team was freshman diver Carly Doi with a 19th-place finish in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 242.10 in the prelims, while Kira de Bruyn placed 19th overall in the 400 IM finals with a time of 4:24.55.
Sara Gilbert (55.53) and Paschal (55.55) finished 14th and 15th in the 100 back to score for the Yellow Jackets.
Florida Press Release
ATLANTA – The Gators added seven titles to their win total on the second day of the Georgia Tech Invitational, ending the day with both the No. 9 men (807 points) and the No. 16 women (610 points) in second place.
Florida swept the 800 free relay on both sides. The A-team of Amelia Maughan, Kelsey Dambacher, Savanna Faulconer and Niki Urquidi won it for the women in 7:13.20, while the men’s A-relay of Jan Switkowski, Maxime Rooney, Mark Szaranek and Mitch D’Arrigo touched first in a B-cut 6:21.88 (Switkowski led off with a B-cut 1:35.10 split).
Rooney and Switkowski contributed individual titles of their own as well. Rooney finished the 200 free in a B-cut 1:34.82, while Switkowski placed first in the 400 IM with a B-cut 3:44.45.
Caeleb Dressel tacked on his third individual title of the meet with a win in the 100 fly. His 44.86 time gave him an NCAA A-cut, his second of the weekend after he led off yesterday’s runner-up 200 free relay squad in a quick 18.73 (that A-relay also earned an A-cut as a team).
Emma Ball and Amelia Maughan won the women’s first two individual titles Friday. Ball touched first in the 100 back at 52.53, a B-cut, and Amelia Maughan helped sweep the 200 free for Florida in a B-cut 1:45.68.
Florida’s divers continued their strong performances, earning points for top-10 finishes in the 1-meter for the women and 3-meter for the men. Brooke Madden placed third in the 1-meter with 282.30 points, and Teya Syskakis took the ninth-place spot with 254 points. Abby Howell also contributed three points to the team total with an 18th-place finish (242.15 points) in the event.
On the men’s side, Samuel Smith also placed third in the 3-meter with 361.35 points, and Dylan Power also grabbed a top-10 spot with 315.15 points and an eighth-place finish. Dalton Goss gave the men five points with his 16th-place finish (285.50 points).
GILLOOLY’S TAKE ON DIVING
“As expected, the team was a little better on the second day after getting settled in, especially the freshmen. They are really getting used to competing on this level. Although we have a long way to go, I am very pleased with everyone’s progress to this point. Brooke Madden is really coming into her own on the 1-meter board and is gaining confidence with every meet. It was also a very gutsy performance by Sam finishing third despite still battling illness. He is certainly battle-tested, and that will pay off later in the season.”
