The Alabama men and Auburn women took home the Georgia Tech Invitational titles.
Alabama Press Release
ATLANTA, Ga. - Alabama started the final night of the Georgia Tech Invitational with an individual win and another school record and closed with another relay win and the men’s team title at the McAuley Aquatic Center on the Yellow Jackets’ campus.
Alabama’s men battled Florida down to the wire, both in team points and in the final relay. Freshman Zane Waddell led the Crimson Tide’s 400 freestyle relay off with a 43.05 before turning it over to seniors Alex Gray and sophomores Robert Howard and Laurent Bams. Florida’s Caleb Dressel, the defending NCAA 100 freestyle champion and a member of United States’ Olympic gold medal-winning 400-meter freestyle relay, gave the Gators a .07 lead going into the final leg. Bams ate that margin up over the first 50 and hung on to give UA a 2:51.06-2:51.10 win over Florida.
The relay also pushed Alabama’s men ahead of the Gators to give them a 1,269-1,252 win. Host Georgia Tech took third. On the women’s side, Alabama took third with 909.5 points, just 13 behind second place Florida. Auburn was first with 1,142 points.
“We were jumping out of our skin on that final relay,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “Considering the weekend we’ve had on both the men’s and women’s side, that race, the way it came down and the grit we showed in getting our hand on the wall first, was icing on the cake. It was a good, good meet for us.”
Junior Mia Nonnenberg, who set two school records at this meet a year ago, set another on Saturday, shattering the school 1,650 freestyle record with a time of 16:04.70, which put her four seconds ahead of the field and eight seconds better than the previous UA mark.
One race later, sophomore Katie Coughlin outraced the field in the 200 backstroke, winning by just under a second with a career-best 1:55.16, which ranks her second all-time at Alabama.
Alabama’s men went 1-2 in the 200 backstroke with senior Connor Oslin touching the wall with a 1:41.64, just ahead of junior Christopher Reid.
Florida’s Dressel won the 100 freestyle, but Alabama went 2-3-4-6-7-10, led by Waddell’s 43.15. The sprint phenom went a career-best 42.97 in prelims, making him one of five men UA history to go under 43 seconds in the 100.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke, seniors Anton McKee and Pavel Romanov took third and fifth, respectively, with McKee leading the way with a 1:56.44. Junior Taylor Charles was fifth in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:46.19.
Junior Temarie Tomley took fifth in the women’s 100 freestyle with a time of 49.52. Senior Bridget Blood was fourth in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:13.01. Tomley also led off Alabama’s third-place 400 freestyle relay, combining with junior Bailey Scott, who bettered her own 50 freestyle school record earlier in the week, sophomore Morgan Fleming and junior Hannah Musser to stop the clock at 3:18.98, just off the school record.
The meet marks the final swimming and diving competition of the fall semester. The Tide divers have one more meet in 2016, the Auburn Diving Invite Dec. 17-19.
Auburn Press Release
AUBURN, Ala. – Julie Meynen and Bailey Nero each claimed individual wins and the Auburn women’s swimming and diving team ran away from the field in winning the Georgia Tech Invitational. Auburn, which is ranked No. 11 in the latest CSCAA top 25, racked up 1142 points to top second-place No. 18 Florida by 219.5 points.
“Spectacular meet for the women coming off of the back of four straight weeks of racing,” Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. “The team competed with intensity and passion, which carried all through the three days of competition. The coaches are proud of the work they are doing to be ready for championship season and this is a large step in the right direction.”
Meynen torched the field to win the 100 free in the fourth-fastest time in Auburn history. Going into the finals seeded third after a 50.06 during prelims, she dropped a 48.33 in the finals to top second place by .71 seconds, posting a 23.51 first 50 and a 24.82 on the back half. She has won the 100 free at every meet Auburn has competed in this season.
Not to be overshadowed in the 100 free, Aly Tetzloff took home a fourth-place finish (49.20), Robyn Clevenger was eighth (50.19) and Ashton Ellzey 10th (50.65).
Nero brought home her fourth 200 butterfly win of the season, going 1:56.49 to take the top spot by .68 seconds. Caroline Baddock took 10th in the event in 2:06.86 while Haley Black was 11th, winning the B Final in 1:59.56.
Auburn closed out the invitational with a win in the 400 free relay, giving the team the win in both of the sprint freestyle relays. During Saturday’s 400 free, Auburn clocked a 3:17.01, the third-fastest time in the nation this season. Tetzloff led off the relay with a personal-best 48.59 before giving way to Meynen (48.46). Ellzey (50.05) and Clevenger (49.91) handled the final two legs.
Auburn had three top-eight finishes in the mile, led by Ashley Neidigh’s third-place showing (16:13.59). Zoe Thatcher claimed a sixth-place finish (16:21.95) and Erin Falconer an eighth-place finish (16:34.64).
Baddock was Auburn’s top finisher in the 200 back, posting a 1:57.18 to finish fourth. Thatcher finished ninth (2:02.54) and Falconer was 10th (2:04.15) after both swam the mile earlier in the day.
Natasha Lloyd brought home a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:12.42.
In the diving well, which included both Auburn’s men’s and women’s teams, Scott Lazeroff took home the platform title with a 431.30 and Pete Turnham posted a career-best 323.60 to finish fourth.
“In the first platform competition, Scott picked up where he left off last year at Georgia Tech, nearly beating his personal-best score at the NCAA Championships,” Shaffer said. “I’m very proud of Scott’s performance, which included a new dive (307C reverse three-and-a-half) which he scored 6.5 and 7.0 for 68 points.”
For Auburn’s women, Alison Maillard continued her strong debut season, taking fourth on the platform (242.05). Maddie Cox finished 10th (211.00) and Claire Schuermann was 17th (199.95).
“Alison led the women with a zone qualifying score,” Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “We’ll now focus on preparing for the Georgia Invitational, final exams and then wrap up the fall with the Auburn Diving Invitational (Dec. 17-19).”
“I would like to personally thank all the athletes and coaches for all the work they are doing to make this season great,” Hawke said.
Georgia Tech Press Release
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech swimming and diving team broke five Tech records on the final day of the GT Invitational at the McAuley Aquatic Center on Saturday. The men’s team finished third with 1036.5 points, while the women placed seventh with 513 points.
On the weekend, Tech set a total of 12 Georgia Tech records, recorded a total of 53 NCAA ‘B’ times and six NCAA zone diving qualifying marks. Day three concluded with four Georgia Tech records and 21 NCAA ‘B’ cuts.
On the final day of competition, sophomore Alex Goerzen set the Georgia Tech record in the 200 back prelims with an NCAA ‘B’ cut of 1:42.82. The time was a career best for Goerzen and a Tech best on the season. Sophomore Iris Wang bested her own Georgia Tech record in the 100 free to set the new time at 48.91 during the prelims with the NCAA ‘B’ time.
Junior Moises Loschi registered the fastest time in Georgia Tech history in the 200 breast prelims with an NCAA ‘B’ cut of 1:54.29. Loschi went on to break that record again in the finals when he finished first in the 200 breast with a time of 1:53.88.
The relay team of Wang, sophomore Megan Hansen, junior Kaitlin Kitchens and senior Chiara Ruiu set the Georgia Tech record for the 400 free relay to end the meet with a time of 3:20.03.
“I’m super proud of the way that our team raced,” said head coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “We’re faster than we’ve ever been at this point in the season so now it is time to take a day off and be very happy with where we are and then get back to work on Monday. This is a great team, we have great team chemistry right now. Everybody is really supportive. I thought the energy the whole meet was great, I thought the passion in the swimming was great. I thought that the support and the competitiveness is better than we’ve ever been before and I think that it shows, we’re breaking school records in the fall. We’re just excited to get back to work and get ready for the championship season.”
A number of Yellow Jackets will be back in action at the McAuley Aquatic Center for the USA Winter Nationals from Nov. 30-Dec. 3.
Men’s Highlights
Loschi won the 200 breast final, setting a Georgia Tech record in the process. Alex Kimpel also scored for the Yellow Jackets in the 200 breast final with a fourth-place finish. Sophomore Joseph Portillo finished 12th overall, followed by senior Kevin Smith in 18th to score for the Jackets.
Sophomore Matt Casillas placed second in the platform diving final for the Yellow Jackets, registering an NCAA zone qualifying mark. Sophomore Nolan Mallet placed eighth in the platform diving final to score for the Yellow Jackets.
Freshman Tim Slanschek finished second in the 200 fly final with an NCAA ‘B’ time of 1:44.74, touching just ahead of senior Ben Southern in third. Freshman Clay Hering and junior Brad Oberg also scored for the Jackets with eighth and 11th-place finishes.
The men’s 400 free relay team of sophomore Rodrigo Quadros Correia, freshman Oskar Zimowski, senior Dan Cohen Solal and junior Noah Harasz finished the meet strong with a third-place finish.
After setting the Georgia Tech record in the prelims, Goerzen went on to finish fourth in the 200 back finals. He was joined by junior Mark Keaveney, junior Brian Woodbury and sophomore Colt Williamson in scoring in the A final of the 200 back who finished sixth, eighth and 10th respectively. Senior Robert Borowicz scored for the Jackets in the B final of the 200 back with a 15th-place finish.
Five Jackets scored in the men’s 100 free final led by Correia with a fifth-place finished. Harasz led the B final, finishing 11th while Zimowski recorded a career-best time in his 11th place finish. Solal finished 15th for the Tech and freshman Quentin Talley notched a career-best time in his 19th-place finish.
Women’s Highlights
Wang finished second in the 100 free final, recording another NCAA ‘B’ time after setting the Georgia Tech record for the event in the prelims. Hansen also scored for the Yellow Jackets in the 100 free final, finishing 20th.
The relay team of Wang, Hansen, Kitchens and Ruiu set the Georgia Tech record for the 400 free relay to end the meet with a time of 3:20.03 for a fourth-place finish.
Senior Madison Young finished fourth in the women’s platform diving with a score of 247.05, an NCAA zone qualifying mark. Freshman Carly Doi placed ninth overall in the platform with a mark of 210.20.
All three Jackets racing in the 200 breast final scored led by Ruiu with a fifth-place finish and an NCAA ‘B’ time of 2:13.03. She was joined by sophomore Florina Ilie in 13th followed by freshman Kristen Hepler in 18th.
Freshman Caroline Lee led Tech in the 200 back final with a ninth place finish followed by senior Maddie Paschal and junior Alex Rieger at 15th and 16th respectively.
Freshman Maddie Oliver finished ninth in the 200 fly final. Sophomore Laura Branton, freshman Tamir Gonen Cohen and freshman Emily Ilgenfritz also scored for the Yellow Jackets, touching the wall 12th, 14th and 16th in the 200 fly final.
Team Scores – Men
1. Alabama – 1269
2. Florida – 1252
3. Georgia Tech – 1036.5
4. South Carolina – 880.5
5. East Carolina – 383
6. BYU (diving only) – 188
7. Auburn (diving only) - 149
Team Scores – Women
1. Auburn – 1142
2. Florida – 922.5
3. Alabama –909.5
4. South Carolina - 710
5. Arkansas – 630
6. FGCU – 514
7. Georgia Tech – 513
8. East Carolina – 275
9. Campbell – 163
10. Georgia Southern – 156
11. Clemson (diving only) – 99
Florida Press Release
ATLANTA – Florida capped its appearance at the Georgia Tech Invitational with a pair of second-place finishes from the No. 9 men and No. 16 women. The men earned 1,252 points over the course of three days, and the women earned 922.5 points.
The Gators closed out Saturday with two more event wins to put their meet total at 12. Caeleb Dressel took first for the fourth time in the 100 free, touching in an A-cut 41.60. Along with Alabama’s Luke Kaliszak, Dressel was the only swimmer to earn individual A-cut times at the invite, and he did it three separate times this weekend.
Jan Switkowski added his second individual title in the 200 fly, stopping the clock in a B-cut 1:43.42.
Although they finished second in the 400 free relay, the men’s A-squad of Maxime Rooney, Mark Szaranek, Dressel and Switkowski earned another A-cut time, finishing in 2:51.10.
In the diving well, Florida competed on platform for the first time this season and didn’t miss a beat. Teya Syskakis pulled in 23 points for the women off another second-place finish in which she scored 258.85 points, qualifying for zones. Abigail Howell, finishing in 11th place with a 210.65 score, and Brianna Felegi, placing 20th with 190.35 points, combined for 13 points toward the women’s team total.
On the men’s side, Dylan Power and Dalton Goss both finished inside the top 10. Power earned 19 points with his 292.35 score and sixth-place finish, and Goss placed 10th to earn 15 points with his 265.75 score.
Felegi and Goss also completed exhibition dives on the platform, and with a 227.25 score from Felegi and a 345.90 score from Goss, they earned their first zone qualifying scores.
GILLOOLY’S TAKE ON DIVING
“It was a great last day for the Gator divers. We were really looking at the platform events as more of a chance to train, being that we are still out of the O’Dome and practice time has been very limited. The divers were extremely tough under the circumstances and didn’t let that affect them. Teya’s second-place finish was a tribute to her hard work and mental toughness, but the highlight for the team today was qualifying two more divers to the zone championships, bringing our total to eight divers. Juniors Dalton Goss and Brianna Felegi both qualified on their last dives of the meet. I’m very proud of the whole team.”
Campbell Press Release
ATLANTA, GA. – Campbell rounded out the Georgia Tech Invitational Saturday with a ninth place finish Saturday at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
Auburn took the team title with 1142 points, followed by Florida (922.5), Alabama (909.5), South Carolina (710), Arkansas (630), Florida Gulf Coast (514), Georgia Tech (513) and East Carolina (275). Campbell (163), Georgia Southern (156) and Clemson (99) rounded out team results.
Highlighting the third and final day of competition, Geena Squartino posted a time of 17:29.45 in the 1650 free, finishing 23rd, while Kelsey Tunstall took 30th in the 200 back with a 2:03.47 mark.
In the 100 free, Michelle Case tallied a time of 51.25 in the preliminary round Saturday morning, placing 24th Case finished 30th in Saturday’s finals with a 52.57.
Taylor McMinn notched a 2:22.12 mark for 29th in preliminaries, with a 2:22.75 in Saturday’s finals for 29th. Caroline Clark’s 2:05.28 placed the junior 26th in the 200 fly.
Campbell finished competition with a 10th place showing in the 400 free relay with a 3:28.74 mark.
Michelle Case also set a school record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.45 on Thursday, and Caroline Clark posted a school record in the 100 butterfly with a 55.12 on day two.
Next up for the Camels will be a December 19 trip to Vanderbilt.
BYU Press Release
ATLANTA, Georgia – Matt Denkers and Jordan Tuckfield of BYU finished in the top 10 of the platform diving on Saturday in Atlanta.
“BYU divers demonstrated great teamwork, especially on the last day where many members of the team learned new dives to strengthen their ability to compete with stronger platform opponents,” said BYU head dive coach Tyce Routson. “All divers signed up for an extra exhibition event to gain more experience and each diver increased their individual scores.
“Dressen and Tuckfield, who had a lifetime-best platform dive, achieved their NCAA Zone cut scores.”
In order to qualify to compete in the NCAA Championship, one must have a score of 300 or higher for men’s platform diving. Kevin Dreesen achieved a score of 327.95 and Tuckfield had 304.75 total points.
Denkers capped off the three-day invite in his seventh place finish with a score of 282.80. He was followed by teammate Tuckfield, who ended with a total of 268.35 points and secured ninth place overall.
Shelby Johnson performed the best for the BYU women’s dive team as she took 21st place with her final score of 183.60. Freshman teammate Kaitlyn Abernethy followed in 22nd place with 178.35 points.
“Morgan Mellow learned four new and difficult dives to achieve her personal goals this meet,” Routson said of the BYU freshman from Mesa, Arizona.
Mellow placed 28th in the women’s platform with a score of 161.25.
The men’s and women’s dive team will not compete again until 2017, where they will take on Grand Canyon at home on January 14th. There will be a friendly "mock meet" against the University of Southern California during training camp in the beginning of January.
