Georgia Tech
Andrew Kosic won the 100 free with a school record time to lead the 24th-ranked Georgia Tech men to a second-place finish, while the Yellow Jacket women had a big night to jump two spots to sixth, as action concluded on Saturday at the GT Invitational.
The Tech men finished second to seventh-ranked Florida, which scored 1,954 points to claim the team title. The Jackets registered 981.5 points, and were followed by No. 20 Florida State (900), Indian River (558), Florida Atlantic (352.5), South Carolina (131), Auburn (102), Utah (72) and College of Charleston (4).
The women entered the night in eighth place, but thanks to a third-place finish from Madison Young on the platform and A-final appearances from Alex Rieger and Darelle Cowley, the Yellow Jackets moved up to sixth in the 17-team field.
The 11th-ranked Gators also won the women's meet with 1,359 points, followed by Arkansas (861.5), FSU (686), Florida Gulf Coast (573.5), Vanderbilt (449), Tech (371), FAU (353.5) and Miami (348) in the top half of the standings.
Women's Highlights
• Sophomore Madison Young was impressive on the platform, finishing third overall with her score of 248.40 points. Rookie teammate Ellen Posch finished 19th with a score of 184.65.
• Sarah Williford was 13th in the 1650 free, clocking in at 17:11.60.
• Alex Rieger put down a time of 2:02.96 in the A-final of the 200 back to place 10th overall. Carly Sweeney was 20th in 2:03.82. Rieger's time ranks as the fourth-fastest in Tech history.
• Chiara Ruiu finished 13th in the 100 free in a time of 50.53, which stands as the fifth-fastest in program history.
• Darelle Cowley reached the A-final of the 200 breast and took home an eighth-place finish with her time of 2:16.49. Catherine Richards was 12th overall (2:18.28) and Efrat Rotsztejn was 15th (2:18.86). Cowley's time was the second-fastest in Tech history.
• Tech's 400 free relay of Cowley, Ruiu, Morgan Lyons and Rieger was sixth in a time of 3:26.55.
Men's Highlights
• Andrew Kosic took home the 100 free and broke his own school record with a winning time of 42.74, which is an NCAA B-cut. Youssef Hammoud was fourth, achieving a B-cut of 44.21 and Andrew Chetcuti was ninth (45.08). All three Jackets in the A-final trimmed time from their morning prelim swims.
• Kosic finished the night by anchoring the 400 free relay with Hammoud, Chetcuti and Noah Harasz to a second-place finish in a time of 2:55.96.
• Brad Homza placed third on the platform, scoring 327.50 points. Homza was the bronze-medalist in all three diving events this week.
• Yuval Safra led three Jackets in the 1650 free as he took fifth in an NCAA B-cut time of 15:19.36. Michael Kenny was seventh (15:30.45) and Elliott Brockelbank was eighth (15:30.73).
• Brad Oberg finished sixth overall in the 200 back, putting down a time of 1:49.00. Robert Borowicz was 18th with his time in the B-final of 1:51.44.
• Rookie Alex Kimpel continued his strong meet by posting a fourth-place finish in the 200 breast as touched in an NCAA B-cut time of 1:59.71. Ricky Lehner won the B-final with his time of 2:02.40, followed by Kevin Smith in 15th (2:07.66) and Nick LaMontagne in 16th (2:08.28).
• Another Jacket swimming well this week was sophomore Ben Southern, who took second overall in the 200 fly, clocking a 1:45.54 in the finals after a 1:45.42 in the prelims - both were NCAA B-cuts.
• Oberg was fifth in the 200 fly (1:48.20) and freshman Manuel Barragan won the B-final with a time of 1:50.65.
Up Next
• The Jackets have nearly a month off before returning to action December 19 at Florida Atlantic.
Florida
Florida’s No. 7-ranked men captured 10 individual titles and five relay victories, while the No. 16 Gator women notched eight individual and four relay event wins en route to both teams Georgia Tech Invitational titles.
The title was the women’s second straight at this meet, with the last crown coming in the 2011-12 season. For the men, the first place finish was UF’s first in recent history at the Invite, as the Gators finished runner-up in their last three trips to Atlanta, Ga. The three-day meet was held in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
UF’s men placed first with a team score of 1,954 points, while the women won with a total of 1,359.
On day three, the Gator men’s and women’s squads captured three individual titles and had one relay victory.
Individually on day three, the Gator men were led by senior Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, as he won the men’s 200-yard breaststroke in an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1:56.16 seconds. Junior Jessica Thielmann paced the women’s team, as she won the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle in an NCAA ‘A’ time of 15:50.74.
The Gators will sit idle next weekend but will be back in action in two weeks for their final meet of the calendar year in Greensboro, N.C. for the U.S. Nationals from Dec. 4-6.
TROY’S TALKING
On the Invite overall…
“It was a very good weekend. Having our athletes achieve ‘A’ standard times this week is excellent. We also have a few others that are very close. Having them achieve these marks this early in the season is a tremendous plus.” -- Head Coach Gregg Troy
Day Three Winners:
RELAY MAGIC
UF won both men’s and women’s relay event (400-yard freestyle relay) on day three, with senior Dan Wallace, juniors Corey Main and Pawel Werner and freshman Caeleb Dressel winning the men’s race in an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 2:53.21. On the women’s side, juniors Lindsey McKnight, Sinead Russell, Natalie Hinds and Ashlee Linn placed first in an NCAA ‘A’ standard time of 3:16.07.
LONG DISTANCE
In addition to Thielmann in the mile, sophomore Mitch D’Arrigo won the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle in an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 14:54.21 .
FREE TIME
Hinds captured first in the 100-yard freestyle with an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 47.98 seconds.
BACK IT UP
Sophomore Jack Blyzinskyj and junior Sinead Russell swept the backstroke events this week, with victories in the men’s and women’s 100-yard backstroke races last night and wins in the 200-yard back on day three. The duo posted NCAA ‘B’ standard times of 1:42.70 and 1:53.64, respectively in the 200.
IM IN
Senior Dan Wallace and Thielmann helped the Gators sweep the individual medley events for the Invite, as they won the men’s and women’s 400-yard IM in an NCAA ‘B’ standard times of 3:44.12 and 4:09.64.
POSTSEASON FOCUS
In addition to competing in an NCAA Championships-style format this week, the Gators had five NCAA ‘A’ standard marks through three days of competition.
· Women’s 200 FR (Russell, McKnight, Linn, Hinds – 1:28.94)
· Women’s 400 FR (McKnight, Russell, Hinds, Linn - 3:16.07)
· Caeleb Dressel (50 Free – 19.31)
· Jessica Thielmann (1,650 Free – 15:50.74)
· Dan Wallace (500 Free – 4:14.53)
Bowling Green State
The Bowling Green State University Swimming and Diving team finished in 9th place with 286 points at the three-day Georgia Tech Fall Invitational. This was the team's first appearance at the meet.
No. 11 Florida dominated the competition, finishing in first with a commanding 1,359 points.
"We handled the new level of competition well," Head Coach Petra Martin said. "The team stayed focused on what makes us better and what will help us at the end of the season. We learned a lot this weekend about where we are and what we need to work on more."
Estela Davis has had an impressive showing at the invitational thus far, and she added to her list of finals appearances with the 200 backstroke, where she qualified to swim in the consolation heat. Her time of 1:58.25, a season best, earned her a 12th place finish overall. In prelims, Maria Galic and Maya Skorupski also qualified for the non-scoring bonus finals. Galic swam a season best time of 2:02.85 this evening.
Five Falcons swam season best times in the 100 freestyle prelims. Victoria Griffin was the only swimmer to advance to the evening heats, falling just one spot short of the championship heat. In her third individual final swim, Griffin finished with a season personal best 50.19, which was good for 12th place in the consolation final.
In the 200 breaststroke prelims, Daniela Carrillo swam her way into third place with a 2:15.16, which crushes her previous season best by five seconds. Kristin Filby earned a spot in the consolation finals and Stephanie Boyle and Carmen Youngplaced into the non-scoring bonus finals. This evening, all four BG swimmers set new season best times. Carrillo finished sixth overall in the championship finals with a time of 2:15.00, which is a NCAA B qualifying cut.
Jordan Bullock qualified for the non-scoring bonus finals of the 200 butterfly. The junior swam a 2:07.41. During prelims this morning, Nicole Hranchook and Hannah Albion both set season best times.
The 400 yard freestyle relay was the final event of the 2014 invitational. BG's team of Galic, Griffin, Davis and Hannah Newman placed 10th with a season best team time of 3:28.69.
Overall, the Orange and Brown had 21 individual final swims. Davis led the way with four, followed by Griffin, Filby and Bullock with three a piece. Skorupski and Carrillo swam in two finals each, while Hranchook, Galic, Boyle and Young all competed in one.
"We are happy with the amount of final swims at the meet, especially with not being rested or shaved. We are looking forward to a little bit lighter next week and then our second Invitational at Eastern Michigan the week after Thanksgiving."
The Falcons have one weekend off before traveling to Ypsilanti, Michigan for the Eastern Michigan Invitational Dec. 5-6.
Utah
During the final day at the Georgia Tech Invitational, both Amanda Casillas and Jacob Crayne placed in the top five on platform.
Crayne took second yesterday on the three-meter and did the same today on platform. He finished with a score of 342.85. There were 14 other divers competing in the event.
“Jake finished off the best overall meet of his career with another great performance today,” said Utah head diving coach Richard Marschner. “A win and two seconds in this field is an amazing feat. He is becoming very consistent and is diving very well right now and will be a force at the end of the year.”
Casillas placed fourth on platform with a score of 243.75. She beat out 29 other divers in the event.
“Amanda had a great meet on her best event. Come second semester when we have our five meter installed and we're diving a little more play for she will make a lot of noise at Pac12’s and beyond. I couldn't be happier with the meet overall.”
The Utah swimming and diving teams will be back in action Dec. 4-6 at the Texas Invitational. The meet will take place at the Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.
South Carolina
Senior Cole Miller led Gamecock divers on the final day of the Georgia Tech Invitational, as he won the men’s platform competition with a school-record score of 360.90. Sophomore Jordan Gotro finished fourth with a score of 318.85. On the women’s side, senior Patricia Kranz placed fifth with a score of 240.25 and freshman Marissa Roth finished 11th with a score of 209.30.
Florida State
Three members of the Florida State swimming and diving teams took home individual victories on the final night of the Georgia Tech Invitational. Both Katrina Young and Chelsea Britt captured their second wins of the meet while Connor Knight grabbed his first.
“Those guys are leaders for us in those events,” FSU head coach Frank Bradley said. “It was a step in the right direction to see all of them step up and take care of business.”
The Seminoles won back-to-back events with Britt first taking the win in the 200 fly with an NCAA ‘B’ time of 1:57.45, which is a season best. Knight followed, touching with his best of 1:44.70 (NCAA B) in the same race.
“Both Chelsea and Connor swam great races,” Bradley said. “They had a great meet and they’ll use this to get ready for the post season. There are still some things we can do to get better, but I like where they are.”
Young took to her specialty, the platform and won with a score of 265.70.
The women’s team finished in third with a final score of 686 behind No. 16 Florida (1,359) and Arkansas (861.5).
In the 100 free, Kaitlyn Dressel put up another season best time of 48.98 (NCAA B) for third place while Alexi Smith grabbed eighth with a career best time of 50.27.
“Those are two great swims,” Bradley said. “Kaitlyn is better than she was a year ago at this time and Alexi is still learning, but to go a best time is always great. She will build off that and will continue to have a great season.”
Caroline Neil swam a 2:16.49 in the 200 breast, placing eighth while Natalie Pierce posted a 2:18.38 for 10th.
The Seminoles finished the meet with a fourth place finish in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:19.72 with the team of Dressel, Smith, Sami Pochowski and Haley Powell.
The 20th-ranked FSU men’s team finished third at the meet with a score of 900 points behind No. 7 Florida (1,954) and No. 24 Georgia Tech (981.5).
Calvin Bryant started the evening off with a ninth place finish in the 1650 free with a time of 15:31.44 before Josh Friedel placed seventh in the 200 back at 1:49.88.
Cadell Lyons picked up where he left off last night and swam career best in the 100 free with a time of 44.29 (NCAA B) for a fifth place finish.
“It was encouraging to see Cadell swim well,” Bradley said. “The events he swims, he’s that valued depth that you don’t really hear or know about, but this weekend he was able to lead the way in some races for us and that was great to see.”
Earning second in the 200 breast was Jason Coombs, who touched with a time of 1:58.92 (NCAA B) before he helped finish the meet by contributing to a third place showing in the 400 free relay. The team of Coombs, Jason McCormick, Lyons and Knight swam a final time of 2:57.33 – another season best.
In diving, Tyler Roberge led the way for the Seminoles by taking fifth with a score of 316.85 and following in sixth was Dylan Grisell at 303.55. Kalonji Cole placed ninth with a final tally of 255.10.
“I think we had a solid weekend,” Bradley said. “We still have some ways to go but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ll head back to town, get reloaded for the Georgia Invite in a few weeks.”
The Seminoles will compete at the Georgia Invite from Dec. 5-7 in Athens, Ga.
Colorado State
The Colorado State swimming & diving team showed it can hang with anyone over the weekend, finishing 10th out of 17 teams in the three-day Georgia Tech Fall Invitational. The Rams finished with 251.5 points, again earning several season-best performances on Saturday.
In the 200 Breaststroke, junior Cristina Bassani took 18th place for the Rams with a time of 2:20.35, a season best. Closely behind, sophomore Megan Lloyd placed 20th and senior Tess Simpson finished 22nd.
Freshman Katie Kicklighter continues to be a rising star on the team, earning another top time, this time placing 18th in the 100 Freestyle with a time of 51.16. Sophomore Karin Roh finished 22nd, with a season-best mark of 51.62.
Junior Jessica Shepard snagged a 22nd-place finish in the 200 Backstroke with a season-best time of 2:02.41 – more than three seconds better than her previous best. She competed with teammate Elizabeth Prasse, who finished 24th (2:03.24). Prasse’s time was more than six seconds better than her previous high.
In diving, junior Ariana Milone earned 188.05 points in Platform Diving, good for an 18th-place finish. Freshman Erin Taylor and sophomore Emily Williams also placed, finishing 22nd (165.15) and 23rd (161.75), respectively. Earlier in the weekend, Milone finished second on the 1-Meter boards and seventh in 3-Meter.
The meet closed with the 400 Freestyle Relay, in which a team of Roh, Simpson, Bassani and Kicklighter finished with a season-best time of 3:27.34. The three-day competition will help build confidence and endurance when the Rams compete in the Mountain West Championships in February.
CSU finished ahead of Indian River State College, South Carolina, Campbell, Auburn, Clemson, Utah and Tulane. Florida won the meet, followed by Arkansas, Florida State, Florida Gulf Coast, Vanderbilt, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida Atlantic, Miami and Bowling Green.
The Rams closed their fall season 3-3 in dual meets, in addition to this weekend’s invitational. CSU will have the holiday seasons away from competition, but will continue to train in preparation for their spring season, which begins Jan. 17 at Moby Pool against New Mexico.
