Nov. 7, 2014
THE FLATS – Brad Homza and Andrew Kosic each won two events but No. 15 Georgia Tech was downed by No. 4 Georgia in a men’s swimming & diving dual meet Friday at the GT Aquatic Center. Top-ranked Georgia also defeated the Tech women.
Tech’s men fell to Georgia, 182-116, while the women were defeated, 171-121. The Yellow Jackets did record wins over Savannah College of Art & Design, with the men rolling, 240-48, and the women posting a 253-40 victory.
The 15th-ranked Tech men capped their fall dual-meet season with a 5-3 record, while the women are 5-5. Up next is the GT Invitational in two weeks.
“I’m happy with the way we competed and we raced well,” said head coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “We had some injuries and illness, so we’re down a couple people and that is evident in the results. But that’s where we are. It’s certainly better for that to happen now than during championship season. But I thought we raced hard. We kept fighting and I’m proud of our team.”
Men’s Highlights
• Senior All-American Andrew Kosic stayed hot against the Bulldogs, sweeping the 50 free and 100 free for the second year in row over Georgia. Kosic won the 50 free in a time of 20.13 (NCAA B cut) and the 100 free in 44.04 (NCAA B cut).
• Sophomore diver Brad Homza also swept his events, winning on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 373.43 and taking the 1-meter competition with a score of 332.55 points. Teammate Omar Eteiba finished second on the 3-meter, scoring 326.85 points.
• Homza won the 1-meter versus Georgia last season in his collegiate debut.
• Yuval Safra and Elliott Brockelbank finished second and third, respectively, in the 1,000 free with Safra clocking in at a season-best 9:17.22 and Brockelbank touching in 9:25.30 – also a season best.
• Safra also swam to a second-place finish in the 500 free, putting down a time of 4:30.34.
• Brian Woodbury (50.39) and Youssef Hammoud (50.44) finished second and third in the 100 back.
• Ricky Lehner and Alex Kimpel took second and third in the 100 breast, putting down times of 57.16 and 58.93.
Women’s Highlights
• Tech’s first win of the night was captured by junior Efrat Rotsztejn, who took the 100 breast in a time of 1:04.81. Classmate Darelle Cowley claimed second in a time of 1:05.56.
• Rotsztejn’s impressive night also included a second-place finish in the 200 breast in a time of 2:21.21.
• Junior Shannon Lumbra was victorious on the 1-meter springboard, scoring 285.68 points. On the 3-meter board, the junior took second with a score of 289.95.
• The women’s 200 medley relay was just out-touched at the wall by Georgia, as the Jackets’ team of Maddie Paschal, Rotsztejn, Morgan Lyons and Erika Staskevicius were clocked in a time of 1:45.11, which trailed winning Georgia by .3 seconds.
• Xanna Tracy and Paschal finished second and fourth in the 100 back as Tracy was edged at the finish by .01 seconds to Georgia’s Megan Raab. The second-place time for Tracy was a season-best 57.01.
• Junior Chiara Ruiu claimed a pair of second-place finishes in both the 100 free (52.33) and the 200 free (1:52.91).
Up Next
• The Yellow Jackets will host the GT Fall Invitational November 20-22 at the GT Aquatic Center.
