Dec. 5, 2008
ATLANTA – Four more school records went down as the Georgia Tech swimming teams completed another successful day at the 2008 ConocoPhillips Short Course National Championships Friday night at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center.
Ryann Kopacka set a school record in the women’s 100-back, while Noah Copeland had a record in the 200-free. In addition, two more Tech relay teams set school records.
“This was another fantastic day for us,” head coach Stu Wilson said. “I think the swim that Ryann [Kopacka] had was amazing and a pleasant surprise. Everyone was so ecstatic. For Noah to swim the way he did battling injuries says a lot for his make-up. I am so pleased with our training at this point in the season as we continue building towards to the ACC Championships.”
For the second straight day, both Tech teams began well in a relay. The women’s 200-medley relay team of Jessie Mason, Lisa Pucci, Christine Chuang and Agatha Kwasnik set the new mark with a 1:43.11 to finish 10th overall. That was almost two seconds better than the previous best set back in 2004. In prelims, Mason, Pucci, Erin O’Donnell and Kwasnik finished in 1:44.91, good for 12th and the spot in the evening’s B finals.
On the men’s side, both Tech A and B teams had great races. Illia Ayzenshtok, Mickey Malul, Sullivan Lynch and Mauricio Sousa finished second with a time of 1:27.29. It was just .09 off of last year’s school record, but still good enough for a NCAA “B” cut. The B team of Johnny Hagaman Andy Miller, Travis Wagner and Garrett Robberson finished 12th with a mark of 1:30.58. The Jackets’ A squad was just behind the Auburn team which set a course record.
In the 400-IM, John Hermes placed 42nd for the Jackets with a time of 4:08.61 in prelims.
Jordan Evans just missed qualifying for finals in the 100-fly as she clocked in at 55.43, good for 27th-place. Christine Chuang was right behind her in 28th-place as she touched the wall in 55.64. O’Donnell (56.40) and Vida Jemec (57.14) also swam well for the Yellow Jackets. On the men’s side, Lynch (49.80), Noah Copeland (49.93) and Wagner (49.95) had good swims as well finishing 42nd, 44th and 46th, respectively.
Kwasnik (1:49.37) and Sarah Broadley (1:49.56) paced the Jackets in the 200-free finishing 33rd and 38th, respectively. Keren Siebner (1:52.29) and Taylor Flynn (1:52.84) also recorded solid swims for Tech.
On the men’s side of the 200-free, Copeland finished fourth in a race won by Olympian Ryan Lochte. Copeland’s time of 1:35.50 set a new school record and was a NCAA “B” cut. He improved a spot and shaved a second off his fifth-place swim (1:36.51) in the morning’s prelims.
The final individual event of the day was the 100-breast. On the women’s side, Hen Pauker led the way as she finished 39th in a time of 1:04.63. Lisa Pucci was 44th (1:04.95), while Brittany Gobat finished 50th touching the wall in 1:05.21.
In the men’s 100-breast, Andy Miller led the Jackets with a 13th-place finish as he finished in 55.11. Jeremy Jackson was 22nd in the finals at 56.17, but had a time of 56.03 in prelims. Matt Vaughan (58.25), Kevin Skenes (59.29) and Gal Nevo (1:00.72) also swam well for the Jackets and recorded top 50 finishes.
The 100-back race saw another school record go down on the women’s side as Ryann Kopacka touched the wall in 55.33 to finish 22nd. She broke a record that had stood since 2003 and just missed a NCAA “B” cut.
In the men’s 100-back, Hagaman led the Jackets placing 34th with a time of 50.21. Ayzenshtok (50.69) and Matt Tang also recorded top 50 finishes for the Yellow Jackets.
The evening closed out with the 800-free relay and another record on the women’s side as the team of Sarah Broadley, Keren Siebner, Taylor Flynn and Agatha Kwasnik placed fifth in a time of 7:20.11. It beat the previous record by three and a half seconds set last year.
The men’s team of Copeland, Wagner, Long and Tang finished eighth in a time of 6:39.63.
Action concludes Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center with the 1,650-free, 200-back, 100-free, 200-breast, 200-fly and 400-free relay. For links to live stats, video and updated heat sheets, please visit the U.S. Short Course Nationals link on www.ramblinwteck.com.
