Oct. 14, 2005
ATLANTA – Junior Tony Burkhardt swept the diving competition with NCAA Zone diving qualifying scores of 303.85 (one-meter) and 318.00 (three-meter) to lead the Georgia Tech swimming and diving teams against Georgia on Friday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
On the men’s side, the Yellow Jackets climbed within two points of the Bulldogs after seven events as Burkhardt and sophomore Evan Stowers finished one-two on the one-meter springboard as the Jackets trailed 57-55. The Bulldogs (2-0) then rallied to defeat the Jackets (0-2), 135-108. The defending national champion Lady Bulldogs (2-0) upended Tech (0-1), 136.50-89.50.
“It was nice to watch our men go out there and give Georgia a scare,” said head coach Stuart Wilson. “We are three or four swimmers away from beating them. I was proud of the way we finished strong with Ryan [Bishop] in the breaststroke and our 200 free relay team winning.
“It was a good meet for the girls, especially being the first meet of the season. Alison Walker had a nice split in the breast on the relay and our freshman did a nice job, being their first collegiate meet. Overall, we were thrilled with the swims today.”
Senior co-captain Teemu Kettunen clocked a time of 21.38 in the men’s 50-yard freestyle. Junior Ryan Bishop swam a time of 1:53.04 in the men’s 200 IM to pace the Jackets.
Sophomore Stephanie England posted an NCAA Zone qualifying and personal-best score of 292.73 on the women’s three-meter springboard to finish first for Tech. Stowers tallied an NCAA Zone qualifying score of 293.77 to finish second on the one-meter board, while senior Laurissa Prystaj tallied an NCAA Zone mark of 256.36 to finish second on the one-meter board.
The men’s 200 free relay team of Ryan Riebesell, Jason Howard, Brian Huff and Kettunen finished first with a time of 1:24.95.
In the 1000 freestyle, sophomores Rob Miller and Elizabeth Stowe posted second-place finishes with times of 9:34.80 and 10:03.65, respectively. Sophomore Jeff Burton tallied a third-place finish in the men’s 1000 free with a time of 9:57.73.
Freshman Noah Copeland rallied in the men’s 200 free to post a second-place finish with a time of 1:42.14 for the Jackets.
The Yellow Jackets will travel to College Park, Md., for the ACC Quad Meet, Oct. 21-22, to take on Florida State, Maryland and Virginia Tech.
-GT Swimming & Diving-
