March 9, 2016
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech will have four athletes competing at the 2016 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships, which will take place March 23-26 at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
Youssef Hammoud, Brad Homza, Alex Kimpel and Moises Loschi will represent Georgia Tech’s swimming & diving program. By rule, if an athlete qualifies for an event, he or she can compete in two other events in which they have recorded a time under the “B” cut.
Hammoud, a senior from Alexandria, Egypt, will compete in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly after recording the team’s top times in the events this season. He qualified for the 100 free with a time of 42.92.
Kimpel put himself in position for an NCAA spot after breaking the school record in the 200 breast at the Yellow Jacket Championship Qualifier with a time of 1:54.91. He’ll also compete in the 100 breast and 200 IM.
Loschi also qualified in the 200 breast, the event in which he’d held the school record before Kimpel broke it at the qualifier. Loschi had set the mark after swimming a time of 1:54.95 at the ACC Championships. He’ll also compete in the 100 breast and 1650 free.
“We’re very excited to have three swimmers qualify, along with diver Brad Homza,” head coach Courtney Shealy Hart said. “We’re hosting the event, so we’re excited about showcasing some of our talent here at our home venue. I’m incredibly proud what our athletes have accomplished this season, and I know these four competitors will represent us well at NCAAs.”
Homza qualified for the NCAA Championships on Tuesday when he placed fifth in the 1-meter competition at NCAA Zone Diving. He added the platform to his list of events with an eighth place finish at Zone Diving on Wednesday.
“Today was a really exciting day,” diving coach John Ames said. “Brad came through great in the platform final, and Matt (Casillas) came so close to qualifying. Nolan (Mallet) also had a solid showing, making it to the final. Madison Young was great, too. She was in the top seven for a while there, and I am so proud of how she dove.”
Casillas finished ninth in the platform dive at Wednesday’s Zone Diving session, just one place out of making it to NCAAs in the event. Young finished 11th in the women’s platform event Wednesday afternoon and was in contention for an NCAA spot for most of the event.
For the second time in program history, Georgia Tech and the McAuley Aquatic Center will serve as the host site for the 2016 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. The Women’s Championships will be held March 16-19, followed by the Men’s Championships March 23-26. Georgia Tech previously hosted the 2006 NCAA Championships and the CRC was also the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics swimming and diving competitions.
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