Feb. 18, 2016
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Georgia Tech divers and women’s swimmers had another historic day at the ACC Championships, recording two school records in the pool and placing a diver in the finals.
After Day 2 of the ACC Championships, the Georgia Tech women are in 11th place with 125.5 points, while men’s divers have recorded 96 points.
“It was another great night for us here in Greensboro,” head coach Courtney Shealy Hart said. “Brad Homza did an incredible job on the boards. All of our guys scored in diving, so that was great. Chiara Ruiu had a school record in the 200 IM, and we had another school record in the 200 freestyle relay. We’re doing a tremendous job, and we’re going to keep fighting like we did today. We’re going to come back strong tomorrow morning and get ourselves into scoring position for tomorrow night.”
The day began with the 500 free prelims, an event in which Lila Best was Tech’s only participant. Best finished fifth in her heat with a personal-best time of 5:06.95.
In the 200 IM finals, Chiara Ruiu finished fifth in the C final with a school-record time of 2:00.97, breaking a record set by Jordan Evans in 2012. Ruiu qualified for the C final with a time of 2:01.32, which was a personal best at the time. Kira de Bruyn was also strong in the prelims, recording a time of 2:01.57 during a swim-off. The time made the NCAA B cut for the event.
Iris Wang was solid in the 50 free, nearly setting a school record with a personal-best time of 22.90 in the prelims. Wang then recorded a time of 22.95 to finish fifth in the C final.
In the 200 free relay, the quartet of Alex Rieger, Morgan Lyons, Maddie Paschal and Ruiu set a new school record with a time of 1:31.62.
On the boards, Brad Homza reached the final for the second day in a row, this time in the 1-meter dive. Homza finished fourth with a score of 349.75. Tech’s three other divers earned points for the Jackets, with Omar Eteiba, Matt Casillas and Nolan Mallet finishing 16th, 19th and 23rd, respectively.
“Brad did a great job battling back in the prelim to get into the final today,” diving coach John Ames said. “His final was a really solid list for him, only missing his reverse 2-1/2 a bit on the entry.”
Live results for Friday’s events can be followed at http://theacc.co/SDlivestats. Friday’s finals can be viewed on ESPN3 (http://es.pn/1VjCr08).
Friday Schedule of Events:
10:00 a.m.: 400 IM (prelim), 100 Butterfly (prelim), 200 Freestyle (prelim), 100 Breaststroke (prelim), 100 Backstroke (prelim)
12:00 p.m.: Women’s 3-meter Diving (prelim)
6:00 p.m.: 400 IM, 100 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, Women’s 3-meter Diving, 400 Medley Relay
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.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTSwimDive) and Facebook (Georgia Tech Swimming & Diving) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
