Jan. 9, 2004
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams return to action this Saturday, Jan. 10, against SEC power Alabama in the Alabama Aquatic Center at 3 p.m. ET. Both the men and women stand at 3-3 on the season. The Crimson Tide men and women both tallied top 15 finishes at the 2003 NCAA Championships.
“We’re looking forward to getting the second half of the season under way,” said head coach Seth Baron. “We hope to carry over the success we had in the fall over to the winter and into the ACC Championships. Alabama is a top-notch swim program that has many talented swimmers on its roster.”
Tallying NCAA qualifying marks through the first half of the season for the Yellow Jackets was sophomore Sam Morgan (Gainesville, Ga.) and freshman Vesna Stojanovska (Skopje, Macedonia). Morgan and Stojanovska were named Atlantic Coast Conference Performers of the Week back on Dec. 8.
Morgan posted a NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 15:31.18 in the 1650-yard freestyle at the Georgia Invitational on Dec. 6. Stojanovska carries NCAA ‘B’ cut times in the 200 free (1:49.05), 500 free (4:53.76) and 200 butterfly (2:02.98).
Leading the diving competition for Tech is sophomore Laurissa Prystaj (Fairport, N.Y.). Prystaj posted a NCAA Zone B qualifying score of 256.80 on the one-meter board against Florida Atlantic and Purdue and a three-meter diving mark of 279.67 versus in-state rival Georgia.
Men’s divers Tony Burkhardt (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Paul McCarty (Ypsilanti, Mich.) tallied NCAA Zone Diving qualifying marks on the one-meter board against ACC foe NC State on Oct. 25. Burkhardt dived a season-best 306.82 in the one-meter event.
Tech will return home for an ACC dual meet with Florida State on Jan. 17. The conference swim meet will be held in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center at Noon. All home swim meets can be followed on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com.
