Nov. 23, 2013
THE FLATS – Ashley Hardy set a school record on the 3m springboard, while the Georgia Tech men solidified their lead as the Georgia Tech Invitational continued at the GT Aquatic Center Saturday night in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jacket men have accumulated 1,215 points and lead No. 24 Tennessee (1,011) by 204 points heading into Sunday’s final day, with Florida Atlantic in third (734).
The ninth-ranked Tennessee women lead the women’s meet with 741.5 points, followed by Florida Gulf Coast (681.5), Georgia Tech (647.5), Vanderbilt (490.5), James Madison (463), Miami (282.5), FAU (166), Clemson (89.5) and the College of Charleston (9).
Hardy scored 336.65 points in the final round of the women’s 3m springboard to win the event, and break the previous Tech record of 328.75 set by Hannah Krimm in 2009. Hardy’s teammate Shannon Lumbra placed third with a score of 304.10.
Tech’s men got rolling in the pool quickly Saturday night, winning a thrilling 200 medley relay over the Vols by two-tenths of a second. The Jackets’ relay of Spencer Johnston, Mark Sarman, Nico van Duijn and Andrew Kosic put down a time of 1:29.03 to grab 59 points for the cause.
van Duijn and Kosic each posted one of many NCAA B-cuts set Saturday night, with van Duijn winning the 100 fly in a time of 47.33 and Kosic placing second (47.61).
After van Duijn and Kosic went 1-2 in the 100 fly, Sarman and Anton Lagerqvist followed suit in the 100 breast, helping Tech distance itself from Tennessee. Sarman put down a winning time of 55.75, with Lagerqvist clocking in at 56.20.
Tennessee, though, closed the gap by sweeping the top three spots in the 100 back but the Yellow Jackets restored order in the night’s final event by winning the 800 free relay in a time of 6:31.36. The relay of Kosic, Mats Westergren, Declan Poorman and van Duijn took down the Vols by eight seconds.
Westergren turned in a second-place finish for Tech in the 200 free, posting an NCAA B-cut with his time of 1:37.76. In the 400 IM, Andreas Nilsson (3:58.46) and Michael Kenny (3:58.86) finished second and third.
For the women, Saturday night’s swimming action was highlighted by Hailey White and Chiara Ruiu finishing third and fourth in the 200 free. White was clocked at 1:49.18, followed by Ruiu in 1:50.21.
The women’s 800 free relay of White, Ruiu, Erika Staskevicius and Sara Williford picked up an impressive third-place finish as they posted a time of 7:24.67. Williford also collected a fifth-place finish in the 400 IM (4:22.96).
In addition to Hardy and Lumbra on the springboards, freshman Brad Homza finished second in the 1m competition with his score of 342.50.
Sunday’s prelim action begins at 9 a.m., followed by finals at 3 p.m.
