THE FLATS – Georgia Tech swimming and diving competed in day one of the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships hosted at McAuley Aquatic Center. The men’s team is fifth while the women’s team is eighth after the first day.
Day one of the ACC Championships featured women’s 1-meter diving, men’s 3-meter diving and the 800 freestyle relays. Camryn Hidalgo made it to the finals of the women’s 1-meter diving and Ruben Lechuga made it to the finals of the men’s 3-meter diving.
Prelims in the women’s 1-meter diving for Hidalgo was highlighted by her third dive, a forward 2 ½ somersault pike (105B). The dive had her highest degree of difficulty in prelims (2.6) and scored the second highest of any dive in the third round at 54.60. Hidalgo would ultimately place fifth in prelims with a score of 292.80.
Consistency was the buzz word for Hidalgo in finals as she hit another forward 2 ½ somersault pike (105B) for a score of 54.60 to propel her up the leaderboards. She posted a score of 314.35 but placed fifth in the event.
Lechuga competed in the 3-meter finals after placing fourth in prelims with a monster score of 83.30 in his final dive, Forward 2 1/2 Somersault 2 Twist Pike (5154B). This dive has a degree of difficulty of 3.40 and Lechuga earned eights and an 8.5 to total his impressive 83.30, the top score in the round.
When finals rolled around for Lechuga, he kept the momentum rolling with a score of 64.50 on his first dive, a Forward 2 1/2 Somersault 1 Twist Pike (5152B). He would add another twist on his final dive a Forward 2 1/2 Somersault 2 Twist Pike (5154B) to score another score above 80 at 81.60. Lechuga scored 383.35 in the finals to place fourth.
Allen Mann also scored for the Yellow Jackets on the day with a 15th place finish in the 3-meter event. Mann’s score was boosted by his third dive, a Forward 3 1/2 Somersault Pike (107B). This dive has a degree of difficulty of 3.10 and Mann ultimately scored 60.45 on the dive.
There was only one swimming event of the night, the 800 free relays. The women’s event was first to go. The team clocked in a time of 7:14.12. Zora Ripková swam the fastest leg of the relay at 1:47.30. The men’s event turned in a B cut (6:19.94) for the group of Batur Ünlü, Clark Wakeland, Daniel Kertesz and Berke Saka.
The White and Gold return to action on Wednesday for the second day of the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships. The day will feature the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 200 free relay and men’s 1-meter diving. Names to watch include Ünlü and Mert Kilavuz in the men’s 500 free. Ünlü currently owns the fourth fastest time in the conference while Kilavuz has the fifth fastest time.
In the men’s 200 IM, Caio Pumputis looks to defend his first-place finish from 2021 and Saka has a chance at the podium with the sixth best time in the event in conference so far this year.
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