Swim & Dive Closes Out UGA Invitational

UGA Invitational Final Results

THE FLATS. – Georgia Tech swimming & diving closed out the final day of the UGA Invitational at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga., on Friday afternoon. The Invitational versus host Georgia & ACC-rival Florida State served as the Jackets last meet of the 2020 fall season.

Both the men’s & women’s teams finished the Invitational in third-place on the team leaderboard

The No. 22 Yellow Jacket men scored 1006 points, losing to No. 3 Georgia who won the Invite title at 1480 points. No. 16 Florida State placed second for the men with 1021 points. On the women’s end of things, the Jackets 700 points put them behind No. 1 Georgia (1447 Points) and No. 25 Florida State (1180 Points).

Results for the UGA Invitational can be found here.

“I am so proud of our swimmers & divers,” said Toni M. and Richard L. Bergmark Swimming & Diving Head Coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “Love the way both teams competed and the energy they brought all week. We had multiple school records broken, NCAA qualifiers, NCAA ‘B’ cuts and lifetime bests earned.”

The men’s 400 Free Relay squad set a new school record, clocking in at 2:52.15. Seniors Caio Pumputis, Christian Ferraro, Austin Daniel & true freshman Batur Unlu beat the previous best mark of 2:52.47 established in 2015. That time also earned the group an NCAA ‘B’ cut.

“Our men competed well and set themselves up to be in a good place for postseason,” Shealy Hart said.

Sophomore McKenzie Campbell set a new school record in the Women’s 200 Fly, her time of 1:57.25 edged out the previous best mark of 1:57.47 set in 2017 by Laura Branton. Her record-breaking performance was also fast enough for an NCAA ‘B’ cut.

“The women’s team was down a few members,” added Shealy Hart. “But, they swam and dove their hearts out.”

Throughout the weekend the men & women broke five school records and saw 12 NCAA qualifying times/scores recorded.

Men’s Highlights

• Pumputis earned Silver in the 200 Breast ‘A’ Finals, with a 1:53.47 performance he hits an NCAA ‘B’ mark for the second time this season. Earlier this season Pumputis earned an NCAA ‘B’ cut in the 200 Breast at the FSU Invite. True freshman Justin Alderson (2:00.48) & sophomore Daniel Kertesz (2:04.44) joined Pumputis in the ‘A’ Finals for the 200 Breast, coming in at seventh- and eighth-place, respectively.
• Ferraro recorded the third fastest time in program history in the 200 Fly ‘A’ Finals. His time of 1:42.64 made Ferraro the owner of the top-three times in program history in the 200 Fly. Junior Kyle Barone placed fifth in the 200 Fly ‘A’ Finals, just under two-seconds behind Ferraro at 1:44.37.
• Unlu earned an NCAA ‘B’ cut for his opening performance in the 400 Free Relay where he came in at 43.70.
• True freshman Nathan Hayes was the first Yellow Jacket to finish in the 200 Back Finals. He placed 10^th overall at 1:46.17, senior Leon Warnakulasuriya (1:47.99) was right behind Hayes coming in at 11^th.
• Unlu & senior Austin Daniel tied for fifth-place in the 100 Free ‘A’ Finals, each posting a time of 43.89.

Women’s Highlights

• True freshman Claudia Butterfield earned a fourth-place finish in the 200 Breast ‘A’ Finals, clocking in at 2:16.30.
• Senior Catriona MacGregor was Tech’s top finisher in the 100 Free Finals, finishing third in her heat with a time of 50.82 to take 11^th-place.
• Campbell was joined by true freshmen Rei Kuramoto (2:00.61) and Lindsey Merk (2:01.79) in the 200 Fly ‘A’ Finals, with the duo coming in back-to-back in seventh- and eighth-place.

“Both teams are ahead of where they were last year,” Shealy Hart concluded. “I think that this surge will help us as we get ready for the second half of the season with ACC’s and NCAA’s.”

School Records Broken @ the UGA Invitational

• Women’s 200 Fly (McKenzie Campbell) – 1:57.25
• Men’s 400 Medley Relay (Junior Darren Lim, Caio Pumputis, Kyle Barone, Christian Ferraro) – 3:05.89
• Men’s 200 Medley Relay (Kyle Barone, Christian Ferraro, Austin Daniel, Caio Pumputis) – 1:23.89
• Men’s 400 Free Relay (Caio Pumputis, Batur Unlu, Austin Daniel, Christian Ferraro) – 2:52.15
• Men’s 100 Fly (Christian Ferraro) – 45.89

NCAA Qualifying Scores/Cuts Earned @ the UGA Invitational

• Women’s 3m Dive – NCAA Zone Qualifier – Freshman Anna Bradescu – 3
• Women’s 3m Dive – NCAA Zone Qualifier – Senior Paige Gohr – 286.4
• Men’s 400 Medley Relay – NCAA ‘A’ Cut – Junior Darren Lim, Caio Pumputis, Kyle Barone, Christian Ferraro – 3:05.89
• Men’s 3m Dive – NCAA Zone Qualifier – Senior Jacob Kreider – 339.75
• Women’s Platform Dive – NCAA Zone Qualifier – Anna Bradescu – 281.90
• Women’s Platform Dive – NCAA Zone Qualifier – Sophomore Carmen Woodruff – 241.75
• Men’s 200 Medley Relay – NCAA ‘A’ Cut – Kyle Barone, Christian Ferraro, Austin Daniel, Caio Pumputis – 1:23.89
• Men’s 100 Fly – NCAA ‘B’ Cut – Christian Ferraro – 45.89
• Women’s 200 Fly – NCAA ‘B’ Cut – McKenzie Campbell – 1:57.25
• Men’s 400 Free Relay – NCAA ‘B’ Cut – Caio Pumputis, Batur Unlu, Austin Daniel, Christian Ferraro – 2:52.15
• Men’s 200 Free – NCAA ‘B’ Cut – Batur Unlu – 1:33.81
• Men’s 1650 Free – NCAA ‘B’ Cut – True freshman Caleb Blischke – 15:25.88

The final day of the UGA Invitational served as the Yellow Jackets last meet of the 2020 fall season. Tech has had impressive showings at two intrasquad meets, a dual meet with FSU and the UGA Invite.

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