Jackets Drop Hard-Fought Meet to No. 22/19 Auburn

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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech swimming and diving kicked off the 2021 year with an ultra-competitive dual meet against No. 22/19 Auburn on Friday afternoon at the McAuley Aquatic Center.

The Yellow Jackets’ No. 17-ranked men’s team took first place in the two relays as the team of Kyle Barone, Batur Unlu, Christian Ferraro and Justin Alderson took gold in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:21.61 before Barone, Caio Pumputis, Ferraro and Alderson also won the 200 medley relay with a 1:28.37 time.

The women’s team of Emily Graham, Kyrsten Davis, Catriona MaGregor and Allie Paschal took third in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:36.12, while Grace Mauldin, Claudia Butterfield, Lindsey Merk and Imane El Barodi placed fourth in the 200 medley relay at 1:47.31.

The men’s team fell 145-117 to the Tigers, while the women’s team dropped a 178-81 decision.

Men’s Highlights

Leading the way for the No. 17 men’s team was seniors Caio Pumputis and Christian Ferraro. Pumputis took three gold with a first place (1:48.40) finish in the 200 IM and two NCAA B qualifying times in the 200 breast (1:57.71) and 100 breast (54.01).

Ferraro then swept the butterfly events with a first-place finish of 48.03 in the 100 fly and a gold medal in the 1:47.09 in the 200 fly.

Freshmen Batur Unlu also took multiple gold medals, winning the 100 free (44.59) and 200 free (1:36.97) before taking second place in the 500 free with a time of 4:32.53.

The final gold medal for the Jackets came courtesy of Kyle Barone, who kicked to a time of 48.11 in the 100 back to lead the field.

Rounding out the top finishes for Georgia Tech was Simon Davies, who turned in a fourth-place time of 1:52.93 in the 200 back; senior Jonathan Vater, who finished fourth (21.20) in the 50 free; and Caleb Blischke, who recorded a time of 9:34.23 in the 1000 free.

Women’s Highlights

Leading the way for the women was sophomore McKenzie Campbell, who was Tech’s top finisher in three events including a gold medal in the 200 fly (2:01.11). Campbell also finished fifth in the 200 IM (2:06.81) and 500 free (5:05.36).

Also leading the way was Allie Paschal, who turned in a time of 55.61 to finish second in the 100 back, before finishing second (2:00.03) in the 200 back. Freshman Astrid Dirkswager finished just behind Paschal in the 200 back with a third-place time of 2:01.48.

Senior Catriona MacGregor then finished third in two events, kicking to a 1:04.39 in the 100 breast and a time of 52.12 in the 100 free. Finishing right behind her in the 100 free was Kyrsten Davis with a time of fourth-place time of 52.38.

Racking more third-place finishes for the Jackets was freshman Lindsey Merk (100 fly – 56.92), senior Grace Mauldin (50 free – 24.13) and Brooke Switzer (200 free – 1:51.96).

Rounding out Tech’s top finishes was Morgan Johnson, who turned in a time of 10:34.44 in the 1000 free to finish fourth before freshman Claudia Butterfield recorded a time of 2:19.65 to finish fifth in the 200 breast.

Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.

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