Dec. 1, 2007
ATLANTA – Members on the Georgia Tech men’s and women’s swimming teams posted solid outings this weekend at the 2007 Short Course National Championships held at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Competing against some of the nation’s top swimmers including Olympians Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Kara Lynn Joyce and Natalie Coughlin, several Yellow Jackets were able to turn in solid performances.
“We had some outstanding swims this weekend,” Head Coach Stu Wilson said. “It was great to see all of our hard work paying off and have so many outstanding performances in front of all of our fans this weekend.”
Noah Copeland advanced to the finals in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. In the 200, he touched the wall in 1:38.77 in the prelims, but topped that by almost three seconds in the final. His time of 1:36.06 was good for a first-place finish in the “B” race but the mark was actually better than a few swimmers in the “A” race. It also broke his own school record set last year and was a NCAA B-cut time.
In the 100, Copeland swam a personal-best time of 44.46 in the prelims which was good enough for a NCAA B-cut and 18th-best in the event. In the finals, he topped the previous mark to finish in 43.87 winning the “C” final and re-breaking his school record.
Agatha Kwasnik also broke her own school record in the 100-yard freestyle. During the prelims, she touched the wall in 50.16. That mark placed her in a tie for 22nd place heading to the finals and was a NCAA B-cut. The finals saw her finish in 50.01, breaking her own school record again.
Johnny Hagaman also notched a personal best time as he swam a mark of 1:50.48 in the 200-yard backstroke.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Jason Bourgeois swam a personal best time of 50.26, just missing the cut to come back for the final round. His time was good for 28th-place and the top 24 advance into finals. He also swam a 21.01 50-yard time.
Meanwhile, at the LSU Diving Invitational, Evan Stowers (339.65) won the men’s one-meter event and finished fifth (295.15) in the three-meter event. On the women’s side, Stephanie England (309.20) won the three-meter event while her teammate Hannah Krimm(298.70) finished second. In the one-meter dive, Krimm placed second (256.30) and England was third (250.90).
The LSU Invitational concludes tomorrow with the platform event.
The swimming teams will not be in action again until January. The men will compete in a dual meet at the University of Tennessee on Jan. 4 and then both squads will host Virginia Tech in an ACC dual meet on Jan. 19.
