Feb. 24, 2018
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four A finalists, a school record and an all-ACC honor propelled Georgia Tech swimmers to an impressive finale at the 2018 ACC Men’s Swimming Championships on Saturday evening at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
“I’m really happy with the way we finished the week,” said head coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “I’m extremely proud of Caio [Pumputis] for getting the silver in the 200 breast, as well as Colt [Williamson] for breaking the school record today in the 200 back. I’m also proud of the way our four seniors led this week and for all they’ve done in their time at Georgia Tech. Now, we’ve got to focus on the upcoming weeks as we prepare for the NCAAs and then we’ve got to be hungry for more next year.”
The 25th-ranked Yellow Jackets finished the four-day conference championship meet in ninth-place overall with 504 points. Overall, Tech broke two school records at the ACC event, the 200 back and the 800 free relay.
Men’s Highlights
Junior co-captain Colt Williamson kicked things off with a school-record time of 1:41.89 (NCAA B time) in the 200 back prelims to finish sixth overall and advance to the A finals. He then finished eighth overall in the finals with a time of 1:46.72.
In the 200 breast, freshman Caio Pumputis earned the silver medal and all-ACC honors after a career-best NCAA B time of 1:53.45 in the A finals heat. Senior Moises Loschi finished seventh overall in the 200 breast with an NCAA B cut time of 1:54.95.
Pumputis snuck into the A finals with a prelim time of 1:55.68 (eighth), while Loschi finished first overall in the prelims with a season-best time of 1:54.23.
Senior Alex Kimpel also advanced from the 200 breast prelims, making the C finals with a season-best NCAA B time of 1:58.84, while freshman Jonathan Yang set a new season-best mark with an NCAA B time of 1:59.30 to join Kimpel in the C finals. Kimpel then improved his time to 1:58.73 to finish fifth in the C finals, while Yang swam a 2:01.21.
In the 200 fly, Christian Ferraro recorded an NCAA B time of 1:43.36 to finish sixth overall in the A finals after advancing from the prelims with a career-best time of 1:43.03. Sophomore Tim Slanschek finished seventh in the B finals with an NCAA B time of 1:45.06, while Clay Hering (1:45.57 – career-best) and Brad Oberg (1:46.80) finished first and third in the C finals.
Co-captain Rodrigo Correia battled to a second-place finish in the C finals of the 100 free, swimming a season-best NCAA B qualifying time of 43.45. He advanced to the finals with another NCAA B time of 43.67.
Williamson also competed in the 1650 free, where he finished 15th overall with a career-best NCAA B time of 15:10.66. Sophomore Joonas Koski placed 21st overall with a career-best time of 15:17.82, while Brennan Day turned in a time of 15:35.02.
In the 400 medley relay, the Tech team of Correia, Loschi, Ferraro and Pumputis raced to a sixth-place finish with a season-best time of 3:10.20.
Freshman Christian Ferraro recaps his A-finals day (200 fly) and his first ACC Championships 💪 pic.twitter.com/v27NqrdXY6
— Ga Tech Swim & Dive (@GTSwimDive) February 25, 2018
Tech Tidbits
* Junior Colt Williamson broke the 200 back school record with an NCAA B qualifying prelim time of 1:41.89 to finish sixth overall and advance to the A finals.
* Senior Moises Loschi finished first in the 200 breast prelims, turning in a season-best NCAA B time of 1:54.23 – also below the average of 2017 Nationals invitations. He then raced to an NCAA B time of 1:54.95 to finish seventh overall in the 200 breast.
* Freshman Caio Pumputis finished second overall in the 200 breast finals, swimming a career-best NCAA B qualifying time of 1:53.45 – also below the average of 2017 Nationals invitations. He advanced to the finals by recording an eighth-place NCAA B time of 1:55.68.
* Junior Rodrigo Correia turned in a season-best NCAA B time of 43.45 in the C finals of the 100 free. He advanced to the finals with another NCAA B qualifying time of 43.67.
* Senior Alex Kimpel recorded a season-best NCAA B time of 1:58.73 in the 200 breast C finals.
* Freshman Jonathan Yang turned in a season-best NCAA B time of 1:59.30 in the 200 breast prelims to make the C finals.
* Freshman Christian Ferraro finished seventh in the 200 fly prelims to make the A finals with a career-best NCAA B time of 1:43.03 – also below the average of 2017 Nationals invitations. He then turned in another NCAA B time of 1:43.36 to finish sixth overall.
* Sophomore Tim Slanschek recorded an NCAA B time of 1:45.06 in the B finals of the 200 fly. He advanced to the finals with an NCAA B time of 1:45.29.
* Sophomore Clay Hering turned in a career-best NCAA B qualifying time of 1:45.57 in the C finals of the 200 fly. He advanced to the finals with an NCAA B time of 1:46.01.
* Senior Brad Oberg recorded a season-best NCAA B cut time of 1:46.73 to make the C finals of the 200 fly. He then turned in another NCAA B time of 1:46.80 in the C finals.
* Williamson also turned in a career-best NCAA B qualifying time in the 1650 free with a time of 15:10.66.
* Sophomore Joonas Koski also turned in career-best NCAA B time in the 1650 free, swimming a 15:17.82.
* Senior Noah Harasz turned in a season-best NCAA B qualifying time of 43.81 in the 100 free prelims.
* Freshman Corben Miles set a new personal record in the 100 free when he swam a 45.08.
For the latest information on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Swimming & Diving, follow us on Twitter (@GTSwimDive), Instagram (@GTSwimDive), and Facebook (Georgia Tech Swimming & Diving) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
