THE FLATS – Georgia Tech swimming and diving wrapped up day two of the GT Invite at McAuley Aquatic Center on Friday with an all-time performance.
Claudia Butterfield took to the pool in the 100 breast. After coming up 0.18 seconds shy of the record in the prelims, her eyes were set on the record. She got the new record by 0.31 seconds coming in at 1:00.90.
“I was think about the record going into the final,” Butterfield said. “Having the record is rewarding but the best part is having hugs from lane one to the bleachers. The support was insane. It felt like everyone shared that record with me. It was really special.”
Two more Yellow Jackets turned in top performances, winning their events. Christian Ferraro continued to show his prowess in the 100 fly winning the event with a time of 45.61.
“It felt great. I was kind of surprised because I was behind the other two guys up until the 75- and 85-yard marks. I just put my head down and hoped to touch in front of them and I did,” Ferraro said.
Camryn Hidalgo took home the top spot on the 3-meter board with a score of 355.95. She was 22.95 points ahead of second place. Also in the 3-meter final for women’s diving was Carmen Woodruff. She finished fourth on the night with a score of 285.80.
“I was happy with the results,” Woodruff said of her performance. “I think it went a lot better than prelims which is exciting because there is always from for improvement. It was really fun to hear my teammates cheering for me the whole time and competing with Cami is always fun.”
Taking home a second place finish on the day was Batur Ünlü in the 200 free. Ünlü qualified second out of prelims and held that position in the finals clocking in at 1:33.79, less than a minute behind first place.
There were nine more ‘B’ cuts and three more zone qualifying scores on the day. Ruben Lechuga had a zone qualifying score and finished second in the finals (327.15). Hidalgo and Woodruff’s finals times of 355.95 and 285.80, respectively, were also good for zone qualifying scores.
The nine ‘B’ cuts came from McKenzie Campbell (4:12.63, 400 IM), Antonio Romero (3:50.81, 400 IM), Ferraro (45.61, 100 fly), Zora Ripkova (53.52, 100 fly), Ünlü (1:33.79, 200 free), Butterfield (1:00.90, 100 breast), Justin Alderson (53.45, 100 breast), Leandro Odorici (53.98, 100 breast) and Berke Saka (46.77, 100 back).
The White and Gold return to the McAuley Aquatic Center on Saturday, Nov. 20 for Day 3 of the GT Invite. Georgia Tech fans in attendance will be able to receive a free t-shirt while supplies last.
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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 Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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