THE FLATS – On the heels of an impressive win over SEC foe South Carolina, Georgia Tech men’s swimming and diving shot into the national rankings at No. 24 in the CSCAA Division I Poll, the association announced Wednesday evening.
The Yellow Jackets used nine gold medals to join just six ACC nationally ranked men’s teams and defeat the Gamecocks 157-143 on Jan. 18. Four swimmers took multiple individual first-place finishes, one swimmer nabbed a solo gold and Tech won the final relay.
Freshman Dylan Scott impressed for a second-straight week, touching the wall first in the 1000 free (9:20.03) and 500 free (4:29.40). Kyle Barone also gutted out two huge wins in the 100 back (48.89) and 200 back (1:48.30), while Christian Ferraro also secured the top spot in the 100 and 200 fly events – 48.78 and 1:48.09, respectively.
Caio Pumputis continued his hot streak, winning the 200 free and 200 IM events handedly. Pumputis touched the wall first in the 200 free with a time of 1:36.85 before winning the 200 IM with a time of 1:48.59. Getting it done and taking gold in the 100 free was Albert Zhi, who turned in a time of 45.54.
The men’s team came together in to edge out a terrific road win by winning the final event of the day – the 400 free relay. The team of Ferraro, Zhi, Darren Lim and Pumputis took the crown and cemented the victory with a time of 2:58.67.
Helping Georgia Tech secure the win was the 200 medley relay team of Barone, Pumputis, Ferraro and Lim, who swam a second-place 1:29.74, as well as diver Ruben Lechuga’s performance on the 1- and 3-meter boards. The freshman posted second-place scores of 311.55 (1-meter) and 383.43 (3-meter). The Jackets would also get 1-2 finishes in two events, thanks to Joonas Koski’s 9:30.50 in the 1000 free and his 4:30.46 finish in the 500 free, and Lim touching second in the 100 free with a 45.62. Clay Hering also touched second in the 200 fly (1:48.68), while Tanner Doan finished second in the 200 breast with a 2:04.83.
Georgia Tech returns to the poll on Saturday, Feb. 1 when it hosts SCAD and Georgia Southern for Senior Day at McCauley Aquatic Center. The meet is scheduled for noon with Senior Day festivities happening prior.
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 Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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