THE FLATS – Georgia Tech swimming and diving continued its strong performance from the first day to finish the sweep and defeat Denver in the final dual meet of the season on Saturday at McAuley Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon.
The 19th-ranked men’s team defeated the Pioneers 216-133, while the women’s team won their matchup 196-155.
“This weekend was a great meet for us,” head coach Courtney Shealy Hart said. “Not only was it great to celebrate our seniors and get solid wins for both teams, but we are also still progressing and on our way to being where we need to be for championships season. I’m proud of all of our seniors for stepping up today and for all that they’ve done during their time here. But we’re not done yet. Ending dual season like this only gives us confidence as we continue to work toward our end goal of successful ACCs and NCAAs.”
Tech has one more regular-season appearance before the ACC Championships. They’ll head to Alabama for the Auburn Invitational on Feb. 8-10.
Men’s Highlights
Tech took 1-2-3 in the 3-meter with Matt Casillas (334.65), Nolan Mallet (318.98) and Jacob Kreider (292.50) continued their sweep of diving for the weekend.
Brennan Day started off swimming with a first-place finish in the 400 IM, swimming a 3:57.95 to win. Joonas Koski (4:02.78) finished third before Tanner Doan and Tim Slanschek (4:03.77) tied for fourth.
Then in the 200 free, Caio Pumputis won the race handily with a 1:36.90 with Albert Zhi (1:39.93) and Daniel Jacobs (1:42.22) finished third and fifth, respectively. Clay Hering was then able to take another gold for the Yellow Jackets, winning the 100 fly with a time of 49.63. He was followed by Gabriel Munoz in second place, who swam a career-best 50.14, and Tim Slanschek in third, who swam a 50.45.
Grabbing Tech’s fifth gold medal of the day was Jonathan Yang, who won the 200 breast by 0.32 seconds, turning in a time of 2:04.12. Behind him was senior Joseph Portillo, who finished third with a 2:06.08. Corben Miles then led a strong sprinting performance for Tech, winning the 50 free with a 20.03, while Darren Lim (20.83) and Aidan Pastel (20.88) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Senior Rodrigo Correia continued his fine season, grabbing another NCAA B qualifying time in the 100 back, winning with a 47.70. Freshman Kyle Barone finished second behind his teammate with a 49.18 before Austin Daniel (51.30) and Leon Warnakulasuriya (51.64) finished fifth.
Finishing 2-3-4 in the 500 free was Caio Pumputis, senior Colt Williamson and Joonas Koski. Pumputis finished with a career-best time of 4:33.54 before Williamson swam a 4:35.29 and Koski a 4:37.02.
The day ended with the 400 medley relay where Tech was the only team to swim a sub-3-minute time. The Jackets’ squad of Pumputis, Miles, Darren Lim and Correia turned in a season-best 2:58.28. Tech started the day with a 200 free relay, where its team of Miles, Lim, Daniel and Correia finished second with a 1:22.54.
Women’s Highlights
Diver Camryn Hidalgo won her fourth-consecutive contest on Saturday, winning the 3-meter with a score of 324.00 while Carly Doi finished second at 291.30.
Then in the pool, swimming took the first event as Kristen Hepler won the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.78 before Catriona MacGregor swam a career-best 4:27.48 to finish second. Hepler then won her second event of the day when she swam a 2:18.85 in the 200 breast. Senior Florina Ilie also scored for GT, finishing fourth with a 2:22.39.
Senior Iris Wang won her race by more than a second, taking the 200 free with a 1:49.65 before Emily Ilgenfritz finished second at 1:50.83. Celine Nugent also scored for Tech with a fifth-place 1:53.80. Coming off of two gold medals yesterday, Ilgenfritz then turned around to win the 500 free with a 4:57.24 and finish 1-2 with teammate Morgan Johnson (5:01.10).
In the 100 back, Allie Paschal captured the gold medal, winning a close one with a time of 55.76. Senior Sara Gilbert then turned in a second-place 56.98 before Caroline Lee finished fourth at 57.04.
Finishing back-to-back, second and third, respectively, in the 50 free was MacGregor and Gilbert. MacGregor swam a 24.03 while Gilbert turned in a 24.10. In the 100 fly, Chloe Miller then turned in a time of 57.37 to finish third in the 100 fly.
The day ended with a first-place relay for Georgia Tech as the team of Gilbert, MacGregor, Ilgenfritz and Wang kicked hard to a winning time of 3:26.57 in the 400 free relay.
Tech Tidbits
- Sophomore Catriona MacGregor turned in a career-best time of 4:27.48 in the women’s 400 IM.
- Senior Colt Williamson swam a career-best 1:42.69 in the men’s 200 free.
- Freshman Gabriel Munoz recorded a personal-best 50.14 in the men’s 100 fly.
- Sophomore Jonathan Vater finished with a career-best 51.52 in the men’s 100 fly.
- Sophomore Caio Pumputis turned in a personal-best 4:33.54 in the men’s 500 free.
- Senior Rodrigo Correia turned in an NCAA B cut of 47.70 in the men’s 100 back.
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