THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech swimming and diving teams concluded a successful three days of competition with two new school record and multiple NCAA qualifying marks.
Deniz Ertan crushed the women’s 1650 free record with a second place and NCAA ‘B’ Cut time of 16:04.82. While swimming the 1650, Ertan broke her own record in the women’s 1000 free with a split time of 9:41.02. Berke Saka also bested his own school record today in the men’s 200 back. Saka placed third with an NCAA ‘B’ Cut time of 1:40.02. The men’s 400 free relay team of Batur Ünlü, Leandro Odorici, Daniel Kertesz and Will Coady finished fifth with a program best and an NCAA ‘B’ Cut time of 2:51.61.
In the men’s 1650 Free, Mert Kilavuz qualified for NCAA’s with a ‘B’ Cut time of 14:57.05 and placed fifth in the event. Nils Bognar joined Saka with an NCAA ‘B’ Cut time of 1:44.25 in the men’s 200 back.
Ünlü earned his third individual NCAA ‘B’ Cut finish in the men’s 100 Free, placing fifth with a time of 42.57. Claudia Butterfield led the Jackets in the women’s 200 breast and finished with an NCAA ‘B’ Cut time of 2:13.20.
McKenzie Campbell and Antonio Romero highlighted the 200 fly for Tech by placing in the top 10 overall and recording NCAA ‘B’ Cut times. Campbell placed fourth with a time of 1:57.23 in the women’s event and Romero finished eighth with a time of 1:45.52 for the me.
Tech divers competed in the platform events for the first time this season and three Jackets concluded competition with NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores. Anna Bradescu championed the women’s platform with a score of 298.20. On the men’s side, Ruben Lechuga finished sixth with 336.45 points and Elijah Klier finished ninth with 303.55 points.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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