Nov. 14, 2002
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams go on the road for a tough challenge this weekend, as the Jackets will face nationally-ranked Purdue and Cincinnati Friday and Saturday at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
Tech will be scored separately against both opponents in this meet, which opens at 6 p.m. Friday. Ten events will be contested in the first session, followed by nine events during Saturday’s action, which begins at noon. The Jackets have never faced Purdue or Cincinnati.
Tech’s men’s team (1-2, 0-1 ACC) enters this meet having lost its last two outings (Florida State, Georgia). The Jackets are led by senior All-American Shilo Ayalon, who owns the team’s top marks in the 200, 500 and 1650 free. He also ranks among the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top nine in the 200 through the 1650 free. Ayalon currently owns the league’s second-fastest mark in the 1650 free.
The Jackets also posses a strong senior breaststroke tandem in Robbie Foster and Tomonori Tsuji. Foster owns the team’s best mark in the 100, which ranks second in the ACC. Tsuji has gone faster in the 200, ranking third in the league.
Senior co-captain James Salazar has the squad’s fastest marks and ranks among the top-10 in the ACC in the 100 and 200 back. Junior Paul McCarty stands as Tech’s top diver.
The men will face a stiff test this weekend, as Purdue (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) is ranked 18th nationally and is coming off wins over Northwestern and Pittsburgh. Cincinnati recently posted victories over Conference USA opponents Louisville and TCU.
Tech’s women (2-1, 0-1 ACC) have an equally tough challenge, as the Boilermaker women stand No. 19 in the latest CSCAA Top 25 Poll. Purdue is 4-0-1 overall and 2-0 in conference action. Cincinnati’s women, the defending C-USA champions, split with league opponents Louisville and TCU last time out. The Jackets fell to Florida State in their last meet.
Tech is led by freshman diver Laurissa Prystaj, who has set school records and qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships on both the one and three-meter boards. She ranks second in the ACC on the one-meter and third on the three-meter board.
Sophomore Anna Saum, who ranks sixth in the conference in the 100 back, leads the way for the women’s swimmers. Classmate Moeko Wallis anchors the sprint free events, while Cara DeVinny owns the team’s fastest performances in the 200 breast and 200 IM.
Freshmen Meghan DeVinney (200 free, 100 fly, 200 fly), Laura Heiser (100 breast) and Ashley Kracke (200 back) also own top performances for the Jackets this season.
Following this meet, the Jackets will break from competition until a January 10 meeting with Clemson in Atlanta. Over the winter break, Tech’s swimmers will take a training trip to Nassau, Bahamas, while the divers will train near the Florida Keys.
-GT-
