Jan. 19, 2002
ATLANTA – With one of its strongest performances of the season, the Georgia Tech men’s swimming and diving team defeated No. 22 Clemson, 146-93, Saturday at Emory’s Woodruff P.E. Center. The Yellow Jacket women fell to the Tigers by a count of 176-63.
“For the men’s team, this may be the best-ever dual meet win in the history of the school,” said Tech head coach Seth Baron. “We performed very well across the board, both men and women.”
Tech’s men set the tone with a win in the 400-yard medley relay to open the meet. The team of junior James Salazar, junior Tomonori Tsuji, senior David Laitala and junior Josh Hersko posted a season-best time of 3:21.41.
Junior All-American Shilo Ayalon then posted a win in the 1000-yard freestyle (9:11.96). He was followed by senior Leo Salinas and sophomore Eduardo Oliver, who placed second and third. Wins followed by Hersko (200 free), sophomore Brendan Forbes (50 free), Laitala (200 IM) and Brady Skaggs (200 fly), as Tech claimed victories in nine of 13 events.
Skaggs time in the 200 fly of 1:49.66 was a lifetime-best performance.
Ayalon then came back to claim victory in the 500 free, posting a time of 4:31.59. He was again followed by Salinas and Oliver in second and third place, respectively. Tsuji won the 200 breast with a time of 2:02.38.
The Jackets’ men’s squad closed the meet by winning the 400-yard free relay in a time of 3:06.45.
“The men had outstanding performances from Josh Hersko, David Laitala, Shilo Ayalon and Tomonori Tsuji, but this was a total team effort for the men’s team,” added Baron.
On the women’s side, Tech was paced by freshman Cara DeVinny, who placed first in the 200 fly with a school record time of 2:03.95. Classmate Anna Saum finished second in the 200 back, also posting a school record of 2:06.36. DeVinny also placed second in the 200 breast (2:22.62).
The other win from the Yellow Jacket women came from freshman Amy Sutton, who claimed first in the one-meter diving with a score of 233.15.
“Cara DeVinny, Anna Saum and Amy Sutton each had very solid performances and continue to show very good improvement as we get closer an closer to the ACC Championships,” said Baron.
Tech returns to action next Saturday, as the Yellow Jackets host ACC rival NC State at Emory at noon.
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