Dec. 18, 2016
THE FLATS – With the 2016 fall semester over, the Georgia Tech swimming and diving program has headed south for its annual winter training session where the Yellow Jackets will face off with both the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Florida Atlantic Owls in a double-dual meet on Monday, Dec. 19, at 5 p.m. in Naples, Fla.
“With exams over, we are excited to get the team together for a chance to go to Florida for our winter training session,” stated head coach Courtney Shealy-Hart. “It is always a good time and is a great chance for our team to not only work hard at getting better in the water, but also continuing to work on our team chemistry and commitment to one another. I know our team is ready to get back into the pool and compete and we look forward to the meet with Cincinnati and FAU on Monday.”
The Yellow Jackets are eager to return to the pool for competition, as Tech last competed on Nov. 17-19 at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
The double-dual meet on Dec. 19 with both the Bearcats and the Owls will include just swimming and a total of 11 events.
The men’s team, which is ranked No. 25 overall in the latest CSCAA Top-25 Rankings, will look to improve to 4-2 in dual meet action with a sweep of both Cincinnati and FAU on Monday.
Co-captains Rodrigo Quadros Correia and Ben Southern are leading by example thus far this season, as combined the two rank in the top-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in six different individual events. Correia ranks fourth in the ACC in the 100 back (46.62, NCAA `B’ cut), fifth in the 100 free (43.47, NCAA `B’ cut), seventh in the 200 free (1:35.58, NCAA `B’ cut) and 10th in the 50 free (19.93, NCAA `B’ cut). Southern is eighth in the conference in the 200 fly (1:44.97, NCAA `B’ cut) and 10th in the 100 fly (47.55, NCAA `B’ cut).
Also ranked in the top-10 in the ACC are Moises Loschi, Alex Goerzen, Alex Kimpel and Tim Slanschek. Loschi ranks second in the 200 breast (1:53.88, NCAA `B’ cut) and seventh in both the 1000 free (9:15.69) and the 100 breast (53.19, NCAA `B’ cut). Goerzen sits in fourth overall in the ACC in the 200 back (1:42.82, NCAA `B’ cut), while Kimpel ranks fifth in the 200 breast (1:57.00, NCAA `B’ cut) and Slanschek is tied for sixth in the 200 fly (1:44.74, NCAA `B’ cut).
The women’s team will look to get back on track this week and jump back to over .500 for the season in dual meet action with a clean sweep on Monday.
The women’s team is led by Iris Wang, Chiara Ruiu, Laura Branton and Kaitlin Kitchens who are all coming off very strong individual performances at the 2016 AT&T USA Winter National Championships on Nov. 30 through Dec. 3.
Wang set two school records last time out at the GT Invitational, turning in a time of 48.91 in the 100 free and a mark of 1:45.92 in the 200 free at the event. Wang’s respective times both rank ninth overall in the ACC thus far this season. The sophomore also holds Tech’s top-time this season in the 50 free (22.90, NCAA `B’ cut).
Ruiu also set two Tech records at the GT Invite from Nov. 17-19, finishing with a time of 1:01.21 in the 100 breast and touching the wall at 1:59.88 in the 200 IM. The redshirt senior co-captain also holds the top mark for the Yellow Jackets this season in the 200 breast (2:13.03) and in the 400 IM (4:17.09, NCAA `B’ cut).
Like both Wang and Ruiu, Branton set a new school record in the 100 fly at the Georgia Tech Invite with a time of 53.70, also an NCAA `B’ qualifying time. Branton also has recorded the top-time for the Yellow Jackets this season in the 200 fly (1:59.62).
In her first semester with the Yellow Jackets, Kitchens has turned in the second best times of the season for Tech in the 50 free (22.98, NCAA `B’ cut) and in the 100 free (50.20) with both times coming last time out at the AT&T Winter National Championships.
The Cincinnati Bearcats are coming off their midseason invitational event on Nov. 17-19 in which they set a total of nine school records overall. In dual meet action, both the men’s and the women’s teams are 2-1 overall on the season with wins over Michigan State and IUPUI, as well as a loss to Indiana.
The FAU Owls will be returning to the pool only two days after hosting Denver in a dual meet on Dec. 17, in which the Owl suffered a 168-124 loss on the men’s side and a 168-111 defeat on the women’s side.
FAU’s men’s team enters Monday night’s double dual with an overall dual meet record of 1-3 with the lone win coming over conference foe Gardner-Webb. The women’s team is 1-6 overall with their lone win of the season coming over Florida Tech in dual meet action.
The neutral site meet will take place at the Norris Aquatic Center in Naples, Fla. The start time is slated for 5 p.m. ET.
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