The Georgia swimming and diving team started off its season by sweeping SEC rival Alabama in Birmingham as the Crimson Tide have not been able to swim at home due to their pool being renovated. It is still early in the season but Dakota Luther (200 fly), Courtney Harnish (500 free), Alabama’s Kensey McMahon (1000, 500 free) and Rhyan White (200 back) put up nation leading times in their respective events. The Georgia women won 163.5-136.5.
On the men’s side, Georgia’s Ian Grum (200 back), Walker Higgins (200 free) and Andrew Abruzzo (400 IM) put up nation leading times as the Bulldogs won 157-143.
Georgia Swimming and Diving Press Release
Powered by strong performances from both veterans and newcomers, the University of Georgia swimming and diving team opened its season with a sweep of Alabama Friday afternoon at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Bulldog men (1-0, 1-0 SEC) took the meet by a 157-143 margin, while the Lady Bulldogs (1-0, 1-0 SEC) were decisive victors with a 163.5-136.5 score. Overall, Georgia swimmers took first in 15 events in the meet.
“Really two good wins today for our kids. Really proud of them,” said Tom Cousins Swimming and Diving Head Coach Jack Bauerle after the meet. “It wasn’t perfect, but the first meet never is. Alabama’s a really good team. It was a tight meet throughout, and we were fortunate to come out on top.”
Junior Courtney Harnish was Georgia’s top scorer for the afternoon with 19.5 points, earning victories in the 200 (1:47.53) and 500 (4:47.04) freestyle. A trio of Bulldogs tallied 18 points, including senior Walker Higgins, junior Camden Murphy and freshman Zoie Hartman. Higgins took first in the 200 (1:36.52) and 500 (4:25.36) freestyle, while Murphy grabbed first in the 100 (47.88) and 200 (1:46.69) butterfly. Hartman was especially impressive in her college debut, placing first in the 100 (1:01.09) and 200 (2:13.01) breaststroke, as well as swimming the second leg of a victorious 200 medley relay.
“Zoie’s going to be exceptional,” said Bauerle. “She’s got the temperament, and she’s got the competitiveness.”
Following the opening medley relay victory, which also included junior Gabi Fa’amausili, sophomore Dakota Luther and senior Veronica Burchill, junior Greg Reed gave Georgia its first individual victory of the day with a time of 9:03.02 in the 1,000 freestyle, capping a Bulldog sweep of the top four in the event. Georgia continued to pile on at the top of the leaderboard, taking the top three in the men’s and women’s 200 freestyle and women’s 100 breaststroke.
“Greg Reed in the 1,000 really got us moving after the first relay, and that helped us,” said Bauerle.
Luther continued to bolster the Georgia lead as she took the 200 butterfly by over three seconds with a mark of 1:56.51, while also placing second in the 100 butterfly. Burchill picked up her first victory of the season with a 49.70 time in the 100 freestyle and finished third in the 100 butterfly.
Freshman Ian Grum also made a strong debut as he posted a winning time of 1:45.88 in the 200 backstroke, followed by junior Jack Dalmolin’s 200 breaststroke win (2:01.52). In the home stretch, Harnish tied for first in the 500 free, followed by Higgins and Murphy’s victories, concluding with sophomore Andrew Abruzzo’s critical victory in the 400 IM (3:52.89). Abruzzo was followed in the top four by Grum, senior Clayton Forde and freshman Harry Homans.
“That was the highlight right at the end,” said Bauerle. “They put the meet away so we didn’t have to go down to the last relay.”
In the diving competition, sophomore Ellie Crump helped seal the overall team victory with the first individual win of her career, earning a score of 283.05 in the 3-meter springboard. Senior Freida Lim followed close behind with a score of 277.50, while junior Josh Getty narrowly took first in the men’s 3-meter (309.98). In the 1-meter springboard, Lim and Crump were joined in the top four by senior McKensi Austin.
“It’s hard to start off sometimes with an SEC meet, especially on the road, but it’s no different from any other sport,” said Bauerle. “Really happy with the effort. I liked the way we raced. I liked the way we won.”
Alabama Press Release
Alabama swimming and diving opened its conference schedule with some big performances against Georgia in the first Southeastern Conference dual meet of the season Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.
Despite winning eight individual events and the final relay, the Alabama women were edged 163.5-136.5, while the men won both relays and earned six individual wins but were clipped 157-143.
Sophomore Rhyan White led the way for the women, winning both the 100 and 200 backstrokes as well as the 100 butterfly, while sophomore Kevin Li grabbed two individual wins for the men, taking top honors off the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards.
HEAD COACH COLEY STICKELS SAID
“We had the opportunity to be competitive against a very good Georgia team today. They got us in some tight ones, so we missed out on some very close opportunities. We were right there throughout the meet, particularly on the men’s side. Overall, we looked better than we did at Delta State and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
MEET HIGHLIGHTS
- Sophomore Rhyan White had a very big day, winning both the women’s 100 (53.78) and 200 (1:55.51) backstrokes as well as the 100 butterfly (54.15)
- Sophomore Kevin Li doubled up in the men’s springboard diving events, winning the 1-meter (324.75 points) and 3-meter (312.45 points)
- Sophomore Kensey McMahon also won a pair of evets, taking top honors in the women’s 500 and 1,000 freestyles, stopping the clock at 4:47.04 and 9:42.96, respectively
- Senior Zane Waddell and freshman Liam Bell combined with juniors Tyler Sesvold and Sam DiSette to win the opening 200 medley relay, stopping the clock at 1:27.54
- The first three legs of the men’s 200 medley relay also won individual titles, with Waddell taking first in the 100 backstroke (47.83), Bell winning the 100 breaststroke (54.57) and Sesvold taking top honors in the 100 butterfly (44.83)
- Sophomore Jonathan Berneburg won the men’s 50 freestyle (20.49)
- Sophomore Kalia Antoniou won the women’s 50 freestyle in a time of 23.35 while freshman Tanesha Lucoe won the women’s 1-meter springboard with a score 264.45
- Senior Alexis Preski picked up Alabama’s final individual win of the day, posting a 4:18.18 to take first in the 400 individual medley
- Alabama closed the meet by winning the women’s and men’s 400 freestyle relays – women, Kalia Antoniou, Allie Surrency, Flora Molnar and Morgan Scott (3:21.17) and men, Jonathan Berneburg, Tyler Sesvold, Sam DiSette, Zane Waddell (2:59.31)
UP NEXT
Following the Georgia meet, Alabama’s women continue on to Nashville, Tenn., to take on SEC foe Vanderbilt Saturday at 10 a.m., while the men return to Tuscaloosa (the Commodores only field a women’s team)
The Bulldogs will return to the water in three weeks as they travel north for back-to-back duals against North Carolina (Friday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m.) and Duke (Saturday, Oct. 26 at 11 a.m.).
So fast, so young and strong for a swim like that!!! More to come. Breaking Barriers!
Congratulations great job
UGA had some extraordinary 1000 and 500 frees, as well as incredible 400 IMs. They swept the pool! Even more impressive was their great sportsmanship!