Georgia men took down reigning SEC champs Florida with two wins from Jake Magahey, Javier Acevedo and Luca Urlando
In the 2020-21 home opener, the University of Georgia swimming and diving team established itself as one of the nation’s top squads, sweeping Florida Friday at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The No. 4 women decisively topped the No. 10 Gators, 184-116, followed by a 165.5-134.5 victory for the eighth-ranked men over their third-ranked opponents, sweeping the matchup for the first time since 2016.
Georgia Press Release
The Georgia women started quickly in their meet, taking the first three races on their way to 13 overall victories in the morning session. In the 200 medley relay, the team of senior Gabi Fa’amausili, sophomore Zoie Hartman, junior Dakota Luther, and freshman Maxine Parker pulled out a close win with a time of 1:39.63.
Senior Olivia Anderson took first in the 1,000 freestyle for a second-consecutive week at 9:57.35, followed by a win from fellow senior Courtney Harnish in the 200 freestyle with a B-cut of 1:47.04. Harnish would later win in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.51 and helped the 400 freestyle relay team close the meet with a win. Parker and junior Callie Dickinson also posted two victories in the meet, with Parker taking the 50 (22.80) and 100 (49.86) freestyles, and Dickinson topping the 200 backstroke (1:58.85) and 100 butterfly (53.73).
Hartman and senior Danielle Della Torre once again dominated the breaststroke events, with Hartman taking the 100 with a B-cut time of 1:00.56, followed closely by Della Torre at 1:00.99, who later won the 200 with a B-cut time of 2:11.38. Hartman added another win later in the meet, taking the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.27. Luther prevailed in the 200 butterfly for the second-consecutive week with a time of 1:57.95 and also placed second in the 100 (54.49) behind Dickinson. Elsewhere, sophomore Jillian Barczyk posted runner-up finishes in the 200 (1:49.12) and 500 freestyles (4:52.54), while Fa’amausili placed second in the 100 backstroke.
The men’s meet began auspiciously for the Bulldogs as a disqualification by the Florida A team gave the group of redshirt senior Javier Acevedo, senior Jack Dalmolin, freshman Luca Urlando, and sophomore Dillon Downing the win with a time of 1:26.71. Acevedo continued the outstanding start to his season with a sweep of the backstroke events, taking the 100 and 200 with times of 47.10 and 1:43.37, respectively. Dalmolin won for the second-straight week in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:59.99, while Downing dominated the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.87.
Urlando remained impressive in the butterfly events, winning the 100 (47.02) and 200 (1:44.05) with B-cut times in each. He was followed by senior Camden Murphy, who also surpassed the provisional marks, including a time of 47.04 in the 100. Through two meets, Urlando and Murphy have finished in the top two in all four butterfly races for Georgia.
Along with Urlando, fellow freshman Jake Magahey once again proved critical for the Bulldogs’ chances of victory. In the 1,000 freestyle, Magahey dazzled with a national-best time of 8:53.73, placing him fourth in program history in just his second race. Senior Greg Reed finished second with a new personal-best time of 8:55.00, giving him the No. 6 position in the all-time rankings. Later in the meet, Magahey pulled ahead late in the 500 freestyle for a winning time of 4:19.14, holding off a pair of Gators and cementing the Bulldogs’ lead for good. Overall, the Georgia men placed first in 10 events.
At the diving well, senior Zach Allen won the 1-meter springboard for the second-consecutive outing, topping the field with a score of 327.00. Allen then qualified for Zones on the 3-meter, taking second with a mark of 346.80. In the morning meet, freshman Meghan Wenzel again posted Zones-qualifying scores in both events, placing third on the 1-meter (267.08) and fourth on the 3-meter (281.18). Junior Ellie Crump finished just behind Wenzel in each event.
Georgia remains home next Friday, Nov. 6 as it hosts Auburn in dual competition at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The women’s meet will begin at noon, followed by the men’s action at 4 p.m. Live coverage of both meets will be available on SEC Network+.
Florida Press Release
The University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team opened up the new season suffering a 164.5-134.5 loss on the road against Georgia at Gabrielsen Natatorium on Friday afternoon after a 252-day break from team competition.
Florida picked up a total of five individual victories in the season opener, as well squeezing out the top time in the final relay of the meet. Robert Finke, Trey Freeman and Kieran Smith all posted the nation’s fastest time in their event wins.
Robert Finke posted a trio of top-three finishes in the first action of his junior season, highlighted by a victory in the 400 IM. Finke, the 2019 SEC Champion in the event, finished first by .50 seconds, securing an effort of 3:50.33. The Clearwater, Fla. native also posted third-place finishes with a new personal-best in the 200 back (1:45.34) and an effort of 8:57.43 in the 1,000 free to open up the meet.
After missing the majority of last season to injury, Freeman touched first in the 200 free with a B-cut effort of 1:36.10. He would later go on to notch another B-cut with a second-place finish in the 500 free (4:19.46).
The reigning 2020 SEC Male Swimmer of the Year Kieran Smith started off his junior campaign with a B-cut winning effort in the 100 free, finishing first by a full second to his closest competitor with a swim of 43.35. Additionally, Smith hit a new personal-best time with a third-place nod in the 200 fly (1:44.74).
Dillon Hillis also secured a victory in the 100 breast. Hillis, who currently owns the second-fast time in school history in the event, finished first with the top time of 54.73. In the 200 breast, Hillis would notch a second-place finish (2:00.59).
In his Florida debut, Leonardo Garcia showed up on both the 1 and 3-meter springboard. Garcia posted his first victory as a Gator with his top 3-meter tally of 399.83. He also finished in second on the 1-meter with a 6-dive tally of 321.60.
- To begin his senior season, Clark Beach registered a pair of runner-up bids to lead Florida in the backstroke. First, Beach would finish with the second-fastest time in the 100 back, touching in 48.50. In the 200 back, the four-time All-American tallied an effort of 1:45.11.
- Alfonso Mestre also met the B standard for the season in the 500 free. Mestre would touch in third-place behind Freeman with his swim of 4:21.67. He also competed in the 200 free with Freeman, finishing in fourth-place.
- In his first collegiate competition, Mateusz Dubas posted a third-place effort behind Hillis in the 200 breast. Dubas finished the event with an effort of 2:02.96. In the 100 breast, he finished fourth.
- Eric Friese led a trio of Gators with a top-five finish in the 50 free with his runner-up bid of 20.08, with Adam Chaney following him in third with a time of 20.15. Isaac Davis’ swim of 20.53 tied for the fourth-fastest time in the event. Friese would add a third-place nod in the 100 fly (47.56), while Chaney added a fourth-place finish in the 100 free with an effort of 45.05.
- As the only returner competing for Florida’s diving group today, Nick Lydon would post a third-place finish on each springboard, hitting a mark of 301.13 on the 3-meter and 293.55 on the 1-meter.
The Gators ended the meet in a come-from-behind win in the 400 free relay. The team consisting of Freeman, Chaney, Friese and Smith outlasted Georgia’s top relay with a combined swim of 2:55.66. Smith anchored the relay and was able to come from behind on the last leg to seal the win. The time is currently the fastest in the nation.
In the opening event of the meet, Florida’s winning relay was DQ’d due to an early start. The relay of Clark Beach, Dubas, Isaac Davis and Will Davis would go on to post a third-place finish in the event.
