T&F: Big Opening Day at NCAA Prelims for Dawgs
Alencar Pereira 📸: Cat Wofford
Georgia’s track and field teams punched two tickets to Nationals and qualified all six of its competitors in seven events for quarterfinals during the first day of the NCAA East Prelims on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs qualified a pair of competitors for the final rounds of the NCAA Championships as senior Alencar Pereira advanced in the hammer throw and senior Ahmed Magour was in the top 12 of the javelin.
- Pereira matched his 2021 Prelims placing in the hammer to clinch his second straight trip to the final round of the NCAA Championships.
- Magour made the best out of his first Prelims experience by sending his opening javelin toss a distance that measured the second-best performance of his Georgia career.
Similar to the NCAA Championships, this meet is set up where one gender competes one day and then the other gender competes the next, and that pattern is followed all four days. Wednesday’s competition belonged to the men and the Bulldogs put all six competitors through in seven events to the men’s quarterfinal round on Friday.
- Senior Sam Bowers made a 31-spot improvement from his finish at last year’s meet to slip into Friday’s 1500 meter quarterfinals.
- While junior Matthew Boling won his heat to automatically qualify for the 100m quarterfinals, senior Delano Dunkley earned his spot in the next round by clocking a personal best 10.22.
- Senior Elija Godwin was the only competitor in the opening heat of the 400m to break 46 seconds to automatically qualify for the quarterfinal round.
- Senior Clay Pender follows up his bronze medal performance at SECs by snagging the final at-large qualifying spot for the 800m quarterfinal.
- Junior Caleb Cavanaugh qualified for his second straight 400m hurdle quarterfinal after taking second in his heat.
- Boling completed his day by winning his heat in the 200m to earn an invitation in a second individual event. He will race in the 4x400m relay as well on Friday.
There are 48 competitors from the East Region in every individual event and 24 in the relays. The NCAA West Prelims is running simultaneously in Fayetteville, Ark., with the same format. The top 12 in each event from both regions will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore, on June 8-11.
Two Bulldogs ranked in the nation’s top four in the multi-events earned the right to skip the Prelims by automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships (senior Johannes Erm, junior Kyle Garland – decathlon).
When Do The Bulldogs Start On Thursday? The women’s first day will be on Thursday. Juniors Ana da Silva and Elsie Igberaese and sophomore Charlotte Cattermole-Williams will be in the hammer field at 10 a.m. while senior Imani Carothers and freshman Eddiyah Frye are slated to start in the 100m hurdles’ opening round at 2 p.m.
Live Results: For live results between Wednesday and Saturday, please click on: http://gado.gs/9dd
Live Stream: The NCAA East Prelims will be live streamed all four days: http://gado.gs/9dc
The Lowdown: A pair of Bulldogs took care of business on the meet’s opening day and will next be competing at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
Throwing out of the third and final group of 12 in the hammer, Pereira, a native of Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil, improved on his second and third throws to eventually reach 69.02 meters/226 feet, 5 inches on his final attempt for fourth place. After also taking fourth with a personal record at the meet last year, Pereira was 20th at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Magour started his series with a toss of 72.52/237-11 and that finished as the competition’s fourth-best throw to qualify for a trip to Oregon. This is Magour’s first season competing for the Bulldogs after arriving in Athens prior to the pandemic.
There were also seven Bulldog qualifiers for the quarterfinals on day one. Bowers, a native of Milton, Ga., clocked the 1500m’s 12th-fastest time of the day (3:45.87) after finishing ninth in his heat. With the top five advancing from all four heats, Bowers’ group had all four of the next four best times that punched a ticket. He will race in the quarterfinal at 5:15 p.m. Friday.
Boling, a native of Houston, Texas, and Dunkley, a native of Black River, Jamaica, will make up two of the 24 in the 100m quarterfinal on Friday at 6:35 p.m. Boling cruised to a victory in the opening group with a 10.09 (legal +1.2 meter/second wind). Then, Dunkley was fourth in the third heat and 18th overall thanks to the fastest time of his career (10.22, +1.3 m/s). This moves Dunkley into No. 9 on the Bulldog all-time top-10 list.
Godwin, who hails from Covington, Ga., won the opening heat and was fourth overall with a 45.85 during the 400m’s opening round. Godwin, who advanced to final rounds of Nationals and was a Second Team All-American in 2021, will line up in the quarterfinal on Friday at 6:50 p.m.
Pender, a native of Winder, Ga., had the 18th-best time of the day (1:49.63) but had the sixth and final at-large qualifying time after taking fourth in the fourth heat. Pender is slated to run in the 800m quarterfinal at 7:05 p.m. Friday.
Cavanaugh, a native of Houston, Texas, posted the 14th-best time in the first round of the 400m hurdles and qualified automatically for the quarterfinal after being the second hurdler across the line in his group. Cavanaugh will run in the quarterfinals at 7:25 p.m. on Friday.
Boling returned to the track in the 200m and won his heat with the seventh-fastest time of the competition at 20.31. Earning First Team All-America honors in both the 100m and 200m last year, Boling will be in the field of the 200m quarterfinal at 7:50 p.m. on the third day of action.
WBB: UGA Signs Orlando Sentinel Florida Player of the Year
Stefanie Ingram, the 2021 Orlando Sentinel Florida Player of the Year, has signed with the Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball team, head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson announced Wednesday.
Ingram will be a freshman during the 2022-23 season for the Lady Bulldogs.
“We are excited to welcome Stefanie to the University of Georgia” Coach ‘ABE’ said. “Stefanie is a combo guard that can play the l and the 2 with the ability to score and make everyone around her better. She is a three-tier scorer and has an enormous basketball IQ. Stefanie is a perfect fit in our system because she is tough and plays extremely hard on both ends of the floor. She comes from one of the best high school programs in the country and is a great leader and teammate. I am thrilled she is a Georgia Bulldog.”
Ingram played high school basketball at Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), where the team won back-to-back 4A state titles as one of the top programs in the nation.
She led the Highlanders to a perfect 19-0 record during the 2020-21 campaign, averaging close to 10 points per game to go with 4.2 rpg, 97 total assists and 53 steals.
Ingram posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Lincoln Park in the 2021 state championship game to help the Highlanders complete their undefeated season.
Ingram was named one of the key prospects to watch at the 2021 Geico Nationals according to espnW as Lake Highland Prep was ranked as the No. 3 overall team in the nation.
MTENNIS: Hamish Stewart Falls in NCAA Round of Sixteen
Hamish Stewart fell in the Rd.16 of the 2022 NCAA Singles Championships at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’ Khan Tennis Complex.
Georgia’s No.1 singles player, Stewart went up against Wake Forest’s Eduardo Nava in the singles Rd.16. Due to rain, the match was played indoors.
The first set went back-and-forth between the two but eventually, Nava ended on top 6-4.
No.11-ranked Stewart quickly went up 3-1 in the second over No.61-ranked Nava. After a challenging rally, Stewart won the second set 6-4 to send the match to a third.
A close third set featured strong serves from both sides of the court. Down 5-6 in the third, Stewart won deuce game point to push the match to a tiebreaker. However, despite his very best-efforts Stewart couldn’t hold on and Nava won the match 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4).
The 2022 All-American and All-SEC First Team honoree finishes the season 28-13 overall, 20-7 in dual play and 18-9 against nationally ranked opponents. Stewart posts Georgia’s best record in all three categories (overall, dual, vs. ranked opponents).
Stewart completes his final season with various new career highs as well. Career-high single-season singles wins (28), career-best single-season dual singles wins (20), extended his career singles record to 97-53 and career dual singles record to 75-60.
This was the Glasgow, Scotland native’s second time advancing to the NCAA Singles Rd.64 and first time reaching the Rd.32 and Rd.16.
2022 NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships Results:
Singles Rd. 64:
No.11 Hamish Stewart (UGA) def. No.51 Loris Pourroy (FSU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Philip Henning (UGA) def. No.123 James Davis (Denver) 7-6 (7-4),6-4
Singles Rd. 32:
No. 11 Hamish Stewart (UGA) def. No.58 Tadeas Paroulek (Baylor) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4
No.7 Stefan Dostanic (USC) def. No.50 Philip Henning (UGA) 7-5, 6-3
Singles Rd.16
No.61 Eduardo Nava (Wake Forest) def. No.11 Hamish Stewart (UGA) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4)
Doubles Rd. 32:
No.4 Cleeve Harper/Richard Ciamara (Texas) def. Trent Bryde/Philip Henning (UGA) 7-6(7-4), 6-3
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