Following a dominant fall campaign, the University of Georgia swimming and diving team returns to the water this weekend for its Senior Day meet against South Carolina Saturday at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The meet will begin with men’s and women’s diving at 9 a.m., followed by the women’s meet at 10 a.m. and the men’s meet at 4 p.m. Prior to the women’s meet, the program will recognize the 17 members of the 2021 senior class.
Due to social distancing measures involving the student-athletes, there will be no spectators allowed inside the natatorium. However, live coverage of both events will be available on SEC Network+.
For the No. 2 Georgia men, this is the 39th all-time meeting with South Carolina, with the Bulldogs holding a 31-17 advantage. For the third-ranked women, this is the 34th all-time matchup with the Gamecocks, with Georgia leading 30-3. This is the second meeting this season between the schools following a Georgia sweep in its season opener on Oct. 23, 2020 in Columbia. For South Carolina, this is its first competition since that October meet.
Georgia will look to pick up from an outstanding performance at the Georgia Invitational in November, where the Bulldogs earned decisive victories against Florida State and Georgia Tech. During the three-day event, four school records were set, including three men’s relays and the men’s 100 butterfly for senior Camden Murphy.
Currently, Georgia owns 30 top-eight slots in the national rankings, with Murphy leading all swimmers in the 100 fly and freshman Jake Magahey ranking first in the 1,650 freestyle. Magahey also sits second in the 500 freestyle, while sophomore Ian Grum is third in the 200 backstroke and redshirt senior Javier Acevedo slots third in the 200 IM. On the women’s side, sophomore Zoie Hartman stands second in both the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM, with senior Courtney Harnish ranking third in the 500 freestyle and junior Dakota Luther holding third in the 200 butterfly.
At the diving well, the Georgia divers are fresh off a terrific performance at last week’s Georgia Diving Invitational, where the Bulldogs earned three wins. Senior Zach Allen set a new personal-best mark on the 1-meter springboard en route to a victory, while junior Ellie Crump and freshman Meghan Wenzel took first in the springboard events. Additionally, sophomore Raquel Mason added herself to the list of Zone-qualified divers with a season-best mark in the platform event.
Following Saturday’s meet, the Bulldogs will close their regular season next Saturday in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. Georgia will then turn its attention toward the SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, which will be held in Athens and Columbia, Missouri in late February.