[break] Nicolas Fink, Chase Kalisz and Olivia Smoliga claimed individual titles to highlight Georgia’s showing on Friday at the Swimming and Diving SEC Championships at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center.

Following four days of competition, the Lady Bulldogs remain first with 1,082 points, with Texas A&M in second with 875 and Florida in third with 730.5. The Lady Bulldogs will be vying for a school-record sixth straight and 12th overall conference title on Saturday.

Seeking their first conference team title since 1955, the Bulldogs stand second with 848 points. Florida is first with 980 and Auburn is third with 760.

Fink capped his SEC career a perfect 4-for-4 in the 100-yard breaststroke. His winning time on Friday was 51.51. Fink is the fourth Bulldog and the ninth man overall to win an SEC event all four years, joining fellow Bulldogs Sebastien Rouault (500- and 1,650-yard freestyle) and Mark Dylla (200-yard butterfly).

“I’m certainly proud to have won this event four times,” Fink said. “This one is a tribute to the whole year. It’s not just something that happened here. It goes back to the training, the hard work and my teammates pushing me all year. They have made me a better swimmer.”

Kalisz touched first in the 200-yard butterfly, recording a time of 1:41.70.

“I’m really happy with the win,” Kalisz said. “My goal for this meet is to get as many points for my team as I can. I just swam my own race. I stayed back and stayed patient and utilized my strengths.”

Smoliga claimed the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.47. She is Georgia’s first SEC champion in the 100-yard backstroke since Neka Mabry in 2001.
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[break] “(Kylie Stewart and I) have been training all season and racing each other, so it was so nice to have her next to me,” Smoliga said. “She pushes me to be better. It was awesome to have so much Georgia representation in the backstroke.”

Stewart’s time of 52.12 in the 100-yard backstroke landed her in third. Chantal Van Landeghem placed 12th in 53.50.

Hali Flickinger came in second in the 200-yard butterfly, registering a school-record time of 1:52.88. Courtney Weaver was fourth in 1:55.33, Megan Kingsley placed fifth in 1:55.34 and Lauren Harrington wound up sixth in 1:55.56.

The 400-yard medley relay of Smoliga, Annie Zhu, Harrington and Van Landeghem came in third in 3:34.01.

Darcie O’Brien placed ninth in platform diving with 238.55 points, followed by Kelly Thatcher in 15th with 224.65.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Shannon O’Malley finished 14th in 1:01.23 and Olivia Boggs claimed 23rd in 1:02.49.

Taylor Dale finished third in 46.18 and Alec Cohen checked in 22nd in 48.37 in the 100-yard backstroke.
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[break] Ty Stewart came in fourth in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:42.30, while Pace Clark took fifth in 1:42.33 and Mick Litherland finished 10th in 1:43.72.

The 400-yard medley relay of Dale, Fink, Stewart and Michael Trice took fourth in 3:06.26.

The SEC Championships will conclude on Saturday. Swimming prelims will start at 11 a.m. EST, followed by men’s platform prelims at 2 p.m. Timed finals in the 1,650-yard freestyle will start at 5 p.m., followed by the rest of the finals at 7 p.m. There will be live streams of all sessions on SEC Network +.