Georgia vs Texas A&M: Georgia Swimmers And Divers Sweep Aggies

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Georgia vs Texas A&M: Georgia Swimmers And Divers Sweep Aggies


Georgia’s Kevin Litherland in the 200 Yard Freestyle.
(Photo by John Kelley)

 

The Georgia swimming and diving teams opened the 2016 portion of their schedule on Friday by sweeping Texas A&M at the Aggies’ Student Recreation Center.

 

The No. 3 Bulldogs dispatched Texas A&M 178-122, while the No. 2 Lady Bulldogs posted a 163.5-136.5 decision. Both Georgia squads improved to 6-0, including 3-0 marks against SEC foes, while the Lady Bulldogs improved to 28-0-1 in their last 29 dual meets.

 

“Winning in this league and on the road is no easy feat, so our men and women are to be commended for a job well done,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “We thought coming in it was going to be a challenge on both sides today, and that’s exactly what we got. Our kids competed hard from start to finish. That’s what it takes to succeed at the SEC and NCAA levels. I could tell everyone gave it all they had today.”

 

Kevin Litherland won twice for the Bulldogs, claiming the 200-yard freestyle in 1:38.62 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:29.22.

 

Georgia swept the additional freestyle events with Michael Trice in the 50 (20.13), Gunnar Bentz in the 100 (45.16) and Matias Koski in the 1,000 (9:11.72). Koski’s win punctuated a 1-2-3 showing for the Bulldogs in the event.

 

Pace Clark and Mick Litherland took care of the butterfly races, with Clark winning the 100 in 48.15 and Litherland claiming the 200 in 1:47.22. Taylor Dale went 47.14 to win the 100-yard backstroke, and Colin Monaghan’s 56.25 was the best in the 100-yard breaststroke. Ty Stewart won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:50.61.

 

The Bulldogs swept both of the relays. The 200-yard medley relay of Dale, Stewart, Bentz and Trice stopped the clock in 1:28.01, while Trice, Kevin Litherland, Chris Powell and Dale won the 400-yard freestyle with a time of 2:59.75.

 

Hali Flickinger and Brittany MacLean paced the Lady Bulldogs with three individual wins each. Flickinger took the 100- and 200-yard backstroke in 53.46 and 1:53.66, respectively, and won the 200-yard individual medley in 1:57.22. MacLean had an impressive back-to-back showing as she won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:41.60 and the 200-yard freestyle in 1:47.47, then later took the 500-yard freestyle in 4:47.47.

 

Megan Kingsley won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:57.67 and Olivia Smoliga touched in 49.68 to win the 100-yard freestyle.

 

Smoliga, Meaghan Raab, MacLean and Flickinger won the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:19.78.

 

Georgia will return to action on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Texas. The meet can be seen on the Longhorn Network. Georgia’s next home event will be Saturday, Jan. 23, against Tennessee.

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Greg is closing in on 15 years writing about and photographing UGA sports. While often wrong and/or out of focus, it has been a long, strange trip full of fun and new friends.