A third broken relay record of the week capped off an outstanding outing for the University of Georgia swimming and diving team Friday at the 2020 Georgia Invitational at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
The Bulldogs swept Friday’s entire program, earning 10 wins on the way to commanding overall victories in both the men’s and women’s competitions. In the women’s meet, No. 1 Georgia amassed 1,447 points, leading No. 25 Florida State (1,180) and Georgia Tech (700). Meanwhile, in the men’s meet, the third-ranked Bulldogs tallied 1,480 points, compared to 1,021 for the No. 16 Seminoles and 1,006 for the 22nd-ranked Yellow Jackets.
For the third-consecutive day, the session’s highlight was a new school record set by a men’s relay team. In the closing 400 freestyle relay, freshman Luca Urlando, senior Javier Acevedo, freshman Jake Magahey, and sophomore Dillon Downing took first with an A-cut time of 2:49.27, surpassing the previous top mark set at the 2016 NCAA Championships and setting a new top-ranked time nationally. Earlier, the women’s team of freshman Maxine Parker, seniors Gabi Fa’amausili and Courtney Harnish, and sophomore Zoie Hartman also set a new national standard with a winning B-cut time of 3:14.93. The men’s 400 free record is the third new relay mark set this week by the Bulldog men, who previously broke marks for the 200 freestyle relay on Wednesday and the 200 medley relay on Thursday.
As in previous days, Georgia swimmers placed themselves at the top of the national standings. In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Hartman took first with a season-best A-cut of 2:06.34, with senior teammate Danielle Della Torre also earning an automatic cut with a new PR of 2:06.81, ranking her second nationally and fourth in school history. Senior Jack Dalmolin earned another win in the men’s 200 breast, notching a personal-best time of 1:52.80.
In the 200 butterfly, junior Dakota Luther posted the nation’s top time of 1:53.34, followed by Harnish, whose season-best time of 1:53.50 sits second nationally. In the men’s 200 fly, Urlando moved to third nationally with a PR of 1:40.67, ranking him sixth in school history, while senior teammate Camden Murphy grabbed a season-best B-cut of 1:41.23.
In the 200 backstroke, sophomore Ian Grum blazed past the field with a personal-best B-cut of 1:40.05, placing him second nationally and fourth in school history. Junior Maddie Homovich finished first in the women’s 100 back with a season-best time of 1:55.42, followed by senior Sammie Burchill in second with a PR of 1:56.03. Downing earned his second individual win of the meet with a B-cut time of 42.46, placing him second both nationally and in the all-time program standings, while Fa’amausili prevailed with a season-best B-cut of 48.58 that ranks second in the nation.
Finally, the Bulldogs turned in strong performances in the 1,650 freestyle, with Magahey leading the men’s race with an A-cut time of 14:33.78 that ranks fifth in program history. He was followed by seniors Greg Reed (14:43.69) and Aaron Apel (15:14.54), who each posted B-cuts. In the women’s mile, Georgia swept the top three spots, led by senior Olivia Anderson with a B-cut of 16:03.61, followed by a B-cut from Homovich at 16:21.01 and sophomore Jillian Barczyk at 16:33.81.
Georgia will now head into its fall competition break with its next dual meet against South Carolina scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16 at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The Bulldogs’ diving team will return to action with the Georgia Diving Invitational, slated for Sunday, Jan. 3 through Tuesday, Jan. 5 at home.