SWIMMING and DIVING – UGA Sweeps Florida

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SWIMMING and DIVING – UGA Sweeps Florida

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Georgia swimmers cheer on their teammates during an NCAA swim meet between the University of Georgia and Emory University on Saturday, January 31, 2015. (Photo by Sean Taylor)
Georgia swimmers cheer on their teammates during an NCAA swim meet between the University of Georgia and Emory University on Saturday, January 31, 2015. (Photo by Sean Taylor)
[su_spacer size=”40″] GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Georgia swimming and diving teams recorded a pair of impressive early season wins on Friday as they swept Florida at the O’Connell Center. The No. 2 Bulldogs topped the No. 1 Gators 172.5-127.5, while the No. 1 Lady Bulldogs dispatched the No. 13 Lady Gators 169-129.
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The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC as they topped Florida for the second straight year. The Lady Bulldogs, also 2-0 and 1-0, won their ninth consecutive over Florida and improved to 24-0-1 in their last 25 overall dual meets.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “These were great wins for our teams,” said Harvey Humphries, Georgia’s senior associate head coach. “Florida has a tremendous program with world-class athletes and coaches, so we knew it would be a great competition. Winning both meets means a lot to us. We got off to a great start, which was the key, and the kids continued to compete hard in every event.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Since this is an Olympic year, the teams chose to swim a 50-meter long course meet (as opposed to the traditional 25-yard short course college meet).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Pace Clark, Matias Koski and Jay Litherland had two individual wins apiece to lead the Bulldogs.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Clark won the 100-meter butterfly in 54.83 and tied for first in the 200-meter butterfly in 2:01.08 (reaching the Olympic Trials standard).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Koski stopped the clock in 1:51.69 and in 4:00.66 to claim the 200- and 400-meter freestyles, respectively.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Litherland got to the wall first in the 200-meter backstroke (sparking a 1-2-3 finish) with a time of 2:03.94 and in the 400-meter individual medley in a Trials-qualifying time of 4:25.32.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Other winners for the Bulldogs included Kevin Litherland in the 800-meter freestyle (8:16.34), Gunnar Bentz in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:05.86) and James Guest in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:23.14).
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs swept the relays. Taylor Dale, Guest, Clark and Michael Trice stopped the clock in 1:43.51 in the 200-meter medley relay, while Trice, Clark, Koski and Bentz won the 400-meter freestyle relay in 3:27.79.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Hali Flickinger and Annie Zhu each won three events to pace the Lady Bulldogs.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Flickinger took the 200-meter freestyle in 2:01.92 (leading a 1-2-3-4 finish), the 200-meter butterfly in 2:12.26 (to spark a 1-2-3 effort) and the 200-meter backstroke in 2:11.83. Her 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly times were under the Olympic Trials standards.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Zhu won the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:12.70, the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:34.58 and the 400-yard individual medley in 4:54.38. The 200 breaststroke and 400 individual medley times met the Trials standards.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Brittany MacLean claimed victories in the 400-meter freestyle (4:18.70) and the 800-meter freestyle (8:44.35).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Olivia Ball won the 1-meter springboard with 307.35 points.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Lady Bulldogs also swept the relays. Kylie Stewart, Zhu, Courtney Weaver and Olivia Smoliga touched in 1:58.77 in the 200-meter medley relay, while Smoliga, Meaghan Raab, Flickinger and MacLean had the fastest time in the 400-meter freestyle relay at 3:50.69.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Georgia’s teams will return to action Wednesday at 4 p.m. against Georgia Tech at Gabrielsen Natatorium. There is no cost for admission.
[su_spacer size=”40″] GEORGIADOGS.COM – University of Georgia Official Athletic Site – Swimming & Diving
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