Georgia Tech vs Gardner-Webb
- Saturday, January 30th, 2021
- McAuley Aquatic Center, The Flatts, GA
- SCY (Short Course Yards)
- Results
Team Scores
Men
- Georgia Tech – 183
- Gardner-Webb – 94
Women
- Georgia Tech – 190
- Garnder-Webb – 78
Georgia Tech swept Gardner-Webb in men’s and women’s dual meets on Saturday, taking 15 of 16 women’s events and 14 of 16 men’s.
GT star Caio Pumputis won a pair of events for the Yellow Jacket men, and assisted a relay to victory. Pumputis clocked a 54.12 to win the men’s 100 breast, coming in just a little off his season best of 53.44. Pumputis also won the 100 free, posting a 44.28 to touch first by 1.5 seconds. The swim was just .68 seconds off his lifetime best of 43.60, which he swam back in November of 2018. He capped off his meet with a 20.11 anchor split on the winning men’s 200 free relay. His split was the fastest in the field.
Georgia Tech freshman Baturalp Unlu picked up 2 men’s wins on the day, taking the 500 free and 400 IM. In the 500, Unlu swam a 4:27.76, winning by a massive 20-second margin. He got out to a fast start, splitting 2:11.74 on the first 250, then came home in 2:16.02. Unlu went on to swim a 3:59.26 in the 400 IM, winning the race by 9 seconds.
Georgia Tech freshman Lindsey Merk won a pair of women’s events for the Yellow Jackets. Merk first took the 200 fly with a 2:06.41, pulling away from teammate Abby Cohen (2:07.11) at the end of the race. Merk went on to win the 100 fly with a 56.89, posting the fastest split in the field on both 50s.
Gardner-Webb picked up men’s wins in the 100 back and 100 fly. In the 100 back, Tim Bennett swam a 50.70, getting out to a field-leading 24.21 on the first 50. Cullen Fields took the 100 fly with a 50.92, using a 26.89 on the 2nd 50 to take the lead and charge into the finish.
Gardner-Webb’s Mary Traylor picked up the lone women’s win with a 4:33.70. Georgia Tech’s McKenzie Campbell was the fastest swimmer in the race with a 4:24.38, but she swam exhibition (not for points).
PRESS RELEASE – GEORGIA TECH:
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech swimming & diving held its 2021 Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at McAuley Aquatic Center, hosting Gardner-Webb for swim and ACC-rivals Florida State & Miami in diving. The Yellow Jacket men topped the Runnin’ Bulldogs 183-94, while the women also picked up a big win with a final score of 190-78.
Senior women’s diver Camryn Hidalgo broke the platform school record at Senior Day, tallying up a score of 309.20. Hidalgo now owns every Tech women’s diving record. Her first-place score was just under a point above the former record of 308.25 set by Stephanie England in 2007.
“I’ve worked at getting this record for a long time,” Hidalgo said. “I have such great teammates and my head coach John has really helped me get to this point. It feels great to have the record knowing how hard I had to work for it.”
“This was a great meet for the post season,” added head diving coach John Ames. “Miami and FSU are two awesome diving programs, and it was great to host them. It was especially exciting to watch Cami finally get that elusive platform record on senior day.”
The Yellow Jacket women captured gold in all 14 swimming events against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, while Tech’s men won a total of 12 events. This is the second meet in a row that the Yellow Jacket women’s swim crew has swept their opponent, having swept Vanderbilt at home on Jan. 23.
On the men’s swimming end of things Tech was led by Caio Pumputis, Christian Ferraro and Batur Unlu, with each having multiple first-place performances throughout the dual meet versus Gardner-Webb.
Tech’s women’s swimming squad was guided by McKenzie Campbell, Lindsey Merk and Allie Paschal each placing first in multiple events as well.
“I am super proud of the way we competed the last two days,” said Toni M. and Richard L. Bergmark Swimming and Diving Head Coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “We are looking forward to getting into the postseason. I think this meet sets us up well for that. I want to say a special thank you to all of our seniors for everything they have done for this program.”
Men’s Highlights
Pumputis placed first in the 100 breast and 100 free. In the 100 breast he earned an NCAA ‘B’ Cut coming in at 54.12, he followed that up with a 44.28 showing in the 100 free.
Ferarro finished in 1:49.74 in the 200 fly to pick up his first win of the day. In the 200 breast he clocked in at 2:01.84, winning by nearly six full seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
True freshman Batur Unlu had another dominant performance taking first in the 500 free (4:27.76) and 400 IM (3:59.26).
To start the day off Tech also took gold in the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 3:18.38 backed by the performances of junior Kyle Barone, sophomore Daniel Kertesz, Ferraro and Unlu.
True freshman Caleb Blischke continued the early momentum for the Jackets, finishing first in the 1000 free with a time of 9:32.34. Kertesz followed that up with a big win in the 200 free, clocking in at 1:39.93 to take first.
Senior Austin Daniel had a time of 20.98 in the 50 free, just a few milliseconds in front of second-place finisher junior Tyler Branscombe (21.02).
Fellow true freshman Nathan Hayes placed first in the 200 back at 1:50.28.
To cap the afternoon off the Yellow Jacket men won the 200 free relay, as Jonathan Vater, Leon Warnakulasuriya, Ferraro and Pumputis raced to a time of 1:23.00 to earn Tech’s final gold of the day.
The men’s diving squad faced off against Miami and FSU in the platform event, with senior Jacob Kreider being Tech’s top finisher placing fifth with score of 288.70.
Women’s Highlights
Campbell had a busy day as she took first in the 100 breast, 500 free and 400 IM. She turned out a 1:04.20 performance in the 100 breast, a 4:58.83 showing in the 500 free and a 4:24.38 effort in the 400 IM to secure a gold finish in all three events.
Merk was Tech’s top performer and a first-place finisher in the 100 & 200 fly events, clocking in at 56.89 in the 100 and a 2:06.41 effort in the 200.
Paschal had a 56.30 showing in the 100 back to earn her first individual win of the day. Next, she came in at 2:01.29 in the 200 back to earn her second gold.
True freshman Anna Bradescu (299.50 points) and senior Paige Gohr (230.00) joined Hidalgo on the podium for platform, placing second and third, respectively.
The women’s swim squad started their dual meet with a win in the 400 medley relay, finishing in 3:48.36 behind the efforts of Paschal, Merk, fellow senior Catriona MacGregor and sophomore Brooke Switzer.
Junior Morgan Johnson placed first in the 1000 free, touching the wall at 10:12.62, just under three seconds ahead of teammate Duda Seifer (10:15.58). In the very next event Seifer placed first in the 200 free at 1:52.78.
MacGregor picked up an individual gold in the 50 free with a time of 24.06. Switzer and true freshman Claudia Butterfield rounded out the first-place finishers for Tech, with Switzer (52.29) winning the 100 free and Butterfield (2:17.30) earning gold in the 200 breast.
The Yellow Jackets will be back at McAuley on Feb. 12-13 for the Georgia Tech Invitational, the Jackets last chance meet prior ACC Championships.
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PRESS RELEASE – GARDNER-WEBB:
ATLANTA, Ga. – On Saturday afternoon Gardner-Webb Swimming took on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs Men’s and Women’s teams both took a drop in the meet. As the Men lost to the Yellow Jackets 183 – 94, and the Women lost to GT 190 – 78.
In the 400 Medley Relay, the women’s squad of Delaney Willette, Jessi Snover, Audrey Robinson, and Alyssa Church placed fourth overall with a time of 4:02.15 in the event.
On the Men’s side for the 400 Medley Relay, the quartet of Brady Fields, Jonathan Frye, Cullen Fields, and Chase Mattingly took home second-place for the Runnin’ Bulldogs with a time of 3:25.44 at the wall.
Adrianna Barone placed fourth in the Women’s 1,000 Free, earning points for GWU with a time of 10:55.74.
In the Men’s 1,000 Free, Brady Vann finished fourth for the Dogs’ with a time of 9:47.47. Fellow teammate Will Anderson finished just behind Vann to take fifth, finishing at the wall with a time of 10:02.65.
As for the Women’s 200 Free, Alyssa Church swam a time of 1:58.61 to punch in a fourth-place finish. While teammate Ellie Eckert finished just one second behind to take fifth-place with a time of 1:59.79.
Drew Mintz placed fifth for GWU in the Men’s 200 Free with a time of 1:44.53 on the touchpad. Christian Jann and Landon Clark both tied for sixth-place in the event with a time of 1:45.12, respectively.
In the Women’s 100 Back, Mary Traylor took home a sixth-place finish for the Runnin’ Bulldogs with a time of 1:00.81 in the event.
On the Men’s Side in the 100 Back, Tim Bennett took home the gold for GWU with a smoking fast time of 50.70 at the wall.
Sydney Hall placed fifth in the Women’s 100 Breast for Gardner-Webb, Hall clocked in a time of 1:06.91 at the finish.
As for the Men’s 100 Breast, Jonathan Frye took home a second-place finish for the Dogs’ by punching in a time of 57.80 on the touchpad.
In the Women’s 200 Fly, Elley Parker placed third for GWU with a time of 2:12.71.
Colby Childress took home a third-place finish for the men in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:53.63 at the wall, and Chase Matting placed fourth with a time of 1:54.11.
As for the Women’s 50 Free, Audrey Robinson took home a third-place finish with a time of 24.78 on the touchpad.
In the Men’s 50 Free, Brady Fields placed fifth for the Dog’s with a finishing touch of 21.29.
Jessi Snover took home a big second place finish in the Women’s 100 Free for GWU with a time of 53.01 on the clock.
As for the Men’s 100 Free, Tim Bennett placed fifth with a time of 47.73, and Seggio Bernardina took sixth-place with a time of 47.97.
In the Women’s 200 Back, Delaney Willette took home second-place for Gardner-Webb with a time of 2:10.24, and Laura Wakeley placed third with a time of 2:16.41 at the wall.
Landon Clark clinched third-place in the Men’s 200 Back for the Dogs’ with a time of 1:53.69 on the touchpad.
Sydney Hall claimed second-place for the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the Women’s 200 Back with a time of 2:29.71.
On the Men’s side of the 200 Back, Jonathan Frye also had a nice second-place finish with a time of 2:07.14 on the clock.
In the Women’s 500 Free, Ellie Eckert notched another second-place finish for the Dogs’ at the wall with a time of 5:33.32.
Will Anderson also placed second for GWU on the Men’s side of the 500 Free with a time of 4:47.50.
As for the Women’s 100 Fly, Jessi Snover claimed second place in the event with a time of 57.58 at the finish.
In the Men’s 100 Fly, Cullen Fields took home the gold for Gardner-Webb with a smoking fast time of 50.92 in the race.
Shortly after in the Women’s 400 Individual Medley, Mary Traylor took home another first-place finish for the Dog’s with a time of 4:33.70 in the event.
Chase Mattingly took home silver for GWU in the Men’s 400 Individual Medley with a time of 4:08.18 on the touchpad.
To finish out the meet, the squad of Alyssa Church, Alexandra Haasser, Audrey Robinson, and Delaney Willette placed second in the Women’s 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:39.10 at the finish.
In the Men’s 200 Free Relay, the group of Brady Fields, Tim Bennett, Seggio Bernardina, and Drew Mintz also took home a second-place finish for GWU with a time of 1:23.63 on the wall.
Gardner-Webb Swimming will be back in action the Week of February 15th, as they are set to compete in the long-awaited CCSA Championships. The Women will hit the water on Feb. 15-17, and the men will swim on Feb. 19-21.
Attempting to be the most “swept” team in the NCAA
Maybe if you actually swam you could comment.