Nic Fink Hits 54.33 100-Yard Breast At Georgia Tech Intrasquad Meet

2022 Georgia Tech White vs. Gold Intrasquad

• September 16 to 17, 2022
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results Under “2022 GT White vs Gold Intrasquad” on MeetMobile

This weekend, the Georgia Tech swim team held an intrasquad meet to kick off the season. One of the biggest names competing was 2022 World Champion Nic Fink, who is training at Georgia Tech as a pro swimmer. This meet marks his first competition since the World Championships this June.

Fink clocked a 54.33 100 breast, 2:03.32 200 breast, 1:49.62 200 IM, 46.48 100 free, and 21.06 50 free, being entered as an exhibition swimmer in all five events that he swam. And while Fink doesn’t usually swim sprint freestyle, the 100 breast/200 breast/200 IM was his NCAAs lineup back when he swam collegiately for the University of Georgia from 2011 to 2015. He holds a best time of 50.90 in the 100 breast, 1:50.80 in the 200 breast, and 1:42.21 in the 200 IM. At the 2014 and 2015 NCAA championships, Fink was the national runner-up in the 100 breast.

At the World Championships this summer, Fink took bronze in the 100 breast and gold in the 50 breast, breaking the American record in the latter event. He also helped Team USA win gold in the 4×100 mixed medley relay and silver in the men’s medley relay.

Other standout performers on the men’s side of the meet included NCAA qualifiers Berke Saka and Batur Unlu. Saka won four individual events: the 200 IM (1:48.74), 200 back (1:49.09), 400 IM (4:07.75), and the 100 back (50.40). In addition, he also led off his 400 medley relay in a time of 48.97, which was over a second faster than his individual 100 back time and also a new meet record. Unlu won the 100 free (45.37) and 200 free (1:37.85), with his 200 free time being a meet record. In addition, he also placed second to Saka in the 200 IM with a time of 1:50.89. Saka and Unlu are the program record holders in the 200 back (1:40.49) and 200 free (1:32.27) respectively.

In addition to Saka and Unlu, Mert Kilavuz and Daniel Kertesz also broke meet records, with Kilavuz going 4:31.39 in the 500 free and Kertesz going 55.91 in the 100 breast (although Fink was faster, Kertesz has the official meet record because Fink was exhibitioning).

The top performer on the women’s side of the meet was freshman Deniz Ertan, who won the 500 free (4:51.38). 200 fly (2:00.94), 400 IM (4:20.05) and 1000 free (9:52.06). Her 500 free and 200 fly times were both meet records. Ertan, an Olympian from Turkey, is one of the Yellow Jackets’ biggest recruits. She most recently competed at the 2022 European Championships, where she took fourth in the 800 free with a time of 8:24.94.

Also breaking a meet record was Zora Ripkova, who won the 100 fly in a time of 55.66.

The Yellow Jackets next compete on October 1st in a dual meet against Emory University. They will also participate in the Swim Across America open water event on September 24.