Abby McCulloh Lowers NCAA-Leading 1000 Free (9:27.08) as Georgia Splits vs. Tennessee

Georgia vs. Tennessee

• Jan. 20, 2024
• Gabrielsen Natatorium
  • Athens, Georgia
• SCY (25 yards)
• PDF results
• Team scores
  • Men: No. 9 Georgia 183, No. 6 Tennessee 115
  • Women: No. 10 Tennessee 168, No. 13 Georgia 132

Georgia junior Abby McCulloh lowered her lifetime best in the 1000-yard freestyle by more than three seconds with a nation-leading time of 9:27.08, more than two seconds faster than anyone else in the NCAA this season.

McCulloh is the second-fastest Bulldog in program history behind Brittany MacLean (9:23.78 from 2014 NCAA Championships). Her previous-best 9:30.61 from just last week against Florida State and Vanderbilt.

Georgia continued its distance dominance with a podium sweep against SEC rival Tennessee on Saturday as junior Dune Coetzee placed 2nd in 9:39.28 and fifth-year Jillian Barczyk dropped seven seconds for a new personal-best 9:40.25 in 3rd place.

McCulloh picked up another win in the 500 free (4:40.64), a couple seconds shy of her season-best 4:38.11 that ranks 7th in the NCAA. At the 2023 NCAA Championships last year, she placed 21st in the 500 free (4:41.25) and 12th in the 1650 free (15:57.34).

Eboni McCarty also had a big day for the Bulldogs (8-2), beating Vols junior Josephine Fuller (51.68) in the 100 back with a winning time of 51.14. That marked a new lifetime best for McCarty, slicing a couple tenths off her previous-best 51.35 from the 2023 SEC Championships, where she placed 3rd behind Fuller and Alabama’s Rhyan White.

Georgia fifth-year Zoie Hartman posted impressive victories in the 200 breast (2:07.12) and 200 IM (1:56.41). She clocked a new season best in the 200 breast to outduel Mona McSharry‘s 2:07.28, moving up to 7th in the NCAA.

Despite the slew of fast times from No. 13 Bulldog women, they still couldn’t overcome No. 10 Tennessee in a 168-132 defeat. The Volunteers were led by multiple individual wins each from junior Brooklyn Douthwright and freshman Camille Spink.

Douthwright shaved almost two seconds off her season best in the 200 free to place 1st in 1:44.31 while also winning prevailing in the 100 fly (53.35). She now ranks 20th in the NCAA this season in the 200 free.

Spink swept the sprint freestyle events with victories in the 50 free (22.15) and 100 free (47.93). Her 50 free win shaved .01 seconds off her previous-best 22.16 from 2021 while her 100 free win was about half a second shy of her lifetime best from last November, which ranks 5th in the NCAA this season.

Along with their aforementioned runner-up finishes, Fuller topped the podium in the 200 back (1:53.97) and McSharry secured a victory in the 100 breast (58.09), more than a second off her season-best 56.87 that leads the NCAA.

Men’s Recap

Georgia senior Jake Magahey tallied three 1st-place finishes in the 500 free (4:17.08), 1000 free (8:58.51), and 200 fly (1:42.18) to power the No. 9 Bulldog men past the No. 6 Volunteers, 183-115. In the 200 fly, he beat Tennessee’s Martin Espernberg (1:42.33) by just .15 seconds. Magahey placed 3rd in both the 500 free (4:09.24) and 1650 free (14:33.82) at NCAAs last year.

The Bulldogs swept the backstroke events courtesy of sophomore Ruard van Renen in the 100 back (45.48) and fifth-year Ian Grum in the 200 back (1:40.04). They’re both top-10 performers in those respective events this season as van Renen ranks 5th (44.50) and Grum ranks 6th (1:38.88).

Georgia freshman Tomas Koski won the 200 free (1:32.86) for the sixth time this season, and junior Reese Branzell took 1st place in the the 100 free (42.45). The Bulldogs nearly pulled off a freestyle sweep, but Tennessee junior Jordan Crooks (19.00) and Vols sophomore Gui Caribe (19.51) went 1-2 in the 50 free. The reigning national champion, Crooks leads the NCAA with a season-best 18.40.

Crooks added a victory in the 100 fly (46.43) while Caribe earned another runner-up finish in the 100 free (42.75) behind Branzell. Tennessee got another individual victory out of Flynn Crisci in the 100 breast (53.67), and Georgia added wins thanks to fifth-year Zach Hils in the 200 IM (1:43.82) and senior Connor Haigh in the 200 breast (1:57.90).