University of Georgia Heads To NC State For A Pair of Meets

Courtesy: Georgia Athletics

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia swimming and diving teams remain on the road for a pair of dual meets this weekend against NC State and Duke at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The action begins Friday, Nov. 3 with a long course tri-meet against NC State and Duke. Live coverage of the meet will stream on ACC Network Extra, beginning at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Bulldogs and Wolfpack will compete in a traditional short course meet at 11 a.m., with no live streaming available. Live results from both meets will be available to paid subscribers on the MeetMobile app.

The ninth-ranked Georgia men (1-3) fell to No. 3 Florida last Friday, but earned six victories on the afternoon, including three from senior Jake Magahey. Magahey began his terrific afternoon with a season-best time of 8:59.36 in the 1,000-yard freestyle, going under nine minutes for the first time this season. The Dacula native followed that up with a win in the 200y butterfly, posting a B-cut time of 1:45.37, followed by a winning B-cut time of 4:21.23 in the 500y freestyle.

In the 200y freestyle, freshman Tomas Koski earned a second-consecutive win in the event with a B-cut of 1:35.56. Sophomore Ruard van Renen prevailed in the 100y backstroke with a B-cut time of 46.66, followed by graduate Bradley Dunham in second with a provisional cut of 47.47. Fifth-year senior Zach Hils closed out the meet with a victorious swim in the 200y IM, touching first by over three seconds with a time of 1:47.24.

At the diving well, freshman Matthew Bray turned in a fantastic performance, finishing second on both springboards with season-best scores in each event. On the 3-meter, Bray just missed out on the victory with a mark of 374.85, finishing just .15 points behind Florida’s Conor Gesing. Earlier, on 1-meter, he finished second with a Zone cut of 351.68. Junior Rhett Hopkins also posted Zone cuts in both events, finishing fifth on 1-meter at 316.50 and 3-meter at 321.75.

Led by fifth-year senior Zoie Hartman, the No. 13 Georgia women (3-1) earned three wins in Friday’s defeat to the Gators. Hartman swept the breaststroke events with B-cut times in both, taking first in the 100y with a time of 1:01.30, followed by a 2:13.37 in the 200y. She also finished second in the 200y IM with a time of 1:59.70 and powered the 200y medley relay to a runner-up finish.

Juniors Duné Coetzee and Abby McCulloh continued a phenomenal early campaign for the Bulldogs’ distance group, with the pair sweeping the top two spots in the 1,000y freestyle. Coetzee placed first with a time of 9:43.13, followed by McCulloh at 9:44.40. Later, in the 500y freestyle, Coetzee took second with a B-cut time of 4:46, while McCulloh finished third at 4:48.20. In the 200y butterfly, junior Mia Abruzzo posted a second-place B-cut time of 1:58.96. Other Bulldogs posting second-place finishes included seniors Sloane Reinstein and Julianna Stephens in the 200y and 50y freestyles, along with freshman Helena Jones in the 100y freestyle.

In diving competition, senior Meghan Wenzel placed second in both events, including a season-best score of 324.15 on 3-meter and a mark of 285.60 on 1-meter. Sophomore Hannah Stumpf scored a 269.93 on 1-meter and picked up a Zone cut on 3-meter with a personal-best mark of 302.85.

Following the NC State meet, the Bulldogs will return home for the Georgia Fall Invitational, running Thursday, Nov. 16 through Sunday, Nov. 19 at Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium.