Alabama Dominant in Season-Opening Victories Against Delta State

Alabama's Charlie Hawke -- Photo Courtesy: Alabama Athletics

Alabama Dominant in Season-Opening Victories Against Delta State

Alabama finished first in all but one event Friday as the Crimson Tide opened head coach Margo Geer’s third full season at the helm with wins over Delta State, by scores of 249-50 for the women and 237-59 for the men. Notably, Alabama has almost an entirely new group of coaches this year, with Andrew Hodgson, Michael White, Jake Larson and Richard Salhus all joining the staff.

The women were paced by Mackenzie Brandt, winner of the 200 butterfly (2:01.19) and 500 freestyle (4:51.15). Veteran Diana Petkova topped the 100 free (50.42), and Avery Wiseman clocked 1:01.29 to win the 100 breaststroke. Wiseman swam the second leg of a winning 200 medley relay that also included Jada Scott, Cadence Vincent and Kailyn Winter, with the quartet combining for a time of 1:39.18

For the Alabama men, Tommy Hagar won the 200 fly (1:48.61), 200 back (1:45.93) and 200 IM (1:51.75), edging out teammate Charlie Hawke in the 200 fly before utterly dominating the other two events. Kaique Alves topped the 200 free (1:38.04) and 500 free (4:39.42), and Tim Korstanje won the 50 free (20.36) and 100 fly (48.80).

Results are available here, and read the full press release from Alabama below:

The Alabama swimming and diving teams swept their season opener against Delta State Friday. The women’s team won all 16 events to defeat the Statesmen 249-50, while the men won 15 races to record a 237-59 score.

Tommy Hagar went undefeated in his collegiate debut, winning three individual races, while Mackenzie Brandt, Kaique Alves, Charlie Hawke, Peter Edin and Tim Korstanje won two individual events. Hagar, Alves, Hawke and Korstanje also picked up relay wins during the day’s performance.

From Head Coach Margo Geer

“I’m really pleased with how the team performed today. It was great to open our season at home with lots of friends and family nearby to support us. The team did a great job bringing energy and excitement to the pool deck, making it a great environment for us to compete in. The divers were super impactful for us today as they already picked up six NCAA Zone cuts and got a great start to their season. The newcomers were also huge for us today. They made an immediate impact and competed really well in their first collegiate meet. It was a great start to the season and gives us a lot to build on throughout the year.”

The Women’s Meet

The women swept the relay events with Jada Scott, Avery Wiseman, Cadence Vincent and Kailyn Winter posting a time of 1:39.18 in the 200 medley relay as Gaby Van Brunt, Jada Surrell-Norwood, Kasia Norman and Maggie Ella Robbins swam a 1:35.92 in the 200 freestyle relay

Lockett Bowley won the 200 freestyle by over a second with a time of 1:51.10

In their collegiate debut, Laurel Blase won the 1000 freestyle (10:21.61), Van Brunt won the 100 backstroke (54.57), Kate Christian won the 200 backstroke (2:00.52) and Scott won the 200 individual medley (2:02.04)

Wiseman finished first the 100 breaststroke (1:01.29) while Jocelyn Fisher finished first the 200 breaststroke (2:18.22)

In the 200 butterfly, Brandt posted a time of 2:01.19 to win the event by over two seconds before adding a victory in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:51.15

Vincent out-touched the competition to win the 50 freestyle by a hundredth of a second (22.85)

Diana Petkova reached the wall with a time of 50.48 in the 100 freestyle as Winter went 55.20 in the 100 butterfly to win the event

UA swept the diving events with Courtney Russo recording a 283.95 on the 1-meter board and Ryleigh Rodgers tallying a 348.75 on the 3-meter board

The Men’s Meet

Hagar, Alves, Bernardo Bondra de Almeida and Korstanje swam a 1:28.02 to win the men’s 200 medley relay

Alves won his first event of the night, going 1:38.04 in the 200 freestyle before posting a time of 4:39.42 in the 500 freestyle

In the 100 backstroke, Gavin Lindley reached the wall with a time of 49.94 to win the event

A strong finish gave Trey Sheils the victory in the 100 breaststroke (55.33) as Michael Deans won the 200 breaststroke (2:02.43) by nearly six seconds

In his collegiate debut, Hagar added individual wins in the 200 butterfly (1:48.61), 200 backstroke (1:45.93) and 200 individual medley (1:51.75)

Korstanje went 20.36 in the 50 freestyle and 48.80 in the 100 butterfly to record a pair of victories

Hawke secured a time of 44.39 in the 100 freestyle for the top time in the event

Edin had a stellar performance on the 1-meter and 3-meter board, winning both events with a 294.75 and 338.03 score, respectively

The team closed the day with Ben Hines, Korstanje, Drayden Bell and Hawke finishing with a 1:20.69 in the 200 freestyle relay

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