Division III Weekly Preview: Six Races Emory Could Win Over No. 5 Georgia

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Division III schools across the nation swim against Division I and Division II competitors all the time. All three divisions have a range of competitors and abilities. While it is clear that teams such as Cal, Texas and Georgia are the best of the best, we no longer live in a swimming world where any one D-I team is necessarily faster than that of a D-II or D-III school.

One of these teams is Emory, who will take on the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday at 11:00am. Again, while it is obvious that Georgia will handedly take this meet, a few Emory Eagles may stand in their way of a clean sweep— and no, it’s not just Andrew Wilson.

On paper, there are six events that Emory could win:

200 Medley Relay

Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold / Aringo Photos

At last year’s contest, the teams competed in the both the 200 medley and 200 free relays. This will work in Emory’s favor as their time this season is a 1:26.74 compared to Georgia’s 1:27.17. Now this is not much of a lead here for the Eagles, but it should be enough to give them some confidence.

With Taylor Dale doing backstroke, this leaves Gunnar Bentz as the likely flyer for the Bulldogs. Chase Kalisz is the obvious choice for the breaststroke leg or they will lose too much ground to Wilson. The one leg working in Georgia’s favor is the freestyle, where they anchored Jay Litherland in December. Freshman Javier Acevedo led off the 200 free relay in 19.84, and could make the difference in a dual meet setting. For comparison, here are the splits from both team’s December 200 medley relays:

Dale: 21.27 — Ono: 22.75

Kalisz: 24.45 — Wilson: 23.18

Bentz: 21.37 — Baker: 21.75

Litherland: 20.08 — Smith: 19.06

Because of the short distance, Wilson should be able to make up for the deficit created in the backstroke leg. The other interesting factor in this one is that not all eight of these swimmers are true sprinters. Dale, Sage Ono and Olivier Smith are the only ones that truly fit that bill. Kalisz, Bentz, Litherland and Wilson are known more for their middle distance races, and Emory’s Christian Baker is a clear distance swimmer. But even with these factors and a faster seed time, it would take a big swim to beat the Bulldogs in this one.

100 and 200 Breaststroke

Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold/Aringo

While we all know that Kalisz’ main events are not the 100 and 200 breast, he has had to swim these races in dual meets all season. This is most likely to train the third leg of his 400 IM, but it could also be to secure nine points in each of these events. This week, that will have to be the reason, but the wins will not come easy. NCAA Division III record holder Wilson will stand in his way of effortless victories, anyway.

While Wilson holds the faster times, Kalisz has only competed these events in dual meets this season. In this setting, Kalisz will likely swim 53-mid in the 100 and 1:57-low in the 200. These times are much faster than any dual meet swim from Wilson. He has never broken 2:00 in a dual meet, so it appears that Kalisz will take the 200. The 100 may be a different story as Wilson has a better chance of claiming the shorter distance. He swam a 54.44 this past weekend, his best in-season 100 breast ever. If this is any indication of Wilson picking up speed you cannot count him out to give Emory some momentum early on in the meet.

50 and 100 Freestyle

Photo Courtesy: Hayley Good

Even with the 19.84 lead-off from Acevedo, Emory’s Smith still holds the fastest time between both teams in the 50. Smith, the reigning NCAA Champion in this event, has a real shot to take this one. He has gone as fast as 20.3 in a dual meet, while Acevedo has led off in a dual meet in 20.6. Acevedo also typically races the backstrokes, so he may not even be swimming this event. This would put the pressure on Georgia’s Christopher Powell (20.44) and Alexander BeMiller (20.45) unless Georgia throws in a ringer like Jay Litherland or Gunnar Bentz. Regardless, Emory’s Mathias Kolleck could also be in the mix after posting a 20.52.

With so much depth in the Georgia roster, it is difficult to predict who will swim each event. Luckily for Smith, it does not really matter. Not to say that he could beat anyone and everyone, but he will definitely hold his own in the race no matter who he is up against.

The 100 freestyle will be a much tougher battle for Smith. Again, this depends on who Coach Jack Bauerle puts in the event. It is unlikely that Smith would take the win over Dale, but if Dale does the backstroke and Acevedo or BeMiller swims the 100, then Smith may stand a chance. Smith has gone a 44.34 this season. Comparatively, while this is not as quick as his 50, he should still give some of the Bulldogs a good run.

200 Free Relay

Photo Courtesy: Hayley Good

While the meet is not going to be a nail-biter that comes down to the 200 free relay, there is still a sense of pride in taking home the free relay at any meet. Georgia should take this one, but any one change in their lineup could give Emory an opening. They went with a strong group in December, as did Emory:

Acevedo: 19.84 — Kolleck: 20.52

Dale: 19.52 — Hardwick: 20.50

Powell: 20.26 — Schwartz: 20.07

Bentz: 19.93 — Smith: 19.33

Ultimately, this one should go to Georgia due to their depth across the board. Even with Smith on the back end he would likely need to make up a large margin of time. It may not be in the cards for the Eagles to take this one, but the day will provide them with the exact preparation they need headed into the NCAA Championships where every race will count.

With no Kalisz or Wilson competing in last season’s meet, the Eagles finished with two second-place finishes, one each from Smith and Mitchell Cooper. So even if Emory can pull out the win in one of these events, it is a step in the right direction for the program. The Emory men are on the rise; if they can make any sort of impact against a team as strong as Georgia, then keep an eye out for them in March.

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Pablo

7 years ago

1. Pace Clark is the obvious choice for the butterfly relay spot for Georgia, he was at short course worlds in December
2. You will likely see most of Georgia’s team swimming off events so this analysis is for the most part irrelevant

Shaheen Alghofari

7 years ago

JoeStott chase on left has the cap on like it’s supposed to be

bill rhoads

7 years ago

i may be the only guy who has ever competed for both Emory and UGA’s men’s swim teams. I’m so proud of both these teams. Both teams have incredible head coaches who are class acts. Go Eagles!