Georgia Swimming Sweeps Texas A&M in SEC Showdown

University of Georgia swimming and diving swept the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday morning at Gabrielsen Natatorium in a close battle to the finish.

The No. 8 Lady Bulldogs (4-1) defeated the 19th-ranked Aggies 169-131 while the 11th-ranked Bulldogs (4-1) upset the No. 4 A&M men’s team 157-143.

“We didn’t know if we were going to win one, so we were elated to win two,” said coach Jack Bauerle. “That’s a big upset. They’ll be really great. That’s a great team and we caught them not looking. Our guys and ladies have a lot of heart to them, so that was fun. We won some close races, which is a big, big deal.”

Junior Courntey Harnish paced Georgia and swept three freestyle events on the day, posting wins in the 1000 (9:59.12), 200 (1:47.49) and 500 (4:49.62).

Also securing multiple wins in free was senior Veronica Burchill, who swam a 23.08 first-place finish in the 50 and a 49.11 in the 100.

Two Lady Bulldog sophomores contributed to Georgia’s win as Dakota Luther nabbed top finishes in the 200 (1:57.50) and 100 (54.23) fly, while Callie Dickinson recorded a win in the 200 back (31.07).

The Bulldogs started the meet strong with three wins before the intermission. Junior Greg Reedtabbed a win in the men’s 1000-yard freestyle, swimming a 9:05.11. Also in free, senior Walker Higgins registered a win in the 200 with a time of 1:36.57.

In the 200 fly, Georgia secured all top-three finishes as junior Camden Murphy paced with a 1:45.54 win.

At the first intermission, both Bulldog teams led the Aggies with 64-48 and 67-45 advantages for the women and men, respectively.

With wins in the men’s 200-yard back and breaststroke, Texas A&M was able to cut its deficit to two points, 95-93. Due to Georgia’s third top-three sweep of the day and Higgins’ 500-yard free win (4:25.16), Georgia regained the lead, 115-111.

Murphy then followed with a victory in the 100 fly with a time of 47.27, keeping the Bulldogs on top. Junior Danielle Della Torre completed individual competition for the Lady Bulldogs with a win in the 200-yard IM, clinching the victory for her team.

Both Georgia swimming teams capped competition with wins in the 400-yard freestyle relay. In a tight race, the Bulldogs finished with a time of 2:58.56 to secure a win for the men.

On the springboards, both senior McKensi Austin and junior Zach Allen finished in the top three of the 1-meter and 3-meter.

MORE SEC COVERAGE

AGGIES PERSPECTIVE

Kurtis Mathews and Benjamin Walker highlighted the day as No. 4 Texas A&M swimming & diving team dropped the 157-143 decision to the No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday at the Gabrielsen Natatorium.

Mathews and Victor Povzner swept the diving boards with one-two finishes. Mathews snagged the gold in both events with scores of 447.53 in the 3-meter and 398.85 for the 1-meter. Povzner placed second, tallying scores of 356.70 and 371.33 in the 1-meter and 3-meter respectively.

Walker was the standout of the swimmers, collecting first-place finishes in all the events he competed in, the 100 breast (54.08), 200 breast (1:57.26) and the 200 IM (1:47.24). Shaine Casas also packed on a couple wins in the 100 back (47.21) and the 200 back (1:43.86), in addition to a second-place finish in the 100 fly (47.73). Luke Stuart, Mike Thibert and Adam Koster supplied the remainder of the first-place finishes for the Aggies in the 200 fly (1:49.86), 50 free (20.34) and 100 free (43.58) respectively.

Diving was the star of the women’s meet, with Charlye Campbell taking home the gold in both 1-Meter (298.05) and 3-Meter (328.28). The women swept the 1-Meter, with Alyssa Clairmont securing second (275.40) followed by Haley Allen in third (274.73).

The Maroon & White started out strong, securing first in the 200 Medley Relay by Raena Eldridge, Anna Belousova, Emma Carlton and Golf Sapianchai (1:40.08). Joy Field finished third in the 1000 Free (10:04.25), while Katie Portz earned third in the 200 Free (1:49.87). The Aggies earned a 1-2 finish in the 100 Back, as Carlton took home the gold (54.53) and Sara Metzsch claimed second (55.68). Belousova recorded multiple top-three finishes, as she took first in the 200 Breast by .16 of a second (2:12.05) and secured third in the 100 Breast (1:00.95). Taylor Pike (1:57.80) and Jing Wen Quah (1:57.90) earned the second and third spot in the 200 Fly, respectively.

— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Georgia Swimming and Texas A&M Swimming. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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