Georgia Tech, NC State and Florida State Renew ACC Rivalry

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, October 25. THE Florida State women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams came away with four victories, two apiece, against ACC rivals Georgia Tech and NC State on Friday night.

Florida State Press Release

The Florida State swimming and diving teams picked up a pair of ACC wins on Friday night over NC State and Georgia Tech at the Morcom Aquatics Center.

With both wins the 10th-ranked men’s team moves to 3-0 (2-0 ACC) on the year, after defeating Georgia Tech 213-65 and No.24 NC State 162-136.

“It was truly an old fashion grudge match between a couple of teams,” head coach Frank Bradley said. “We had to ride a few waves tonight which is something we haven’t been able to do, but overall a couple of great wins and we had some great swims throughout the meet, but they had to fight. They needed a meet like that tonight.”

The men’s team started off the night by turning in a win with a season best time of 1:28.72 in the 200 medley relay with the team of Pavel Sankovich, Jason Coombs, Connor Knight and Paul Murray.

Sankovich added the first individual victory of the meet with the 100 back, cruising to a win with a time of 48.43.

The Seminoles grabbed the bulk of the points in the 100 breast coming in second, third and fourth. Both Jared Pike (55.89) and Richie Hildebrand (55.94) turned in season top times, coming in second and third respectively. Coombs followed in fourth with a time of 56.49.

FSU added a pair of wins in the next two events with Knight taking the 200 fly with a season best mark of 1:46.82 just before Murray won the 50 free with a time of 20.16.

Following the break, Josh Friedel held on to win the 200 back with a time of 1:48.38.

Sankovich and Knight delivered a much needed one-two punch in the 100 fly in order to help put away the Wolfpack. Sankovich won the race with a time of 47.76, just ahead of Knight who touched with a 47.85.

“What was neat about the guys was that they spread it out,” Bradley said. “There wasn’t any one guy that dominated anything. It was a men’s team effort.”

The Seminoles were an absolute force on both boards, contributing 30 points between two events.

Freshman Dominic Giordano had a break out day by winning both 1-meter (328.60) and 3-meter (363.15).

In 1-meter, Mikey Lewark was second with a score of 323.85, freshman Dylan Grisell was third at 314.35 edging out senior Tom Neubacher who was fourth with a mart of 313.30.

The rookies took the lead on 3-meter with Giordano in front, Grisell in second (342.90) and Dustin Miller was third with a 329.45. Lewark was fourth (327.70) and Neubacher was fifth (310.85).

“The freshmen were amazing,” head diving coach Pat Jeffrey said. “Obviously, our upperclassmen are very consistent, but I was very proud of those kids for stepping up. We’ve got a lot of new life on the team and I’m really excited because we’ve got quite the squad.”

“Thank God for diving tonight,” Bradley said. “Those guys and girls were solid and consistent for us.”

The FSU women move to 5-1 (2-0 ACC) on the year after defeating Georgia Tech 239-61 and topping NC State 157-67.

After NC State started off the meet by taking first and second in the 200 medley relay, the Seminoles fought back with a one-two punch of their own in the 1000 free.

Sophomore Madison Jacobi continued her progress in the distances races as she first turned in a time of 9:51.65 en route to winning the 1000 free. Her classmate Lauren Hine followed in second with a season-best time of 10:08.79.

Jacobi’s mark was slightly off the school record, which was set in 2010 by Marissa Harrington at 9:50.77.

Senior Julia Henkel followed that race with a victory in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.46.

After surrendering a sweep to NC State in the 100 back, Pochowski came through with a win for the in the 100 breast, swimming a season best time of 1:02.22.

The Seminoles pulled away from Georgia Tech and NC State thanks to four-consecutive one-two punches.

“The girls locked in,” Bradley said. “It was quiet in a way, but they started off flat on the relays and picked it up in the 1000 (free) and it was back and forth as we went on. I’m happy with the way they toughed it out, we just need to learn how to close out tight races a little better.”

Henkel picked up her second win on the day in the 200 fly with a time of 2:02.17. Chelsie Britt followed in second with a season best time of 2:03.77.

Tiffany Oliver and Kaitlyn Dressel did their jobs in the 50 free, placing first and second with times of 23.02 and 23.20 respectively.

Oliver and Dressel rolled with their good vibes and repeated their one-two tandem in the 100 free. Oliver swam a 50.16 outlasting Dressel, who swam a 50.17.

Pochowski contributed her second win on the night, touching with a time of 2:18.66 in the 200 breast. Jaccobi added her second win as well, taking the 500 free with a mark of 4:53.79.

Henkel finished the night with a third victory, winning the 400 IM with a time of 4:20.32.

“Julia does a great job,” Bradley said. “She works hard, always come to practice with a smile on her face and a sense of humor and she puts that in her race. She’s been a great leader and it was a nice way for her to swim her senior night.”

Senior Kelsey Goodman and Ariel Rittenhouse took care of the competition in 1-meter diving as the added first and second places in the event. Goodman tallied 299.05 points, while Rittenhouse racked a total of 287.90.

Katrina Young was the winner for 3-meter, scoring 336.50 ahead of Goodman in second (309.45) and Rittenhouse who was third (285.10).

“The ladies were solid and tough,” Jeffrey said. “Kelsey is always right up in there and Ariel is coming off her injury and she’s starting to look like herself again and I’m proud of her. She’s a real trooper. Katrina is really starting to come on as a springboard diver. She had the dive of the night, just crushed it. Her skills are really coming along on springboard and she really enjoys competing.”

Florida State finished dual meets for the fall as the next meet is the Auburn Invitational slated for Nov. 22-24. For more information check back to Seminoles.com, Facebook and Twitter.

NC State Press Release

The NC State swimming & diving team completed its first tri-meet of the season on Friday at the Morcom Aquatics Center. The men’s squad downed Georgia Tech, 193-95, while the women defeated the Yellow Jackets by a final of 224-76. The 24th-ranked men’s squad, now 1-2 on the campaign, was defeated by the Seminoles, 162-136, while the women’s squad owns a 2-1 ledger for the season after defeating the Yellow Jackets and falling to Florida State, 157-143.

“It was a good afternoon of competing with some good ACC schools,” said head coach Braden Holloway. “Florida State put on a good meet and it was nice to have some good competition with some elite athletes.”

Overall, the Wolfpack claimed eight individual titles and three of four relay titles, while the men’s and women’s squads combined to record five swims below the time requirement for NCAA ‘B’ cuts on the afternoon.

“We were a lot better this weekend, compared to last weekend,” Holloway said. “I was happy with us coming in and representing in a good way. We had a lot of spirit and were a lot better in executing our races. We just have to be better at closing races out.”

The meet started with the women’s squad claiming first and second place in the 200-medley relay, with the team of Alexia Zevnik, Lauren Poli, Zina Grogg and Lotta Nevalainen claiming top honors with a time of 1:41.75. Andreas Schiellerup, Ian Bishop, Jason Deana and Simonas Bilis recorded the second fastest time on the men’s side with a time of 1:29.64.

State continued its strong performance in the relay events by collecting victories in the men’s and women’s 200 freestyle relays. The women’s team of Poli, Nevalainen, Koletic and Bonnema teamed up to record the fastest time of 1:32.42. Bilis, Schiellerup, Boffa and Scott Johnson finished first on the men’s side with a time of 1:20.45.

“For the women to go one and two in the 200-medley relay really showed a lot of our depth in the speed of strokes,” Holloway said. “To end the meet with some relay victories in the 200-freestyle, especially for those guys coming back to end the meet with a win was good”

Senior Jonathan Boffa collected first-place honors in the 100 (44.03) and 200 (1:37.47) freestyle events. His time in each event is below the required time standard for an NCAA ‘B’ cut.

Bishop, a senior from Austin, Texas, captured the individual title in the men’s 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.86, which is below the required time standard for an NCAA ‘B’ cut. The senior continued his strong performance by claiming his second individual event in the men’s 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:02.69.

“Ian Bishop continues to be a leader for us in and out of the pool,” Holloway stated. “For him to step up and win the 100 and 200 breaststroke events for the second straight meet was huge.”

The Pack dominated the women’s 100 backstroke with a first, second and third-place finish. Zevnik captured the top honors for the second consecutive meet, as she posted a time of 54.81 to record her second NCAA ‘B’ cut in the event in as many meets. Grogg (55.65) and Hannah Freyman (56.50) finished second and third, respectively.

Zevnik recorded her second victory of the evening in the women’s 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.77, which is below the required time standard for an NCAA ‘B’ cut. Freyman finished as the runner-up in the event with a time of 2:01.67.

In diving, freshman Grant Saale finished with a score of 253.70 on the one-meter springboard, while Maddie Keeley finished with a final score of 242.55 in the women’s three-meter competition.

NC State opens its home slate at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center with a meet against Duke and the Miami women on Friday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.

Georgia Tech Press Release

Sophomore Yuval Safra won a pair of events for Georgia Tech Friday night during a double-dual meet versus ACC rivals Florida State and NC State in Tallahassee, Fla. Captains Kate Brandus and Nico van Duijn also turned in solid efforts for the Yellow Jackets.

Safra pulled off the distance-double by winning the 1,000 free by three seconds in a career-best time of 9:23.58 and edging State’s Alex Hamilton in the 500 free by a one second in a winning time of 4:33.70.

van Duijn posted a third-place finish in the 200 fly (1:48.46), finished third in the 100 fly (48.63) and anchored the Jackets’ 200 free relay that took fourth in a time of 1:23.36. Classmate Kate Brandus was fourth in the 200 fly (2:05.09) and fifth in the 100 fly (57.20).

“Florida State and NC State are both very good programs and the men’s teams are each ranked in the top 25,” said head coach Courtney Shealy Hart. “But Yuval had a great meet. Doubling in both the 500 and 1,000 in the same meet is never easy and I’m proud of his performance. Nico had some very good in-season times, and I was happy to see Kate, Ben (Southern) and Shannon (Lumbra) also have very good meets.”

Junior Andrew Kosic picked up a second-place finish in the 200 free (1:38.84), while Southern – a freshman – posted seventh in a time of 1:40.78. Southern also finished a spot behind van Duijn in the 200 fly, putting down a time of 1:49.08 that was good for fourth. In the 400 IM, Southern touched the wall in 4:06.34, which was good for sixth.

Additionally, Kosic was third in the 50 free (20.59) and fourth in the 100 free (45.22). Junior Catherine Richards was sixth in the 100 breast (1:06.15) and sixth in the 200 breast (2:22.97). Elliott Brockelbank was fifth in the 1,000 free (9:31.17) and fourth in the 500 free (4:38.35).

On the 1-meter board, Shannon Lumbra posted a score of 276.55 that was good for third, with Andrea Demick, Ashley Hardy and Madison Young finishing fifth, sixth and seventh. The 3-meter competition saw Hardy score 284.35 points and finish fourth, followed by Lumbra, Demick and Young in fifth, sixth and seventh.

Freshman Brad Homza was fifth on the 1-meter board (302.80) and sixth on the 3-meter (301.15).

The Yellow Jackets dropped both dual meets, with Florida State claiming a 213-65 win over the men and 239-61 over the women. The Wolfpack defeated the Jackets, but fell to the Seminoles. FSU’s men entered the meet ranked 10th with NC State’s men ranked 24th.

The Jackets (1-3, 0-2) return to action Nov. 9 by hosting SCAD and Clemson at the GT Aquatic Center at 11 a.m.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use