Meet of the Week Preview: Georgia at Texas

By Jason Marsteller

PHOENIX, Arizona, January 10. NOW that the spring dual meet season is back in full force, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com's Meet of the Week program is back as well. This weekend, we take a look at the Georgia vs. Texas contest scheduled for Jan. 11-12.

Here is a quick preview of the match-up:

Date and Time: Friday, Jan. 11 at 5 p.m. (women); Saturday, Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. (men)
Location: Austin, Texas
Facility: Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center

Georgia's Last Time Out:
The No. 1-ranked Georgia women's swimming and diving team made a successful return from the Christmas break on Jan. 5, dispatching SMU 167-125 at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 8-0 this season and won for the 61st consecutive time at Gabrielsen Natatorium.

The men have been on hold for quite awhile, with the last dual meet being a 134-104 decision over Georgia Tech on Nov. 7. Troyden Prinsloo and Chris Colwill each won two events to pace the Bulldogs. Prinsloo took the 1,000y free in 9:04.33 and the 500y free in 4:30.02, while Colwill won the 1-meter and 3-meter boards with 412.94 and 389.17 points respectively.

Looking forward with Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle:
Texas has one of the best programs in the country. We always have great meets with them. Texas brings out the best in us. We know we've got two big challenges in front of us. The Texas men have one of the best teams, if not the best, in the country and have a viable shot at winning the NCAA title, and the Texas women are once again highly ranked. We're going to have a true indication of what we have after these meets. Eddie (Reese) and I are quite close. The Georgia-Texas meets are always fun, but he and I also enjoy being on the deck together and having our teams go at it.

Texas' Last Time Out:
The Texas men concluded the 2007 calendar year with a tremendous showing at its annual Texas Invitational, where the Longhorns took first with 704 points. Junior Michael Klueh topped UT's 13-year-old school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle, and freshman diver Matt Cooper swept the three diving events. Klueh and Cooper were recognized as the Big 12 Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, on Dec. 12 for their efforts at the Texas Invitational. Meanwhile, the Lady Longhorns took third at its annual Texas Invitational with 493 points.

Looking forward with Texas men's head coach Eddie Reese:
This year's Georgia team is a much better championship meet team than it is a dual-match team. Year in and year out, Georgia has some of the greatest competitors we face throughout the course of the season. They don't care who you are and what you've done – they don't want to lose a single race. (Georgia coach) Jack Bauerle and I have been friends for a long time. We are alike in a lot of ways. We're both competitive, we work our kids hard, and we treat them well. But, more importantly, we both hunt and fish.

Looking forward with Texas women's head coach Kim Brackin:
We are very excited to swim Georgia. I value the opportunity to put our women up against one of the top teams in the country. It will require us to step up and put our racing skills to the test. When we race teams that might outmatch us in terms of depth, the focus becomes staying in your individual moment, controlling only what you can and not getting overwhelmed or distracted by the big picture. I encourage the team to take the meets against both Auburn and Georgia as opportunities to learn about its toughness as a team and as individuals. As with most teams at this time of the year, we are transitioning from a heavy training load into more of a racing mode. We had an extremely productive training trip and I think the women are looking forward to competition.

Top 2007-08 Times Comparison:
Men:
50 Free
UGA: 20.51, Craig Jennings
UT: 20.19, Matt Lowe
100 Free
UGA: 44.82, Gil Stovall
UT: 43.62, Dave Walters
200 Free
UGA: 1:36.54, Gil Stovall
UT: 1:33.81, Dave Walters
500 Free
UGA: 4:14.73, Troyden Prinsloo
UT: 4:14.71, Michael Klueh
1000 Free
UGA: 9:04.33, Troyden Prinsloo
UT: 8:59.20, Michael Klueh
1650 Free
UGA: 14:42.47, Troyden Prinsloo
UT: 14:41.83, Michael Klueh
100 Back
UGA: 49.17, Mark Dylla
UT: 47.87, Hill Taylor
200 Back
UGA: 1:47.00, Gil Stovall
UT: 1:43.58, Sean Patton
100 Breast
UGA: 56.86, Nathan Bibliowicz
UT: 53.81, Matt Lowe
200 Breast
UGA: 2:02.70, Mikey Larmoyeux
UT: 1:57.88, Matt Lowe
100 Fly
UGA: 47.31, Gil Stovall
UT: 46.78, Ricky Berens
200 Fly
UGA: 1:43.23, Gil Stovall
UT: 1:44.06, Ricky Berens
200 IM
UGA: 1:48.20, Gil Stovall
UT: 1:47.79, Ricky Berens
400 IM
UGA: 3:54.02, Chris Spooner
UT: 3:49.19, Michael Klueh
200 Free Relay
UGA: 1:21.49
UT: 1:19.93
400 Free Relay
UGA: N/A
UT: 2:54.27
800 Free Relay
UGA: 6:33.10
UT: 6:34.95
200 Medley Relay
UGA: 1:30.28
UT: 1:27.59
400 Medley Relay
UGA: 3:19.38
UT: 3:14.32
1M Diving
UGA: 434.85, Chris Colwill
UT: 365.00, Matt Cooper
3M Diving
UGA: 459.25, Chris Colwill
UT: 359.40, Matt Cooper

Women:
50 Free
UGA: 22.74, Anne-Marie Botek
UT: 22.62, Hee-Jin Chang
100 Free
UGA: 49.91, Courtney Monsees
UT: 49.18, Hee-Jin Chang
200 Free
UGA: 1:46.14, Chelsea Nauta
UT: 1:48.94, Susana Escobar
500 Free
UGA: 4:41.72, Kelsey Ditto
UT: 4:44.88, Susana Escobar
1000 Free
UGA: 9:46.87, Kelsey Ditto
UT: N/A
1650 Free
UGA: 16:17.43, Kelsey Ditto
UT: 16:22.08, Susana Escobar
100 Back
UGA: 53.89, Aleksandra Putra
UT: 56.43, Rebecca Orr
200 Back
UGA: 1:56.06, Aleksandra Putra
UT: 2:00.18, Abbie Mahoney
100 Breast
UGA: 1:01.07, Colleen Haase
UT: 1:04.43, Alexi Spann
200 Breast
UGA: 2:12.18, Colleen Haase
UT: 2:13.96, Alexi Spann
100 Fly
UGA: 54.67, Elizabeth Hill
UT: 54.16, Hee-Jin Chang
200 Fly
UGA: 1:58.96, Elizabeth Hill
UT: 2:00.45, Jacqueline Martin-Lacey
200 IM
UGA: 2:00.14, Courtney Monsees
UT: 2:02.84, Alex Basso
400 IM
UGA: 4:15.32, Lauren Cartwright
UT: 4:19.55, Susana Escobar
200 Free Relay
UGA: 1:31.77
UT: 1:31.99
400 Free Relay
UGA: 3:18.9
UT: 3:21.62
800 Free Relay
UGA: 7:08.85
UT: 7:18.13
200 Medley Relay
UGA: 1:41.35
UT: 1:42.88
400 Medley Relay
UGA: 3:44.92
UT: 3:45.32
1M Diving
UGA: 275.20, Hannah Moore
UT: 306.00, Kathryn Kelly
3M Diving
UGA: 304.90, Hannah Moore
UT: 294.95, Mary Yarrison

* – denotes meter conversion

MOTW, Georgia at Texas

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