VIRGINIA TECH VS. KENTUCKY VS. GEORGIA TECH
- Results
- Hosted by Virginia Tech
- Friday, January 6th
- 25 yards
- Dual meet format
FINAL TEAM SCORES – MEN:
- Kentucky 75, Virginia Tech 56
- Kentucky 93, Georgia Tech 38
- Virginia Tech 92, Georgia Tech 39
FINAL TEAM SCORES – WOMEN:
- Kentucky 72, Virginia Tech 59
- Kentucky 99, Georgia Tech 32
- Virginia Tech 95, Georgia Tech 36
The 2-day tri meet between Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech was cut short due to snowy weather. Based on day 1 results, however, the Kentucky men and women came away with 2 team victories each, while the Virginia Tech men and women brought home wins over Georgia Tech.
The Wildcat women have had a sharp backstroke group this season, with a trio of Kentucky swimmers sweeping the top 3 spots in the 200 back. Reigning NCAA champion Danielle Galyer led the way, winning the race in 1:56.74. Her sister, freshman Ali Galyer, came in behind her for 2nd place with a quick 1:57.14. Rounding out the top 3 was teammate Bridgette Alexander in 1:57.79.
Kyle Higgins helped the Kentucky men pull off their 2 victories with an individual win in his signature event: the 200 fly. Though he trailed Virginia Tech’s Norbert Szabo at the halfway point, he threw down a fast 27.14 on the 3rd 50 to run Szabo down. Higgins touched 1st in 1:46.05 to Szabo’s 1:46.31.
Virginia Tech’s Robert Owen was one of the Hokies’ top performers in their victory over Georgia Tech. Owen blasted a 1:44.82 to win the 200 back by nearly 3 full seconds. Teammate Klaudia Nazieblo helped the women take the win over GT as well, clocking a dominant 1:58.14 in the 200 fly to win by over 5 seconds.
PRESS RELEASE – KENTUCKY:
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Kentucky swimming and diving team wrapped up day one of its two-day tri meet against Atlantic Coast Conference foes Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech on Friday evening inside the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. As it stands, both the men’s and women’s squads own convincing leads over the Hokies and Yellow Jackets.
At the conclusion of Friday’s events, the men’s team leads Virginia Tech 75-56 and holds a whopping 93-32 advantage over Yellow Jackets. Kentucky’s 18th-ranked women’s team has also tallied a 72-59 lead over the Hokies and holds an impressive 99-32 command over Georgia Tech.
“Overall, we’re pretty happy with how our athletes performed today, but today was only one-third of the battle,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech both had some really good swims as well, so we’re definitely going to need to come out strong tomorrow and be ready for a full day of competition.”
In all, the Wildcats combined to rack up six first-place finishes, four B-standard times and swept two events on the day.
On the women’s side, senior diver Becca Hamperian earned the first top finish of the day, posting a 308.00 on the 3-meter springboard. Freshman Kailey Francetic also tallied a 291.00 in the event for a third-place finish in the event.
Kentucky’s group of women’s backstrokers continued its trend, sweeping the 200-yard backstroke event in remarkable fashion. Senior and defending NCAA champion in the event, Danielle Galyer led the way, posting a 1:56.74 to touch the wall first. Her sister, freshman Ali Galyer followed close behind with a 1:57.14 and junior Bridgette Alexander grabbed a third-place finish in 1:57.79. All three were NCAA B-cut times.
Freshman Asia Seidt helped UK to a second place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, posting a 51.12 in the event.
Senior breaststroker Kendra Crew seized the third first-place finish for the women after touching in 2:16.90 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Madison Winstead was right behind Crew with a time of 2:17.66 for second in the race.
The men’s team opened the day with a second-place score of 340.50 from sophomore diver Seb Masterton on the 1-meter springboard. Junior Stephen Jou snagged fourth in the event with a 328.90 total.
In the 1,650 free, junior Isaac Jones topped the competition with a time of 15:40.52 for the men’s first overall victory of the day. The Wildcats also took second and third in the event as senior Drew Aviotti finished in 15:48.34 and senior Jamie Stevenson in 15:48.76.
Kyle Higgins once again picked up a victory in his specialty race, swimming the 200 fly in a B-cut time of 1:46.05.
The men’s final victory of the day came in the 400 free relay, as Peter Wetzlar, Sean Gunn, Shane Anderson and Glen Brown teamed up to post a 2:59.50. UK also claimed the second-best time in the event as Jason Head, Higgins, Walker Thaning and Jones came together for a 3:01.48 finish.
Last season, when the Hokies made the trip to Lexington, the Kentucky men fell 209-180. Similarly, the women dropped their dual to Virginia Tech, falling 203.5-185.5.
The Wildcats will return to the pool for day two on Saturday morning. The day’s first session will start at 9 a.m. and will include the 200 medley relay, 400 individual medley, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 800 free relay and women’s 1-meter and men’s 3-meter springboard events. The final session is slated to begin at 2 p.m. with the 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 400 medley relay and 10-meter platform diving.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
PRESS RELEASE – VIRGINIA TECH:
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech swimming and diving team turned in some strong swims in their return to duals format where both the men and women H2Okies lead Georgia Tech but trail Kentucky after day one of their tri-meet held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
The Tech women lead the Yellow Jackets, 95-36, and trail the 18th-ranked Wildcats, 72-59. The men’s squad for the H2Okies are behind the Wildcats, 75-56, but are ahead of No. 25 Georgia Tech, 92-39.
PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
- Senior Robert Owen ran away with the 200 back, swimming a B cut time of 1:44.82 that was faster than the second-place finisher by almost three whole seconds.
- As was the case in the women’s 200 fly where senior Klaudia Nazieblo swam 1:58.14 to take first. Kentucky’s Haley McInerny finished second with a time of 2:03.37.
- Sophomore Ben Schiesl and junior Thomas Shinholser started the day off strong for the men as Schiesl took first in the one meter with a score of 343.05 while Shinholser placed third with a 335.55.
- Senior Jessica Hespeler, freshman Grace Kowal and freshman Jenna Beattie, who had a standout first half for the H2Okies, finished first, second and third, respectively, in the 1650 freestyle.
- Hespeler teamed with Adriana Grabski, Fiona Donnelly and Klaudia Nazieblo to take first in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:23.82.
NOTABLE SWIMS
- Ashlynn Peters led the charge in the women’s three meter by earning four points and placing second with a 307.25.
- Despite barely swimming over two minutes in the 200 breast, senior Brandon Fiala finished first anyway with a 2:00.04. Justin Edwards followed him with a time of 2:01.38.
- Laura Schwartz matched her seed time of 2:18.46 and finished third in the women’s 200 breast.
- Junior Adriana Grabski (51.47) and sophomore Danielle Griggs (51.68) placed third and fourth respectively in the 100 free.
- Sophomore Norbert Szabo narrowly missed first in the 200 fly by a few tenths of a second after swimming a 1:46.31.
Day two of the tri-meet is set to start tomorrow at 9 a.m. The diving portion is scheduled to begin at noon. With flurries in the forecast, times are subject to change. Please follow @VT_SwimDive for updates.
PRESS RELEASE – GEORGIA TECH:
BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Georgia Tech swimming and diving program swept the 100 free events with Iris Wang winning the women’s race and Rodrigo Quadros Correiatouching the wall first in the men’s event to highlight day one of competition on Friday versus both Virginia Tech and Kentucky in Blacksburg, Va.
The women’s team trails host Virginia Tech 95-36 and Kentucky 99-32, while the men’s team sits behind the Hokies 92-39 and the Wildcats 93-38.
The three teams will conclude the double-dual meet tomorrow with the first event set to begin at 9 a.m. and will include the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 800 free relay, 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 400 medley relay, 1-meter women’s and the 3-meter men’s diving events.
Live results for both days of competition can be found HERE or on the Meet Mobile app.
Women’s Highlights
Wang picked up a win for the Jackets in the 100 free, as the sophomore touched the wall in a time of 50.46, while junior Kaitlin Kitchens also picked up points for Tech with her fifth-place finish and her time of 51.70.
Junior Alex Rieger also scored for the Yellow Jackets with her fifth-place finish in the 200 back with a time of 2:02.46. Rieger finished ahead of Tech’s Sara Gilbert (2:04.62) who placed eighth.
In the 200 breast, freshman Kristen Hepler recorded a fifth-place finish with a time of 2:18.96.
Laura Branton (2:06.38) and Chloe Miller (2:06.91) went sixth and seventh in the 200 fly event, while in the 3-meter diving event, freshman Carly Doi took seventh-place overall with a score of 256.90.
Four freshmen competed for the Yellow Jackets in the 1650 free led by Emily Ilgenfritz’s time of 17:40.04, which was good enough for eighth-place overall.
The 400 free relay team of Wang, Ilgenfritz, Kira de Bruyn and Kitchens earned a third-place finish with their time of 3:27.46 to close out day one of the two-day meet.
Men’s Highlights
Correia highlighted the men’s day with a first-place finish in the 100 free with a time of 44.94, while Ben Southern touched the wall in third-place overall in the 200 fly with his time of 1:48.03.
Freshman Tim Slanschek picked up a fifth-place showing in the 200 fly with his time of 1:50.95, while Alex Kimpel turned in a fifth-place finish in the 200 breast with a time of 2:01.47.
Joseph Portillo (2:05.32) placed sixth in the 200 breast, while in the 1650 free event, freshman Brennan Day touched the wall in a time of 16:01.01 to earn a sixth-place finish.
Sophomores Colt Williamson and Matt Casillas each tallied an eighth place finish on the day for the Jackets, as Williamson finished with a time of 16:24.31 in the 1650 free, while Casillas placed eighth overall in the 1-meter dive with a score of 289.10.
Junior Noah Harasz swam in the 100 free event, touching the wall in eighth with his time of 46.47, while freshman Clay Hering also posted an eighth-place finish in his respective event, touching the wall in eighth overall in the 200 fly with a time of 1:51.29.
Picking up a fourth-place finish in the men’s 400 free relay was the unit of Correia, Southern, Dan Cohen Solal and Harasz and their time of 3:02.44.
For the latest information on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Swimming & Diving, follow us on Twitter ( @GTSwimDive ), Instagram ( @GTSwimDive ), and Facebook ( Georgia Tech Swimming & Diving ) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com .