Georgia Picks Up Road Sweep Over Wisconsin Badgers

WISCONSIN VS. GEORGIA

• Results
• Hosted by Wisconsin
• Thursday, October 19th
• 25 Yards
• Dual Meet Format

FINAL TEAM SCORES

• WOMEN: UGA 183, Wisconsin 117
• MEN: UGA 168, Wisconsin 127

Though the Badgers took control of the sprint free events and Beata Nelson was impressive on the women’s side, the visiting Georgia Bulldogs took wins on both the men’s and women’s side last night in Madison. Notably, Cierra Runge was not racing today, marking her second-straight missed meet for the Badgers.

Freshmen came up big for Georgia, with Courtney Harnish and Danielle Dellatorre coming through with two individual wins each. Harnish took to her usual mid-distance events, taking the 200 free (1:48.31) in a very tight race against Wisconsin’s Abby Jagdfeld (1:48.35), then posting the only sub-4:50 performance to win the 500 free (4:45.72). Dellatorre, meanwhile, was 1:03.65 and 2:18.89 to take the 100 and 200 breast, respectively.

Megan Kingsley and Kylie Stewart provided some upperclassman leadership, with Kingsley taking both butterflies (54.28 and 1:57.87, respectively) and Stewart barreling to a 53.22 to win the 100 back over Wisconsin’s Jess Unicomb (53.93).

Wisconsin’s Nelson had the swim of the meet, though, throwing down a 1:54.28 200 back, her fastest dual meet time ever, and faster than she went at the Texas Invite last December. Nelson’s time broke the UW pool record by almost three full seconds. She also posted a 1:59.64 to take the 200 IM.

Emmy Sehmann also helped to stop the bleeding, battling back with consecutive wins in the 50 free (23.10) and 100 free (50.24). Sehmann dropped a 22.31 anchor as Wisconsin dominated the 200 medley relay to open the meet (1:40.41), with Nelson splitting a 23.72 fly leg.

The Litherland triplets each came up with one win, at least, on the men’s side. Kevin won the 500 free (4:28.95), Mick took the 200 fly (1:48.88) and anchored the first place 200 medley with a 20.92, while Jay won the 200 back (1:47.40) and posted the top 200 IM time (1:50.58).

James Guest was also a double winner for the Bulldogs, taking the 100 (55.34) and 200 (1:59.81) breast.

Freshmen Camden Murphy and Greg Reed shined, winning one individual each. Murphy was a solid 47.54 to pick up a B cut and break the pool record, while Reed was in control of the 1000 free with a 9:10.14.

Like on the women’s side, the Badgers fought with some sprint free pickups. North Dakota transfer Tyler Zelen eked out the 50 free win (20.89), and Ryan Stack took the 100 free (44.99). Badger freshman Matt Novinski impressed, too, posting 2nd place finishes in the 100 back (49.40) and 200 back (1:48.13).

UGA took the medley relay, keying on Javier Acevedo‘s 22.41 backstroke lead off, while Wisconsin stormed back for a dominant 400 free relay win, with no leg over 45.3 and Griffin Back anchoring in 44.82 to combine for a 3:00.61.

PRESS RELEASE – WISCONSIN:

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin coach Whitney Hite had a lot to be excited about prior to Thursday’s home opener for his Badgers vs. Georgia.

Hite, who began his coaching career at Georgia 20 years ago, was excited to get the Bulldogs in the Badgers’ home pool.

“We’ve gone down there a couple of times, and I have a special relationship with their coaching staff,” Hite said. “It’s where I started my coaching career and it holds a special place in my life.”

Georgia, with its eighth-ranked men’s and fourth-ranked women’s team, has been a powerhouse in college swimming for decades. “It was nice to get them up here,” Hite said.

However, hosting Georgia for the first time was not the only thing Hite could take away from the dual meet inside the UW Natatorium. A number of Badgers had outstanding meets.

Sophomore Beata Nelson continued her outstanding start by setting a UW Natatorium record in the 200-yard backstroke — something she has been doing since her high school days at nearby Verona.

Emmy Sehmann had a day, netting wins in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 free, and taking part in two winning relay squads.

“I have never been super competitive in dual meets, but it’s been very fun to be able to step up for the team and get my hand on the wall first,” Sehmann said.

On the men’s side, Tyler Zelen earned his first win as a Badger in the 50-yard freestyle, sprinting to a time of 20.89.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Zelen, a transfer from North Dakota. “I feel accomplished, like I’m hitting my stride here.”

Freshman Matt Novinski followed up his coming-out party from last week’s opener with Auburn and Tennessee by turning in another stellar meet.

“I definitely wanted to make an impact as soon as I got here,” Novinski said. “That’s always been the goal.”

Novinski swam the 200 backstroke neck and neck with Georgia’s Jay Litherland, a 2016 Olympic qualifier. “To be able to compete with a guy like that, like I did today, was pretty cool,” he said.

Despite a number of individual successes, the Bulldogs emerged with a sweep of UW. The Georgia women won, 183-117, and the men’s team claimed victory by a margin of 168-127.

“Certainly, our goal was to win the meet, which was cut a little bit short, but it’s all about competing,” Hite said. “I think we did a really great job of competing today, and we’re looking forward to more competition against NC State.”

PRESS RELEASE – GEORGIA:

MADISON, Wis. — The Georgia swimming and diving teams swept Wisconsin on Thursday at the UW Natatorium.

The No. 4 Lady Bulldogs posted a 183-117 win over No. 12 Wisconsin and the No. 8 Bulldogs recorded a 168-127 decision over No. 25 Wisconsin. Both Georgia squads improved to 3-0 on the season.

“It was a job well done on both sides,” said Jack Bauerle, Georgia’s Tom Cousins Head Swimming and Diving Coach. “It was a real competitive meet with some great races. We picked up two wins against really good competition.”

Megan Kingsley, Danielle Della Torre and Courtney Harnish each posted two individual wins to pace the Lady Bulldogs. Kingsley swept the 100 and 200 butterfly races in 54.28 and 1:57.87, respectively. Della Torre took the breaststroke events, winning the 100 in 1:03.65 and the 200 in 2:18.89. Harnish claimed the 200 freestyle in 1:48.31 and the 500 freestyle in 4:45.72.

Olivia Ball won the 1-meter springboard with 291.38 points, Meg Finnon took the 1,000 freestyle in 9:56.15 and Kylie Stewart went 53.22 to claim the 100 backstroke. The 400 freestyle relay of Veronica Burchill, Stewart, Maddie Wallisand Harnish touched the wall first in 3:22.72.

James Guest and Jay Litherland both had two individual victories for the Bulldogs. Guest swept the breaststroke races with times of 55.34 in the 100 and 1:59.81 in the 200. Litherland stopped the clock in 1:47.40 in the 200 backstroke and had the meet’s fastest time (1:50.58) in the 200 individual medley.

Walker Higgins won the 200 freestyle in 1:38.25, Kevin Litherland placed first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:28.95 and Greg Reed took the 1,000 freestyle in 9:10.14. The Bulldogs swept the butterfly events as Camden Murphy went 47.54 in the 100 and Mick Litherland stopped the clock in 1:48.88 in the 200. Javier Acevedo was first in the 100 backstroke (48.87) and Charlie Clifton won the 3-meter springboard with 376.80 points. The 200 medley relay of Acevedo, Guest, Murphy and Mick Litherland was first in 1:30.27.

Georgia will continue its road trip on Friday with a 5 p.m. meet at Northwestern.