Auburn v. Georgia Tech
- January 7, 2023
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Dual Meet Format
- Full Results
- Scores
- Men: Auburn 213, Georgia Tech 87
- Women: Auburn 218, Georgia Tech 82
Just two days after downing the Texas A&M Aggies last week, the Auburn Tigers headed east over the weekend to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. The Auburn men, who we ranked 15th in our most recent round of power rankings, defeated the #23 GT men 213-87, while the #22 Auburn women won by a similar score, 218-82.
Women’s Recap
The Auburn women got off to a dominant start as the Tigers posted the top four times in the medley relay, with the ‘A’ team winning with a time of 3:41.74.
That was a harbinger of things to come, as Auburn swept the top three or four spots in the 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, and 100 breast, before Georgia Tech finally stopped the bleeding just a bit with a 2nd-place effort in the 200 fly.
In the very next event, the Yellow Jackets finally got their first win of the day, as freshman Anna Hadjiloizou won the 50 free with a 23.23, touching just 0.09s of Auburn’s Lexie Mulvihill. Hadjiloizou, a native of Cypress, was swimming in her first meet as a Yellow Jacket, and this appears to be her first meets ever in the yards format.
Georgia Tech also picked up a win in the platform diving event, where Anna Bradescu won with a score of 256.05.
Once swimming resumed, the Tigers got back into a winning groove. Emma Steckiel got things going again with a win in the 100 free, beating Hadjiloizou 51.21 to 51.26 in a tight race.
Auburn kept rolling with top four sweeps in the 200 back, 200 breast, and 500 free, then the top two in the 100 fly and the 200 IM, with Georgia Tech picking up another diving win in there as well.
The Yellow Jackets kept it closer for the final event of the day, the 400 free, but Auburn won 3:25.03 to 3:26.39, thanks largely to a pair of sub-51 splits by Mulvihill and Steckiel.
Men’s Recap
While the score was very similar to the women’s, the Georgia Tech men walked away with several more wins in the pool.
The Tiger men got out to an early lead with a 3:14.51 victory in the 400 medley relay, while the Auburn ‘B’ relay touched in 3:17.72, ahead of Georgia Tech’s ‘A’ relay (3:18.09).
However, the Yellow Jacket men struck back quickly, as sophomore Mert Kilavuz won the 1000 free by over six seconds, stopping the clock in 9:14.79. Kilavuz would later win the 500 free in 4:28.12, about a second ahead of Auburn’s Mikkel Gadgaard (4:29.28).
Immediately after Kilavuz’s first win, Baturap Unlu kept the momentum going with a narrow victory in the 200 free, beating Auburn’s Christian Sztolcman 1:37.18 to 1:37.31.
Auburn rolled from there, winning all of the remaining events except the 500 free. Reid Mikuta led the way with wins in the 100 breast (54.73) and the 200 breast (2:03.40). The Auburn junior currently has the fastest 100 breast time in the country with a 51.14 from the Georgia Invite.
Brothers Nate Stoffle and Aidan Stoffle once again starred two days after strong performances agains Texas A&M. Nate, currently ranked #5 in the country with a 45.26 in the 100 back, won that event in 47.97. Aidan, who’s ranked #6 in the 100 back, opted for the 100 fly instead, which he won with a 48.55.
Auburn also got a couple of wins courtesy of a pair of transfers. Mihalis Deliyiannis, who previously swam at Louisville (where Auburn assistant coach Vlad Polyakov was on staff), won the 50 free in 20.18, while former UVA diver Walker Creedon won the platform event with a score of 406.88.
Auburn Release
ATLANTA, Ga. – It was a busy week of racing for the Auburn Tigers but Ryan Wochomurka‘s crew was up to the task. The men picked up their third top-25 dual win of the season while the women snagged their sixth victory of the year.
SCORES
Men
#9 Auburn 213, #21 Georgia Tech 87
Women
#19 Auburn 218, Georgia Tech 82
WOMEN
Saturday kicked off in dominating fashion for the Auburn women. Ellie Waldrep, Anastasia Makarova, Meghan Lee and Lexie Mulvihill combined for the win in the 400 medley relay. It was a tight race for second between the Tiger’s B and C relays and ultimately it was Daisy Platts, Brynn Curtis, Abigail Gibbons and Polina Nevmovenko who edged out their teammates for the win.
Emily Hetzer kicked off a sweeping effort in the 1,000 free for her third win in the event this season. Averee Preble and Lilly Byrne followed Hetzer to make sure the Tigers claimed maximum points.
Hetzer, Byrne and Nevmovenko returned in the 500 free to take yet another sweep for the distance group.
Continuing her strong day in Atlanta, Meghan Lee lead another sweep for the Orange and Blue in the 200 free. Payton Marvin and Nevmovenko brought in second and third for head coach Ryan Wochomurka.
Auburn, also known as backstroke university, shows no signs of stopping its dominance anytime soon. Ellie Waldrep, Kyla Maloney and Hannah Mattson stole the show in the 100 back while Waldrep, Kensley Merritt and Daisy Platts took the sweep in the 200.
Anastasia Makarova claimed a win in the 100 breast for the third time this season. Brynn Curtis and Valerie Tarazi weren’t far behind, though. Curtis would rebound to win the 200 breast, with Tarazi and freshman Ainsley Jones hitting the wall second and third.
The last time Casey Cullen touched the wall first was in the Tiger’s dual with LSU last October. Cullen snagged her third-career victory when the 200 fly came around. Junior Hannah Ownbey dialed up a third-place effort.
Emma Steckiel showed out in the sprints on Saturday. While Mulvihill snagged second in the 50, Steckiel outswam the field in the 100 free to take her first individual win of the season.
Mulvihill would rebound for a win in the 100 fly, though. Abby Gibbons also raced well, finishing third overall.
After a win in the 200 IM on Wednesday, Hannah Ownbey made it a clean sweep for the week against Georgia Tech. Ownbey led the way while Meghan Lee came in with a solid second-place finish.
Rounding out a dominant meet, Nevmovenko, Mulvhill, Steckiel and Thamm ground out another win in the 400 free relay.
MEN
The men brought an equally impressive effort to the 400 medley relay. Aidan Stoffle, Reid Mikuta, Nate Stoffle and Kalle Makinen bested the field by more than a body length to kick off the meet.
Grant Davis led the charge in 1,000, securing second place with Michael Bonson snagging the fourth spot. Later in the 500, it was Mikkel Gadgaard who hit the wall in second and Mason Mathias secured third.
Gadgaard was also solid in the 200 free where he finished third. However, it was Christian Sztolcman who had the Tiger’s best effort in the event, missing the win by just .13 seconds. Ryan Husband would round out Auburn’s point total with a fourth-place finish.
Saturday was Nate Stoffle’s turn to shine in the 100 back. The Georgia native swimming on home turf ran away from teammates Andrew Simmons and Kalle Makinen to steal the crown. Simmons turned around in the 200 to outswim Aidan Stoffle and Lleyton Smith as the Orange and Blue swept both events.
Reid Mikuta has swam in five collegiate events this season and now has five wins in the 100 breast. The junior won the 200 as well while Henry Bethel would go on to pick up third in both the 100 and 200. Jacques Rathle also snuck in a second-place effort in the 200.
The men’s 200 fly was all M’s. Mason Mathias, Seth Maschmeier and Evan McInerny that is. The trio swept the longer version of the event. Meanwhile, Aidan Stoffle, Sohib Khaled and Rusty Jerger stole the show in the 100.
Mihalis Deliyiannis won his first race as a Tiger on Wednesday against Texas A&M and suddenly the young man cannot be stopped. The Roswell, Georgia product outpaced everyone in the pool in the 50 free for his second straight win.
Kalle Makinen was back to his usual tricks in the 100, picking up the win and Sztolcman secured third.
Simmons, Rathle and Maschmeier rounded out Saturday’s individual events with one last sweep in the 200 IM. For Simmons, his two victories throughout the day were the first for the sophomore out of Johns Creek, Georgia.
Wochomurka’s men closed out a busy week of racing with one last victory in the 400 free relay. The law firm of Sztolcman, Makinen, Husband and Stoffle got the job done to ensure the sixth dual win of the season for the Tigers.
DIVING
Walker Creedon loves diving in the Peach State. The Virginia transfer already grabbed a win at the UGA Invite on the tower. On Saturday, Creedon bettered the effort with a personal best 406.88. Whit Andrus and Hunter Kebler would also round out solid performances on the platform, finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Fueled by Creedon’s performance, Andrus went for his own career-high on the 3-meter. With a 392.63, the Winston-Salem product not only secured a new personal best but also his first win of the season.
Abigail Farrar led the charge for the women on the tower, coming in second with a 246.83. Ashlynn Sullivan would snag fourth. Sullivan rebounded on the 3-meter with a 290.25 and a second-place finish with Farrar close behind in third.
Georgia Tech Release
THE FLATS – The Georgia Tech swimming and diving teams were defeated by No. 9/19 Auburn on Saturday at McAuley Aquatic Center. The men’s final score was 213-87 and the women fell to Auburn 218-82.
Mert Kilavuz, Batur Ünlü and Anna Hadjiloizou were three of Tech’s standouts during today’s meet. Kilavuz won both the men’s 1000 free (9:14.79) and the 500 free (4:28.12). Ünlü championed the men’s 200 free (1:37.18) and placed second in the men’s 100 free (44.83). In her first weekend competing with the Jackets, Hadjiloizou was victorious in the women’s 50 free (23.23) and placed second in the women’s 100 free (51.26).
Several of Tech’s divers earned NCAA Zone Diving scores in the Platform and 3 Meter events. In the platform event, Anna Bradescu won with a score of 256.05 and Carmen Woodruff took home third with a score of 225.15. On the men’s side, Elijah Klier finished with a second-place score of 352.73.
In the 3 Meter event, Katie McKyton came out on top for the women with a score of 294.38 and Ruben Lechuga claimed the second-place spot with a score of 378.98.
Daniel Kertesz swam a second-place time of 55.13 in the men’s 100 breast. In the men’s 50 free, David Gapinski took home second (20.78) and Will Coady came in third place (20.85).
McKenzie Campbell and Zora Ripkova recorded top three performances in the women’s butterfly events. Campbell placed second in the 200 fly (2:02.80) and Ripkova placed third in the 100 fly (56.09).
Rei Kuramoto scored points for Tech in several of the women’s events. She finished fourth in both the 200 free (1:52.63) and 200 IM (2:06.17).
The men’s 400 free relay team comprised of Ünlü, Justin Alderson, Kertesz and Coady placed second with a time of 2:58.73. Berke Saka, Kertesz, Antonio Romero and Ünlü combined for a third-place time of 3:18.09 in the men’s 400 medley relay. The women’s 400 free relay team with Hadjiloizou, Ripkova, Kiah Smith and Sophie Murphy recorded a second-place time of 3:26.39.
UP NEXT
Tech is set to host Queens College of Charlotte at 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20 at McAuley Aquatic Center.