University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs Sweep Season Opener Against Tar Heels
October 15, 2008 | Swimming & Diving
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- The Georgia Bulldogs had 17 provisional qualifying marks that highlighted the Georgia swimming and diving teams’ sweep of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2008-09 season opener.
The Bulldogs needed a second place finish in the final relay to hold off the Tar Heels, 152-148, while the Lady Bulldogs rolled to a 169-126 victory.
“We were very pleased with our finishes and the times by our kids,” associate head coach Harvey Humphries said. “On the men’s side, we showed our youth a little bit, but the younger kids did a good job of racing and they are going to be a lot better once they get experienced. The women are an extremely talented group and they are going to be a factor no matter who we race in a dual. This is a tough test for a first meet and we were pleased with how it turned out.”
The Lady Bulldogs had two double-winners on the evening in Wendy Trott in the 500 (4:49.86) and1,000 (9:45.94) free and Aleksandra Putra in the 100 (55.13) and 200 (1:57.74) backstroke, both of which were provisional qualifying times.
The Bulldogs had three double-winners with Troyden Prinsloo winning the 500 and 1,000 swims with times of 4:26.87 and 9:01.86, respectively. His 500 swim was good enough to earn him the provisional qualifying standard. Mark Dylla swept the butterfly races, touching the wall in 49.52 in the 100 and 1:48.26 in the 200. Finally, Neil Versfeld, who used a redshirt in 2007 and represented South Africa in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won both breaststroke events, taking the 100 in 55.56 and the 200 with an NCAA provisional cut time of 2:00.00.
Ahead 148-135 heading into the final relay, North Carolina native Chris Spooner held off the surging Tar Heel relay by .12 seconds to get the second place finish the Bulldogs needed to claim victory.
“It was a heck of a meet,” head coach Jack Bauerle said. “It was a quick test for our new guys. That’s the way we are going to be this year, we are going to be tested every time we are in the pool. It’s not easy losing three Olympians is Sebastien Rouault, Gil Stovall and Chris Colwill, but this will be a good grow up meet for them.”
The Lady Bulldogs had several outstanding performances Wednesday afternoon, with 11 first place finishes and 15 provisional qualifying times.
Highlighting those performances for the Lady Bulldogs was freshman Michelle McKeehan’s effort in the 100 breaststroke. McKeehan claimed one of Georgia’s NCAA provisional qualifying marks with a swim of 1:01.22, a time that ranks sixth in Georgia history.
“I am proud of the kids; they did a great job for the first meet,” Bauerle said. “North Carolina is always a tough team and one of the best in the ACC. I am sure they came in the meet training just as hard as we did, so it was a nice win for us. By and large, we were pretty good and certainly a lot deeper than we were a year ago.”
Hannah Moore was solid on the board for the Lady Bulldogs as she took first in the 1-meter with a 258.44 and posted a 274.05 exhibition score in the 3-meter. On the men’s side, Webb Worthington scored a 300.22 to claim first in the 1-meter springboard.
“I thought it was a pretty good first meet,” head diving coach Dan Laak said. “We’ve been conditioning pretty hard and we are definitely not in peak diving shape yet. I thought everyone did a good job on some of the things we’ve been working on.”
In the relays, the Bulldog 200 medley relay team of Dylla, Versfeld, Michael Arnold and Craig Jennings got the meet off to a solid start after finishing first with a 1:31.21. The women went 1-2 in the medley relay, with both teams earning provisional marks.
Up next, both Georgia teams will travel to Gainesville, Fla., for an SEC contest with the Gators on Oct. 30. The first home meet for both squads is Nov. 5 against Georgia Tech.
The Bulldogs needed a second place finish in the final relay to hold off the Tar Heels, 152-148, while the Lady Bulldogs rolled to a 169-126 victory.
“We were very pleased with our finishes and the times by our kids,” associate head coach Harvey Humphries said. “On the men’s side, we showed our youth a little bit, but the younger kids did a good job of racing and they are going to be a lot better once they get experienced. The women are an extremely talented group and they are going to be a factor no matter who we race in a dual. This is a tough test for a first meet and we were pleased with how it turned out.”
The Lady Bulldogs had two double-winners on the evening in Wendy Trott in the 500 (4:49.86) and1,000 (9:45.94) free and Aleksandra Putra in the 100 (55.13) and 200 (1:57.74) backstroke, both of which were provisional qualifying times.
The Bulldogs had three double-winners with Troyden Prinsloo winning the 500 and 1,000 swims with times of 4:26.87 and 9:01.86, respectively. His 500 swim was good enough to earn him the provisional qualifying standard. Mark Dylla swept the butterfly races, touching the wall in 49.52 in the 100 and 1:48.26 in the 200. Finally, Neil Versfeld, who used a redshirt in 2007 and represented South Africa in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won both breaststroke events, taking the 100 in 55.56 and the 200 with an NCAA provisional cut time of 2:00.00.
Ahead 148-135 heading into the final relay, North Carolina native Chris Spooner held off the surging Tar Heel relay by .12 seconds to get the second place finish the Bulldogs needed to claim victory.
“It was a heck of a meet,” head coach Jack Bauerle said. “It was a quick test for our new guys. That’s the way we are going to be this year, we are going to be tested every time we are in the pool. It’s not easy losing three Olympians is Sebastien Rouault, Gil Stovall and Chris Colwill, but this will be a good grow up meet for them.”
The Lady Bulldogs had several outstanding performances Wednesday afternoon, with 11 first place finishes and 15 provisional qualifying times.
Highlighting those performances for the Lady Bulldogs was freshman Michelle McKeehan’s effort in the 100 breaststroke. McKeehan claimed one of Georgia’s NCAA provisional qualifying marks with a swim of 1:01.22, a time that ranks sixth in Georgia history.
“I am proud of the kids; they did a great job for the first meet,” Bauerle said. “North Carolina is always a tough team and one of the best in the ACC. I am sure they came in the meet training just as hard as we did, so it was a nice win for us. By and large, we were pretty good and certainly a lot deeper than we were a year ago.”
Hannah Moore was solid on the board for the Lady Bulldogs as she took first in the 1-meter with a 258.44 and posted a 274.05 exhibition score in the 3-meter. On the men’s side, Webb Worthington scored a 300.22 to claim first in the 1-meter springboard.
“I thought it was a pretty good first meet,” head diving coach Dan Laak said. “We’ve been conditioning pretty hard and we are definitely not in peak diving shape yet. I thought everyone did a good job on some of the things we’ve been working on.”
In the relays, the Bulldog 200 medley relay team of Dylla, Versfeld, Michael Arnold and Craig Jennings got the meet off to a solid start after finishing first with a 1:31.21. The women went 1-2 in the medley relay, with both teams earning provisional marks.
Up next, both Georgia teams will travel to Gainesville, Fla., for an SEC contest with the Gators on Oct. 30. The first home meet for both squads is Nov. 5 against Georgia Tech.
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