Georgia Splits at Tennessee, Men Finish Undefeated with Tight Victory

Saturday, January 23

Knoxville, Tenn.

12:00 PM

University of Georgia

Tennessee

Freshman Jake Magahey competes for Georgia during its meet against South Carolina on Jan. 16, 2021.

Photo by: Tony Walsh

Georgia Splits at Tennessee, Men Finish Undefeated with Tight Victory

January 23, 2021 | Swimming & Diving

Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With a decisive win in the closing men's 400 freestyle relay, the University of Georgia swimming and diving team managed a split against Tennessee Saturday afternoon at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

The No. 2 men's team (5-0) clipped the No. 13 Volunteers by a 150.5-149.5 margin, clinching the first unbeaten men's dual season since 1997-98 and just the second in program history. The third-ranked Georgia women (4-1) fell to the fourth-ranked Lady Volunteers, 164-136. Overall, the Bulldogs' squads combined for 17 event wins.

Trailing by eight points entering the final event, the 400 free relay team of senior Javier Acevedo, sophomore Zach Hils, freshman Jake Magahey, and sophomore Dillon Downing finished with a first-place time of 2:55.43. Magahey clocked in a time of 43.36 on the third leg, pulling the Bulldogs ahead for the eventual win.

Four Bulldogs earned a pair of individual wins, led by senior Courtney Harnish, who took the 200 freestyle (1:46.06) and 500 freestyle (4:44.05) with B-cut times in each event, along with a second-place time of 9:45.89 in her first 1,000 freestyle outing of the season. Magahey duplicated the feat in the men's meet, winning the 200 (1:35.65) and 500 (4:20.58) with B-cuts.

Sophomore Zoie Hartman continued her domination of the breaststroke events with a sweep, taking the 100 (59.58) and 200 (2:09.56) in B-cut swims, while junior Portia Brown earned her first career wins in a backstroke sweep, posting winning B-cut times (53.65, 1:56.42) in the 100 and 200.

In other wins, Acevedo took the 100 freestyle with a season-best time of 44.02, while fellow senior Greg Reed won the 1,000 freestyle for the third time this season with a time of 8:57.55. Sophomore Ian Grum led a four-way Georgia sweep with a B-cut of 1:44.28 in the 200 backstroke.

On the women's side, junior Dakota Luther took the 200 butterfly for the fifth time this season with a time of 1:56.84, followed by freshman Maxine Parker's winning time of 49.13 in the 100 freestyle. Parker also anchored the victorious 200 medley relay, posting a 22.00 freestyle split en route to an overall time of 1:38.16.

At the diving well, senior Zach Allen earned his sixth victory of the season on the 1-meter springboard, setting a new personal-best mark of 381.90. Allen nearly tallied a season-best score on the 3-meter, finishing third with a mark of 353.25. Junior Ellie Crump notched the best scores in both events for the women's team, placing fourth on the 1-meter (276.68) and fifth on the 3-meter (263.78).

Georgia will turn its attention toward the upcoming SEC Swimming & Diving Championships. The women's swimming meet will be held at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens on Feb. 17-20, with the men's and women's diving meet taking place at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Missouri on the same dates. The men's swimming championships will also be held at Missouri on Feb. 23-26.

For all news and updates about Georgia swimming and diving, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@UGASwimDive), Instagram (@ugaswimdive), and Facebook (UGA Swimming and Diving).