Georgia Sweeps Georgia Tech in Home Opener

Wednesday, October 11

Athens, Ga.

5 p.m.

University of Georgia

198

100

Georgia Tech

October 11, 2023 | Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

ATHENS, Ga. – Another dazzling display from Bulldog distance powered the University of Georgia swimming and diving teams to a sweep of in-state rival Georgia Tech Wednesday evening at Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium.

The Georgia women (3-0) remained unbeaten on the season with a 189-109 win over Georgia Tech, while the Bulldog men (1-2) picked up their first victory of the season, topping the Yellow Jackets, 198-100.

Prior to the meet, former Georgia All-American Melissa Bateman Price was honored as the team's honorary captain for its annual Pink Out meet, recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of the month, the Georgia women wore pink swimsuits, while both teams wore pink swim caps.

Women | Georgia 189, Georgia Tech 109
The Georgia women earned 12 wins on their way to a third-consecutive victory, led by an outstanding performance from the Bulldogs' distance group. Junior Duné Coetzee picked up wins in the 200y (1:47.06) and 500y (4:42.29) freestyle, posting the second-fastest time in nation in the 500 behind teammate Rachel Stege. Fellow teammate Abby McCulloh dominated the 1,000y freestyle with a time of 9:44.80. Senior Sloane Reinstein (50y freestyle – 23.19) and freshman Helena Jones (100y freestyle – 49.25) finished off a freestyle sweep, with Jones notching a B-cut in the process.

At the diving well, senior Meghan Wenzel remained unbeaten on the season with a springboard sweep, posting Zone cuts on both 1-meter (295.46) and 3-meter (299.70). Sophomore Hannah Stumpf also qualified for Zones on 1-meter with a mark of 275.40. In other victories, the Bulldogs swept the backstroke as graduate Millie Sansome won the 100y at 54.72, while fifth-year Zoie Hartman took the 200y with a time of 1:57.70. Finally, in the 100y butterfly, sophomore Olivia Della Torre was victorious with a time of 55.73.

"I thought we did a really great job at the meet today," Tom Cousins Women's Swimming & Diving Head Coach Stefanie Williams Moreno said following the meet. "In particular, just having it be a Pink Out and one of my former teammates, Melissa Bateman Price, as our honorary captain for the day was fantastic."

Men | Georgia 198, Georgia Tech 100
On the men's side, Georgia tallied 13 wins, led by two apiece from fifth-year Ian Grum and senior Jake Magahey. In his final dual meet before traveling to the Pan-American Games, Grum won the 200y butterfly with a time of 1:45.90, missing a B-cut by one-hundredth of a second, before picking up the provisional cut with a winning 1:43.04 in the 200y backstroke. Magahey was strong in the distance events, winning the 1,000y freestyle at 9:00.79, before pulling out a victorious 4:25.09 in the 500y free.

In other freestyle events, Georgia remained on top, with graduate Dillon Downing (50y freestyle), sophomore Ruard van Renen (100y freestyle), and freshman Tomas Koski (200y freestyle) all touching first. Koski joined teammates Steven Insixiengmay (100y breaststroke) and Jackson Bates (200y breaststroke) in earning their first career victories. Elsewhere, graduate Bradley Dunham won the 100y backstroke with a time of 47.30, while senior Wesley Ng took the 100y butterfly in his season debut and fifth-year Zach Hils prevailed in the 200y IM.

In diving, all four Bulldogs secured their spots at Zones with terrific outings on the springboards. On 1-meter, junior Rhett Hopkins qualified with a second-place score of 329.25, while fellow junior Nolan Lewis picked up a Zone cut at 315.08. Later, on 3-meter, freshman Matthew Bray reached his goal with a third-place mark of 347.70, with junior Allen Mann joining Hopkins and Lewis in notching cuts.

"It was an exceptional meet for middle of October," Men's Swimming & Diving Head Coach Neil Versfeld said. "Where we are in our training right now and how broken down, I know these guys are, I had my doubts yesterday. There was some rough swimming going on after the work we've done the past couple of weeks. But for them to bounce back and throw down some exceptional swims like they did today, I couldn't be prouder."

Up Next
Georgia opens Southeastern Conference action with its biannual trip to Florida. The meet against the Gators begins with diving on Thursday, Oct. 26, followed by the full meet on Friday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

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