Georgia Wins Decisive Victories Over UNCW In First Dual of 2025

UGA vs UNCW

• Athens, GA
• January 18, 2025
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Full Meet Results
• Team Scores:
  • Women’s Team Scores: #11 Georgia 177 — UNCW 114
  • Men’s Team Scores: #7 Georgia 224 — UNCW 71

Georgia hosted UNCW on Saturday, and both Bulldog teams came out on top. This was their first time racing in 2025, after their meet with LSU was canceled due to weather.

Women’s Recap

The Georgia women won all but two of the events, starting off with a win in the 200 medley relay. Eboni McCarty (24.80), Charlotte Headland (28.40), Katie Belle Sikes (23.22), and Helena Jones (22.25) went 1:38.67 in the event to beat the Georgia ‘B’ by just over a second.

They also won the 400 freestyle relay with Ieva Maluka (48.91), Eboni McCarty (49.89), Helena Jones (49.45), Emma Norton (49.56) swimming 3:17.81, almost eight seconds faster than the 2nd place UNCW ‘A’ at 3:25.62.

Junior Ieva Maluka was one of two dual-event winners. She went 53.19 in the 100 back and 52.76 in the 100 fly to pick up the wins, and also earn two more NCAA ‘B’ cuts. These marked her 5th and 6th ‘B’ cut times respectively. She also picked up the time on her leadoff leg of the 400 freestyle relay, splitting 48.91 which makes seven. Her other ‘B’ cuts come in the 200 fly (1:55.09), 200 IM (1:56.02), 200 back (1:55.12), and 200 free (1:44.12)

Freshman Marie Landreneau also won two individual events, going 49.70 in the 100 free and 2:01.15 in the 200 IM. Neither event marked season best times for her.

Many of the UGA event winners swam their 2nd event as exhibition, but a few picked up a first and 2nd place finish. Freshman Katie Belle Sikes won the 50 freestyle in 22.39, and she finished 2nd in the 100 backstroke at 53.19, behind Maluka. Rachel Stege, a senior, won the 500 freestyle in 4:45.03, and finished 2nd in the 200 free at 1:47.72 to teammate Abby McCulloh’s time of 1:47.12

Shea Furse (1000 free- 9:55.70), Dune Coetzee (200 fly- 1:59.31), and Sami Rydzewski (200 back- 1:58.23) snagged UGA’s other event wins. Coetzee was the only one of the three to improve on her season best time, dropping from the 2:03.67 she went against Florida to mark her first time under 2:00 this season.

UGA also won both diving events. Ivy Buckley took the 3-Meter with her score of 277.95, and Michelle Cummo won the 1-Meter, scoring 273.38

UNCW won two of the individual events, putting a stop to UGA’s perfect day, and both of them went to junior Gil Shaw.

Shaw swept the breaststroke events, swimming 1:02.09 in the 100 to take the win by eleven one-hundredths. In the 200, Shaw went 2:14.47, coming in four tenths ahead of the 2nd fastest swimmer.

Men’s Recap:

The men won every event against UNCW, going a perfect 16 for 16.

They started with the victory in the 200 medley relay, swimming 1:24.74 with Ruard Van Renen (21.71), Elliot Woodburn, Luca Urlando, Tane Bidois. The splits for everyone except Van Renen are unavailable.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Luca Urlando (41.92), Tane Bidois (43.71), Ruard Van Renen (43.21), Reese Branzell (42.78) swam 2:51.62, beating the UNCW ‘A’ relay time of 2:57.44 by almost 6 seconds.

Similar to the women, most of the men won just one individual event. The only exception to that rule was graduate student Wesley Ng. Ng won the 100 back (46.35) and the 100 fly (46.47) as the only two-event winner for the UGA men. He has been faster in both events this season.

There were a few men who picked up a 1st and a 2nd place finish. While they swam the 1000 for the women, the men swam the mile, and the event went to Tommy-Lee Camblong. Camblong swam 15:15.30 for the win and to pick up the NCAA ‘B’ cut for his first time swimming the event this season. He also placed 2nd in the 500, just six tenths behind teammate Sam Powe’s 4:23.03.

On top of Powe’s win in the 500 free, he also picked up a 2nd place finish in the 100 backstroke, swimming 46.35 to finish behind Ng.

Three other men finished 1st and 2nd. Drew Hitchcock won the 200 fly in 1:44.05 and finished 2nd in the 200 IM. Reese Branzell won the 50 at 19.84 and finished 2nd in the 100, and Ruard Van Renen took the win in the 200 back and came in 2nd in the 200 free.

Graduate students Luca Urlando and Jake Magahey got their own chances to shine, both going new personal best times in events they had not swam yet this season. Urlando won the 200 freestyle in 1:32.05, dropping from the 1:33.33 he went back in November of 2020. He also swam the 200 breaststroke for only the 2nd time in his college career, going another new personal best of 1:59.95 to place 5th.

Magahey took the win in the 200 IM, swimming a personal best 1:42.99 for his first time competing the event in the NCAA. This was a drop from the 1:50.35 he went as a junior in high school back in March of 2019. He also swam the 100 back, placing 5th in 47.46, and the 100 fly, swimming 46.94 as an exhibition swimmer. Both of which were new personal bests.

Kristian Pitshugin (100 breast- 53.08), Tomas Koski (100 free- 42.59), and Jackson Bates (200 breast- 1:59.02) rounded out the swimming events for Georgia.

They also took both diving events. Renato Caldero won the 3-Meter in 372.00, and Rhett Hopkins scored 351.83 to take the 1-Meter.

The UNCW men didn’t win any events, but they earned a few top three finishes. Dave Fitch earned the highest finish of the day, coming 2nd in the 100 fly in 48.49. Silas Crosby went 15:49.18 to finish 3rd in the 1000. Jack VanHowe placed 3rd in the 100 back at 47.05 and 3rd in the 200 back, swimming 1:45.19. Joseph Busic went 1:48.05 in the 200 fly for 3rd. Aidan Duffy finished 3rd in the 500, stopping the clock at 4:32.33. Finally, Nathan Jao placed 3rd in the 200 IM, coming in at 1:50.58.

Georgia is back in action January 25th at Tennessee, and UNCW is traveling to NC State to compete on the 31st.