Once again, there was a World Cup stop to watch last week. But, there was plenty of action in the college swimming world, highlighted by Georgia Tech’s Dual Meet Tournament, the first of several competitions like these we’ll see throughout the season. There was also a bevy of records broken this week and several complete dual meet sweeps.
Georgia Tech Dual Meet Tournament Recap
The biggest meet in college swimming this weekend was the Georgia Tech Dual Meet Tournament.
NC State beat Georgia 443-314 for the inaugural title. The Wolfpack women were the key players in the victory, as their 287 points to the Bulldog women’s 99 helped offset the Georgia men winning their side of the meet 216-56.
Freshman Eneli Jefimova swam 2:07.38 in the 200 breaststroke to take over the top time in the nation, while the sophomore pair of Erika Pelaez and Leah Shackley won the 100 backstroke (51.41) and 200 butterfly (1:55.68), both recording top-10 times in the NCAA this season.
The Georgia women’s lone event win came courtesy of Kennedi Dobson, who is quickly making a name for herself in her first collegiate season. After setting lifetime bests earlier this month in the 100/200 freestyle (48.75/1:43.40), she lowered her personal best in the 500 freestyle last weekend. She swam 4:33.61, a new nation-leading time, dropping from the 4:36.81 previous lifetime best she swam her senior year of high school.
On the men’s side, NCAA record holder Luca Urlando made his presence known after missing an early season dual meet. The Olympian and reigning 200 butterfly world champion notched the Georgia men’s first win of the meet with a 1:38.47 200 fly. It was his first time swimming the event this season, and he was about a half-second faster than the 1:39.03 he posted this weekend last year.
Junior Tomas Koski swam 4:13.85 in the 500 freestyle, putting him second in the league behind Zalan Sarkany. Meanwhile, Kaii Winkler swam a lifetime best in the 100 freestyle leading off the Wolfpack’s 400 freestyle relay. He dropped a 41.38, cutting a hundredth from his previous personal best, swum in February 2022.
Final Results:
- NC State
- Georgia
- Auburn
- Florida State
- Minnesota
- Georgia Tech
- George Washington
Related:
- Championship Meet Recap (NC State vs. Georgia)
- Third Place Meet Recap (Auburn vs. Florida State)
- Fifth (Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech) and Seventh (GWU vs. Army) Meet Recaps
Duke Women Stop Early Season Skid
The Duke women came out on top in an early season clash against their rivals, UNC, winning against the Tar Heels for the first time since 2019. It was an impressive win for that fact alone, but also because it stopped a four-meet losing streak for the Blue Devils. Upperclassmen Kaelyn Gridley, Tatum Wall, and Ali Pfaff led the Blue Devils, each winning two events and contributing to at least one of the team’s two relay victories.
The meet was a close one, with Duke scoring 158 points to beat UNC by 16 points. The Tar Heels had an excellent season last year, rewriting their record books. After Duke won the opening relay, the Tar Heels took the momentum back with back-to-back wins in the 1000 freestyle (Lily Reader, 9:53.19) and 200 freestyle (Maren Conze, 1:47.64). Pfaff got Duke back in the win column with a 51.50 100 backstroke win and the Blue Devils took that momentum boost and ran with it.
Sweeps Week
There were multiple meets this week where the winning team put together a complete effort, winning every single event on offer at the meet. Perhaps the most dominant performance of the weekend came from the Lehigh women, who swept all 16 events in their two dual meets. First, the team cruised past West Chester, 176-67 on Friday. Then, they did the same against Rider on Saturday, winning 237-58.
No less impressive though were the Fordham men and women, who combined for 30 event wins as they put together a clean sweep of the Manhattan Jaspers. Karina Kanary and Saksia Aikman both won two events on the women’s side, while Quinn MacPahil, Max Maycher, and Marco Petit did the same on the men’s side. The Indian River State men and women matched Fordham’s performance during their sweep of St. Thomas, as eight women and nine men earned event wins. There were some interesting doubles for the Indian River State swimmers, notably, Marie Kopacova won the 1650 freestyle and the 200 backstroke, while Khloe de Santana won the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle.
Record Recap
- TCU freshman Avery Dillon set a school record for the Horned Frogs during the team’s uniquely formatted dual meet against Texas A&M (after the 200 medley relay, the order events was decided by drawing event names out of a hat). In the first individual event of the meet—the 1000 freestyle—Dillon clocked a 9:55.56 school record, also improving on her former lifetime best of 10:00.24. Outside of Dillon’s wins in the 500/1000 freestyle, the Aggies dominated the meet and went on to win 221-74.
- Victoria Novinskiy set two University of Delaware program records during the team’s dominant victory over West Virginia University. She rewrote both individual butterfly records, popping a 52.55 in the 100 butterfly and a 1:55.31 in the 200 butterfly. Meanwhile, in the 1000 freestyle, Elisa Spera broke the team’s freshman record with a 10:00.16.
- Two pool records highlighted Saint Francis’ win over Millersville. Maura Rubio set a pool record in the 100 backstroke on her way to a sweep of the individual backstroke events, swimming a 58.40. Then, Taylor Weth, Rubio’s teammate on the winning 200 medley relay, swam a 1:06.87 100 breaststroke pool record.
- UNH senior Audrey Mahoney set a pool record at the Forbush Natatorium on Saturday, swimming a 23.52 50 freestyle. UNH went on to beat Vermont 167-133 in their season-opener. She nearly cracked the 100 freestyle pool record as well with a 51.00 for the win.
- The Bryant women broke seven pool record as they beat Binghampton. Amanda Witkus played a role in three of those records. She set records in the 200 butterfly (2:00.43), 200 IM (2:05.77) and swam on the record-breaking 200 medley relay. Ruby Tonelli, Witkus’ teammate on that relay, set a pool record in the 100 butterfly (54.23), while Katherine Bailey broke the final individual pool record on the day in the 500 freestlye (4:59.20). Bryant’s final two pool records came in the 400 medley and 200 freestyle relay.
Quick Hits
- The Bowling Green women logged their first conference win in a dual meet since 2022 last weekend. The Falcons 131-112 win over Miami (OH) was a considerable upset, as the RedHawks were predicted to finish second in the MAC preseason poll. “Today was electric,” said head coach Tanner Barton. “The ladies believed in themselves and defended our home pool.”
- Ariana Pasquella led the University of Rochester (D3) to an upset over Division I foes Canisius and Siena over the weekend. She was responsible for two of the team’s six first places finishes, winning the 100 and 200 breaststroke (1:06.13/2:23.65).
- The dual meet between the San Jose State and UC Davis women came down to the wire on October 18. Heading into the meet’s final event, the 400 freestyle relay, the teams were tied at 138 points apiece. Lais e Silva, Nikki Lahey, Kiera Vail, and Dalton Sickon won the race in 3:26.38, giving San Jose State the overall victory.
- Duquesne won another tight overall battle this weekend, edging out Richmond 151-148 in the Spiders’ home pool. Duquesne’s diving team proved to be a crucial part of the victory, as the divers swept the one-meter and three-meter boards.
