GEORGIA TECH V. AUBURN
- January 8, 2020
- Atlanta, GA (Georgia Tech)
- Results
The Auburn women and Georgia Tech prevailed in a dual meet today, hosted by the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta.
WOMEN’S MEET
- SCORE – Auburn 178, Georgia Tech 81
Auburn trampled Georgia Tech today, winning almost every event, propelled by key performances from their first-year class.
Freshmen Emma Steckiel and Meghan Lee stepped up with two wins apiece. Steckiel swept the sprint frees, hitting a 23.54 in the 50 and a 50.59 in the 100, and Lee took the backstrokes (55.54/1:58.44). For Steckiel, that time in the 100 was just .60 off of her lifetime best.
Another freshman, Brynn Curtis, earned a win in the 200 breast (2:14.94), while Tiger senior Carly Cummings nabbed the 100 breast (1:01.83). Hannah Ownbey‘s win in the 1000 (10:12.24) made her one of four Auburn freshman women to grab a win today.
Auburn went 1-2 in the medley relay, as GT’s ‘A’ relay was DQ’d, and freshman Abigail Gibbons had a standout 23.88 fly leg. Other winners for the Tigers included junior Emily Hetzer in the 200 free (1:49.41) and 500 free (4:51.37), senior Jewels Harris in the 100 fly (54.71) and Cummings back to take the 200 IM (2:01.85).
The GT women did snag a victory, though, as sophomore McKenzie Campbell clocked a 2:01.11 to take the 200 fly by over a second.
Auburn closed the meet going 1-2 in the 200 free relay. Notably, top sprinter AJ Kutsch did not race today for Auburn, though her presence wouldn’t have changed the meet’s outcome.
MEN’S MEET
- SCORE – Auburn 145, Georgia Tech 117
Despite an opening relay loss, the Auburn men piled on big in events they won and pushed ahead of Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jacket men got off to a winning start, going 1:28.37 in the 200 medley relay, over a second ahead of Auburn. Junior Kyle Barone (22.29) and senior Caio Pumputis (24.32) were the big movers, out-splitting Auburn’s front-half by considerable margins. Christian Ferraro was 21.40 on the fly leg, where Auburn had Nik Eberly (21.52), and despite Auburn’s Matthew Yish out-splitting GT anchor Justin Alderson, 20.10 to 20.36, GT took the race with ease.
Pumputis would prove a worthy weapon for the Yellow Jackets individually, winning the 100 breast by over a second (54.01) ahead of Auburn freshmen Reid Mikuta (55.11) and Alejandro Flores (56.03). Coming off of his big medley lead-off, Barone also followed up with a second-plus win in the 100 back (48.11).
In the 200 breast, Pumputis threw down a commanding victory, posting a 1:57.71 as the only finisher under 2:00 today. He wrapped up a big day with a win in the 200 IM, going 1:48.40.
GT freshman Batur Unlu had two standout swims, nabbing wins in the 200 free (1:36.97) and 100 free (44.59). Unlu was in his native Turkey over the winter break, where he set national records in the 200 free in LCM and SCM and the 400 free in SCM, as well as the 4×200 free relay in SCM.
Apart from Unlu’s sprint victories, Auburn made moves in the other freestyle events. In the 1000 free, freshman Michael Bonson went 9:19.72 to lead a 1-2-3-4 sweep, while Eberly was 20.44 as Auburn went 1-2-3 in the 50 free. Bonson later denied Unlu a third win in the 500 free, posting a 4:26.99 ahead of Unlu’s 4:32.53. The two were pretty close through 350 yards, but Bonson pulled ahead over the last minute plus as Unlu faded.
Auburn added another win in the 200 back, with sophomore Lleyton Smith going under 1:50 with a 1:49.89.
Ferraro was another bright spot for GT, clocking wins in the 100 fly (48.03) and 200 fly (1:47.09). To end the meet, the Yellow Jackets just pulled off the 200 free relay win, 1:21.61 to 1:21.70.
AJ Kutsch did not compete because she quit.
I guess they should think of rolling Toomers since where did half the women’s roster go? Where are their power houses Abbey Webb, Anna Julia, Zoey? Actually where is 1/2 their roster from last year online?