Courtesy: Georgia Athletics
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia swimming and diving teams return to competition this Saturday with a trip to longtime rival South Carolina.
The meet begins Saturday at 11 a.m. at Carolina Natatorium. Results are expected to be available to paid subscribers on the MeetMobile app. Diving results will be available on DiveMeets.com. The meet will not be streamed.
For the Bulldogs and Gamecocks, this is the 51st all-time meeting between the men’s programs with Georgia holding a 33-17 record. On the women’s side, this is the 36th matchup, with Georgia leading the series at 32-3. Last season, Georgia swept South Carolina in both meets, 175-114 (men’s) and 167-125 (women’s), on Oct. 23, 2021, in Athens.
The ninth-ranked Georgia women (5-2, 1-2 SEC) look to rebound from a 166-134 dual meet loss at Kentucky on Dec. 19. Sophomore Eboni McCarty concluded her impressive fall with a sweep of the sprints, winning the 50 freestyle at 23.03 and the 100 freestyle at 50.29. McCarty also anchored the winning 200 medley relay (1:40.33), finishing the race with a 22.69 split to join teammates Marie Schobel, Zoie Hartman, and Callie Dickinson in victory.
Hartman also earned a pair of wins, finishing first in the 100 breaststroke with a B-cut of 1:01.26 before earning another provisional cut of 1:58.76 in the 200 IM. Hartman also finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:12.62. Georgia earned two additional victories on the day with sophomore Abby McCulloh winning the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 9:52.15 and junior Meghan Wenzel taking the 1-meter at 301.65 for her sixth win of the season. At last week’s Georgia Diving Invitational, Wenzel took second in the platform event.
In a 185-108 win, the 10th-ranked Georgia men (6-1, 3-0 SEC) were headlined by Lexington native Zach Hils, who won three events (200 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 IM) en route to an eventual 13 victories. Fellow senior Ian Grum swept the backstroke events and graduate Andrew Abruzzo earned a pair of comeback wins in the 200 butterfly and 500 freestyle. Another veteran, senior Dillon Downing, won the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.29. Downing and Grum joined sophomores Arie Voloschin and Peter Sacca to claim the opening 200 medley relay at 1:29.37.
Voloschin earned his first collegiate win in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 56.48, while fellow sophomore Jackson Bates also broke into the win column for the first time at 2:01.20. Junior Zach Franklin picked up his first victory of the season in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.06. In diving, sophomore Nolan Lewis picked up three top-10 finishes at last week’s Invite, while sophomore transfer Allen Mann placed sixth on platform.
Following the South Carolina meet, Georgia remains on the road to face Tennessee next Saturday in Knoxville at 11 a.m.
For all news and updates about Georgia swimming and diving, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@UGASwimDive), Instagram (@ugaswimdive), and Facebook (UGA Swimming and Diving).
