UGA Swimming and Diving: Bulldogs Earn Pair of Bronzes on First Day of SECs

AUBURN, Ala. – With a pair of bronze medals in the 800 freestyle relay, University of Georgia swimming and diving posted a solid opening day Tuesday at the 2020 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center.

The men’s 800 squad of senior Walker Higgins, freshman Harry Homans, junior Grant Norgan and freshman Zach Hils turned in an A-cut time of 6:16.64 in third place, slotting them fourth all-time in school history. Higgins’ opening 200-yard split of 1:33.45 gave him a new personal best and now ranks him second in school history.

Earlier in the women’s 800 free relay, junior Courtney Harnish, senior Jordan Stout, sophomore Dakota Luther and freshman Zoie Hartman also placed third with a season-best A-cut time of 6:59.14. In the opening leg, Harnish posted a season-best 200 split of 1:44.23, while Hartman helped place the Lady Bulldogs on the podium with a furious final split of 1:42.25.

The evening session opened with a pair of top-10 200 medley relays from the Bulldogs. The women’s team of junior Gabi Fa’amausili, Hartman, Luther and senior Veronica Burchill notched a season-best B-cut time of 1:36.79, the eighth-best time in program history. In the men’s 200 medley, freshman Ian Grum, juniors Jack Dalmolin and Camden Murphy, and freshman Dillon Downing placed eighth with a mark of 1:25.19, also giving them the No. 8 time in the all-time school standings.

In the diving prelims, sophomore Ellie Crump posted Georgia’s top mark in the women’s 1-meter springboard, scoring with a tally of 246.20 in 17th place, followed by seniors Freida Lim (25th – 238.15) and McKensi Austin (28th – 230.95). On the men’s 3-meter, juniors Josh Getty (23rd – 256.85) and Zach Allen (24th – 249.15) both scored for the Bulldogs.

Following the first day of competition, the Lady Bulldogs sit in seventh place with 111 points, while the Bulldog men are 10th at 101 points.

The SEC Championships continue Wednesday with the first set of swimming prelims beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST, followed by men’s 1-meter diving prelims at noon. The night session will include finals in the 50 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 200 freestyle relay and men’s 1-meter, starting at 6:30 p.m. Harnish carries the top seed into the 500 free, while Hartman leads the pack in the 200 IM. Wednesday’s meet will be broadcast on SEC Network + with live results available on AuburnTigers.com and the MeetMobile app.

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

STANDINGS
Men’s
1. Texas A&M, 178
2. Tennessee, 160
3. Kentucky, 149
4. Auburn, 147
5. Florida, 138
6. Missouri, 131
7. LSU, 119
8. South Carolina, 109
9. Alabama, 106
10. Georgia, 101

Women’s
1. Florida, 166
2. Texas A&M, 163
3. Tennessee, 159
4. Kentucky, 150
5. Auburn, 144
6. LSU, 117
7. Georgia, 111
T8. Alabama, 104
T8. South Carolina, 104
10. Missouri, 95
11. Arkansas, 89
12. Vanderbilt, 60

RESULTS
Women’s 1-meter Diving
Gold: Alison Maillard, Auburn
Silver: Aimee Wilson, LSU
Bronze: Grace Cable, Tennessee

Women’s 200 Medley Relay
Gold: Tennessee
Silver: Missouri
Bronze: Florida

Men’s 200 Medley Relay
Gold: Texas A&M
Silver: Tennessee
Bronze: Florida

Men’s 3-meter Diving
Gold: Kurtis Mathews, Texas A&M
Silver: Danny Zhang, Kentucky
Bronze: Matt Wade, Tennessee

Women’s 800 Freestyle Relay
Gold: Tennessee
Silver: Kentucky
Bronze: Georgia

Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay
Gold: Florida
Silver: Texas A&M
Bronze: Georgia