Yellow Jackets Dominate Day One with 12 Victories Against Duke in Swimming & Diving Showdown!

THE FLATS – Tech swimming and diving concluded the first day of its dual matchup against ACC rival Duke with 12 event victories, including multiple event triumphs from senior Berke Saka and sophomore Max Fowler.

At the end of day one, the Tech men’s team leads Duke 160-45, while the Tech women’s team trails 70-113 against Duke.

Saka maintained his impressive senior season by winning two events, finishing first in the 100 back (47.09) and the 200 IM (1:45.20).

On the diving boards, Fowler continued his success on Friday, securing victory in the platform event with a score of 346.35, and also clinching the 1-meter event with a 354.68.

In the relays, the Tech women secured second place in the 400 freestyle, with the quartet of Anna Hadjiloizou, Nina Stanisavljevic, Sophie Murphy, and Jillian Ferrari recording a time of 3:17.35. The Tech men took first place in the men’s 400 free, with Leandro Odorici, Robin Yeboah, Berke Saka, and David Gapinski finishing in 2:53.84. Tech also achieved second place in this event.

The Tech men’s team also accomplished a one-two finish in the 200 medley relay, where the squad of Saka, Uros Zivanovic, Odorici, and Gapinski claimed top honors (1:26.40), while Chris Richardson, Joao Caballero, Stephen Jones, and Yeboah secured second place (1:28.10). The women placed second in their 200 medley relay, as Vivien Rothwell, Sabyne Brisson, Zora Ripkova, and Hadjiloizou recorded a time of 1:38.74.

The first individual event victory of the day was achieved by veteran distance swimmer Mert Kilavuz, who won the 1650 free with a time of 15:16.46. This event marked the initial podium sweep for Tech, with Lukas Vetkoetter finishing second (15:22.57), and Charles Perks grabbing third (15:33.79).

Following Saka in the 100 back, Chris Richardson secured second place (48.19), while Cade Martin claimed third (48.73). The subsequent podium sweep occurred in the 100 breast, where freshman Zivanovic earned the second victory of his career (53:21), with Caballero finishing second (54:09) and Odorici in third (54.46).

Senior Antonio Romero triumphed in the 200 fly (1:46.58), leading Tech’s fourth podium sweep, this time in men’s 50 free, where Yeboah finished first (20.05), followed closely by Odorici (20.17) and Gapinski (20.40).

Another one-two-three finish was achieved by the Yellow Jackets in the women’s 200 free, where senior Sophie Murphy spearheaded the group with a time of 1:46.57, followed by Phoebe Wright in second (1:47.60) and Zara Masud in third (1:48.53).

Tech’s sixth and final podium sweep took place in the men’s 200 free, where the trio of Vitor Sega (1^st, 1:37.09), Chris Richardson (2^nd, 1:37.57), and Ricky Balduccini (3^rd, 1:38.62) led the field.

Tech will conclude their home schedule on Saturday at 11 a.m., with Senior Day festivities commencing at 10:30 a.m.

Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising campaign aimed at realizing Georgia Tech athletics’ ambition of competing for championships at the highest echelons in the upcoming era of intercollegiate athletics. This initiative will finance transformative endeavors for Tech athletics, encompassing renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic venue for Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the training and practice facility for Tech basketball), and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the cherished home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as further projects and efforts to advance Georgia Tech athletics through program-wide operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are encouraged to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for complete details and visuals of the renovation projects, in addition to learning about opportunities to contribute online.

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