One would assume by looking at their similar records that last Friday's meet between Georgia Tech and Duke would resemble a dog fight.
On the women's side, Georgia Tech (4-4, 1-2 in the ACC) emerged victorious over the Blue Devils (6-5, 0-4) 134-109 in what was indeed a tight competition. The men's team (2-7, 0-4) fell to the male Yellow Jackets (3-5, 1-2) by a larger deficit than the women, 145-86.
Despite suffering defeat, the women's team made a strong showing, winning five total events.
"We were really excited about the meet because we knew that it was going to be close and that we matched up well against them," said freshman Katie Ness, who posted first-place finishes in both the 200 freestyle (1:54.71) and the 200 backstroke (2:04.02). "We were upset that we didn't win, but we thought we swam well."
The junior class also stepped up for the Blue Devils, as Amy Halligan captured victory in the 200 individual medley (2:08.74), and Lauren Cornet earned a win in the 200 breaststroke in 2:21.63. However, Georgia Tech's five individual wins, including a pair each from sophomores Lisa Hancock and Moeko Wallis, were too much for the Blue Devils in the end. Hancock won both the 500 and 1,000 freestyle events, while Wallis garnered first place in the 50 and 100 freestyle events.
The Duke women will have a chance to avenge their loss to the Yellow Jackets when the two squads reconvene on February 20 to face off in the ACC meet.
"We feel like we're a better team than [Georgia Tech]," said Cornet. "I guess we'll find that out when we get to the ACC's."
The Georgia Tech men's team capitalized on solid diving performances, including Paul McCarty's score of 349.8 on the three-meter board and senior All-American Shilo Ayalon's victory in the 200 freestyle (1:43.5) and the 500 freestyle (4:39.37). With four other Yellow Jacket swimmers netting first place marks and a handful of others acquiring top-3 places, Georgia Tech was able to pull away from the Blue Devils.
The Duke men did garner three events, however, including one from sophomore John Humphrey, whose 1:54.69 was good enough to earn him the top spot in the 200 individual medley.
"I was really happy because Georgia Tech is a really strong team," Humphrey said. "Any time you can race like I did against them is good for your confidence."
Ted Helfers, Ben Rowland and Drew Dinsick each came away with improved times against the Yellow Jackets. Dinsick, a senior captain, decreased his time in the 1,000 freestyle by five seconds (10:05.67) and expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance against the Yellow Jackets, who entered Friday's meet as the heavy favorite.
"We did a great job competing against them," he said. "They're a stronger team than us and I thought we gave them a really good fight."
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