The past two weekends, Tech was the host for the 2015 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships. The women’s team competed the previous week and finished 11th out of 13 teams. This past weekend, the men’s team finished 6th out of 12 participants, the team’s best performance in the ACC in recent memory.
They finished the ACC championships with 663.5 points and were only 11.5 points away from fifth place Notre Dame.
The team was satisfied with their performance this year in ACC events, and several swimmers had great showings as five school records fell.
Senior Andrew Kosic had a part in every single one of the new school records. Kosic set a new school record in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 fly, 400 medley relay and 400 free relay. Kosic helped Tech get 287 points out of 663 total. He took third in the 50 free with a time of 19.23 seconds, which is the 9th best time in the nation this year.
In the 100 free, he finished second with a time of 42.45, which is the fourth best in NCAA
this year.
Kosic also recorded a fourth place finish in the 100 fly and helped Tech finish high in four relay events, including the 400 free relay where Tech finished third and qualified for the NCAA.
Joining Kosic on the 400 free relay team were freshman Noah Harazk, senior Nico van Duijn and junior Youssef Hammoud. They finished with a time of 2 minutes 52.47 seconds, breaking the school record by over two seconds. They all will compete in the NCAA in that event.
Kosic also earned an A-cut for the NCAA in the 50 free and will swim in the 100 free and should qualify for the 100 fly as well. He was pleased with his and the team’s performance.
“I was very happy with my performances at the ACC Championships. It was also great to see how well the team performed. It was definitely our strongest showing since I have been on the team,” Kosic said. “To prepare for nationals, I will try to fine tune my races and focus on areas of improvement from ACCs. I am looking forward to competing in Iowa and hopefully improving upon my records set at ACCs.”
Hammoud, who is a first year Tech swimmer after transferring from Auburn, finished seventh in the 100 free.
“My goal for NCAA this year is to be top 8 in the 400 Free relay. It is our strongest relay, and I believe we can get faster when we spend more time on our relay exchanges, turns and finishes,” Hammoud said. “We have put the work needed to make it happen, and now it is time to get ready for racing fast against the fastest schools in the nation!”
Harazk has had a very big role on the team as a freshman and is ecstatic about getting the chance to swim at nationals.
“Going to nationals as a freshman is an amazing feeling that I never could have dreamt of a couple years ago. I’m very lucky to be part of Georgia Tech Swim and Dive, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Harzak said.
Currently, Tech ranks 19th according to collegeswimming.com and finished 47th last year at NCAA’s after only recording points in one event last year. Tech should easily surpass that this year if everyone swims the times they did this past weekend.
Next week, Tech hosts the Yellow Jacket Last Chance Meet on March 7 and 8. Tech swimming and diving coach, Courtney Shealy Hart, is hoping to get another individual qualifier and another relay team to make NCAA’s.
Coach Hart was very proud of the team’s performance and how much they have grown over the year. NCAA championships will take place in Iowa City, Iowa, on March 26–28.
As of now, only four swimmers have qualified for the NCAA, and the rest of the hopefuls from the men’s and women’s swimming teams are preparing for an important weekend.