Sept. 24, 2014
The Vanderbilt swimming team opened its 2014-15 season in grand style, at the home of current NCAA champion, the Georgia Bulldogs. The ‘Dores come off a season where they broke 15 school records and look to continue their success this season.
The Commodores fell to Georgia, 153-94 Wednesday. A sizeable number of Vandy’s points came from the freshmen and sophomores on the roster. The win was UGA’s 90th consecutive win at home. UGA, the current SEC champs, are 91-1 all-time at Gabrielsen Natatorium in dual/tri meets dating back to 1995.
“It was great to get in some racing, even better when it’s the defending national champions,” said Vanderbilt head coach Jeremy Organ. “We had a pretty good day, it was good to see the freshmen respond well to their first meet situation. I think they handled it very well.”
After not finishing higher than fourth in their first six events, it was freshman Madeline Hunt who raced her way into third place in the 50 freestyle. Hunt came in with a time of 24.72, ousting UGA sophomore Kimberlee John-Williams from a top three finish.
Vanderbilt took an additional top-three finish in the 200 breaststroke, thanks to the work of another freshman Commodore, Kara Lucenti. Lucenti swam a time of 2:23.94, outracing Bulldog junior Brittany MacLean.
Junior, Hannah Martin, came in third place in the 100 freestyle, missing second place by .02. Senior Chrissy Oberg, who broke two school records last season, rounded out the top three finishes, placing in the 200 backstroke.
The Commodores hop back in the pool at home on October 10 as Vanderbilt plays host to Campbell, San Diego State, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
