M: No. 9 Georgia 218, South Carolina 76
W: No. 17 South Carolina 157, No. 12 Georgia 141
 
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A series of historic performances from sophomore Drew Hitchcock and freshman Kennedi Dobson powered the University of Georgia swimming and diving teams in a split with South Carolina Wednesday afternoon at the Carolina Natatorium.
 
Fast Facts

• In her collegiate debut, Dobson announced her arrival with a tremendous performance, earning four wins on the afternoon. In the 1,000y freestyle, the Levittown, Pennsylvania native took first with a personal-best time of 9:29.94, becoming the third-fastest performer in program history and posting the seventh-fastest time in program history. Immediately after the 1,000, Dobson placed first with an NCAA-qualifying time of 1:43.40, becoming the No. 10 performer in program history. She earned her third win in the 500y freestyle with a personal-best NCAA cut of 4:36.32, followed by swimming leadoff on the victorious 400y freestyle relay. All three of Dobson’s individual times were Carolina Natatorium pool records.
• Hitchcock earned three individual wins for the second-consecutive meet, headlined by a personal-best NCAA cut of 45.95 in the 100y butterfly, moving into sixth all-time in program history. The Hickory, North Carolina native touched first in the 200y butterfly with an NCAA cut of 1:41.36, followed by a winning 1:44.98 in the 200y IM.
• Junior Tomas Koski posted a trio of wins, led by an NCAA cut of 4:17.91 in the 500y freestyle. Koski also prevailed in the 1,000y freestyle (8:56.95) and 200y freestyle (1:34.55) back-to-back. He later joined teammates Tane Bidois, Luke Sandberg, and Roman Valdez in winning the 400y freestyle relay at 2:54.51.
• Senior Ruard van Renen picked up a pair of victories, with the first coming in the 100y backstroke with an NCAA cut of 45.10, followed by a PB of 43.23 in the 100y freestyle. In the 100y butterfly, van Renen placed second with another NCAA cut of 46.02.
• Senior Ieva Maluka took first in the 200y IM with an NCAA cut of 1:56.90, while also placing second in the 200y butterfly with a time of 1:57.32. In the 100y breaststroke, sophomore Charlotte Headland won with a personal-best time of 1:00.84, followed by a second-place PB of 2:11.43 in the 200y breaststroke.
• Junior Matthew Bray remained unbeaten in diving, as he swept the springboards with Zone-qualifying scores. Bray finished first on 1-meter with a 326.78, followed by a mark of 371.25 on 3-meter.
• For the Georgia men, individual wins were earned by Elliot Woodburn (100y breaststroke), Tane Bidois (50y freestyle), Sam Powe (200y backstroke), and Cale Martter (200y breaststroke). Powe, Woodburn, and Bidois joined van Renen for the victorious 200y medley relay.
• On the women’s side, Marie Landreneau placed first in the 100y freestyle at 49.55, while senior Emma Norton won the 100y butterfly with a time of 53.42. Landreneau swam on both of Georgia’s winning relays, anchoring the 200y medley relay (1:39.18) with Katie Belle Sikes, Headland, and Olivia Della Torre, and swimming third with Dobson, Shea Furse, and Norton on the 400y freestyle relay (3:17.10).

 
Up Next
No. 9/12 Georgia travels to Atlanta for The Dual Meet Invitational, running Oct. 17-18 at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center. The Bulldogs will open up against George Washington on Friday, Oct. 17 at 8:30 a.m., followed by a second meet against Auburn or Minnesota at 3 p.m. The event will conclude with one additional meet against NC State, Army, Florida State, or Georgia Tech on Saturday at a time to be determined.