Utes Swim and Dive Swim to Victory in Georgia
November 25, 2019
The men’s and women’s swim and dive teams for the University of Utah headed to the south this weekend to compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational. This was the first time the swim teams had been in action since the beginning of November. Diving had seen more action recently, fresh off of the Trojan Diving Invitational in Los Angeles.
The first day in Atlanta, the Utah men ended the day in third place and the women were eighth. While the both teams fared well, several standout performances propelled the men to the third seed.
In the 500 free, senior Rahiti De Vos placed fourth with a time of 4:21.06, a B time standard for the 2020 NCAA Division I Championships. Sophomore Tyler Klawiter saw himself zoom into the record books in the 500 free with a 4.23.67. Klawiter now holds the sixth fastest time in Utah history. Accompanying Klawiter in the B finals were Cole Giandinoto, Robert King and Brody Lewis.
The Utah men saw more success throughout the day in the 50 free. Sophomore Cooper Deryk in added his name to the record books with a time of 19.72 — placing him eighth all time in the 50 free. DeRykn was accompanied by teammate Liam O’Haimhirgin — final time of 19.91 — in the A final, both achieving B time standards for the Division I Championships. The men rounded out the night with a fourth place finish in the 400 medley relay.
Tony Chen led the men on the diving boards, ending with an overall ranking of second in the 3m (365.25). Lizzy DeCecco led the women, placing fourth in the 1m diving board.
The women’s 400 medley relay finished fifth overall with a respectable time of 3:41.21. Junior Sara McClendon took 10th in the women’s 500 free, boasting the best time for the Utes with a 4:52.71. The history books continued to be filled when Charity Pittard swam a 2:01.28 in the 200 IM, placing her eighth all time.
Utah continued to show strength throughout the rest of the meet. On their final day in Atlanta, Utah made sure to leave a statement. The best results for the Utes came in the form of the men’s swim and diving team. Finishing second overall, the men had strong performances throughout the weekend. O’Haimhirgin, keeping in line with his great performances throughout the competition, won the 100 free with a final time of 42.72.
While O’Haimhirgin showed up and shined out for the men the women had Pittard to boast about. Pittard ended fifth in the 200 breast. In her pursuits, Pittard ended up swimming the second fastest time in Utah history for her event with a time of 2:12.37
Georgia proved to be quite successful for the Utes this weekend. Between several standout performances, strong relays and overall great performances, Utah made the most of their time in Atlanta. The next event for the Utes will be in Salt Lake City for the Utah Diving Tournament. This will be held on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m.
