ATLANTA, Ga. – The No.15/RV Florida State swimming and diving teams defeated ACC foe No. 19/NR Georgia Tech on the road on Saturday at the McAuley Aquatics Center. Both meets were close contests, as the 15th-ranked men (2-0, 1-0 ACC) edged No. 19 GT 150-148 and the RV women (1-1, 1-0 ACC) prevailed 159-141. “It’s great to get two wins on the road,” FSU head coach Neal Studd said. “It’s always tougher when you travel and we’re really excited about how they fought after a really hard week of work, “It was a team effort from top to bottom,” Studd added. “When Georgia Tech won an event, we went two, three, four, which is great.” In the 42 meetings in the series, the two-point win for the men’s team was the closest in program history over the Yellow Jackets. FSU won six events on the day, but it was the depth in five races where the Noles placed second, third and fourth that secured the victory. The men’s team started off with a win in the 200 medley relay behind the team of Mason Herbet, Izaak Bastian, Max McCusker and Jakub Ksiazek with a time of 1:27.89 Georgia Tech won the 1000 free and 200 free but FSU grabbed second, third and fourth place in both races, limiting the Yellow Jackets to gain two points on the Noles in the team scores. Herbet took gold in the 100 back (47.81) and but Georgia Tech answered with wins in the 100 breast and 200 fly. But a two-three-four showing in the 200 fly, led by Zach Smith in second (1:49.41), followed by Brennan Hammond in third (1:50.41) and Rush Clark in fourth (1:52.65), kept FSU in front. The sprinters added to the lead by sweeping the 50 free, led by Varjasi in first (20.26), Jakub Ksiazek in second (20.63) and Domen Demsar in third (20.81). On the boards, the divers picked up a big one-two, dominating finish on 3-meter, led by Jesco Helling in first (360.30) and Darwin Nolasco (341.33) in second. Varjasi added another win in the 100 free out of the break, touching with a time of 44.49. Georgia Tech won the 200 back, but FSU’s depth secured second, third and fourth, however the Yellow Jackets gained ground with a win the 200 breast and a one-two finish in the 500 free. McCusker led the two, three, four charge in the 100 fly, touching with a time of 47.71, just ahead Demsar in third (49.75) and Clark in fourth (49.78). Helling came up big on 1-meter, winning the event 37.13 points and Nolasco added valuable third place points (262.58). “It was a really good team effort today,” FSU head diving coach John Proctor said. “Our guys are really banged up. Darwin battled through his injuries and did a 1-meter list when we didn’t think he could even compete and that was the difference today. Jesco really stepped up.” “I was really excited for our divers today,” Studd added. “They did awesome. Darwin persevered through an injury and scored huge points for the team. That’s what it’s all about.” Off the break, Georgia Tech answered with a big one-two finish in the 200 IM, putting the pressure on the Noles in the final event. Needing both relays to contribute points, the Seminoles sealed the win by taking second and third place in the 400 free relay. The team of Adrian Aguilar, McCusker, Ksiazek and Varjasi took second with a time of 2:59.17. Demsar dropped a big anchor-leg for the Noles, helping FSU ‘B’ team of Blake Moran, Aziz Ghaffari and Clark to a third-place finish over Georgia Tech’s ‘B’ team (3:02.75) with a time of 3:02.29, sealing the win for the Noles. The women’s team won eight of the 16 events, including two sweeps and two one-two finishes. Florida State’s ‘B’ 200 medley relay took the win behind Maddie McDonald, Maddy Huggins, Aryanna Fernandes and Zsofia Kurdi with a time of 1:42.74 after FSU’s and GT’s top teams were disqualified for early relay exchanges. The Seminoles followed with a sweep of the 1000 free, led by Ginevra Molino with a time of 10:19.01. Ella Dyjak (10:20.85) followed just behind in second place and Emily Trieschmann placed third (10:27.11). Georgia Tech answered with a victory in the 200 free, but the Seminoles had the top four times in the 100 back, led by McDonald in first (55.94), Tania Quaglieri in second (55.96), Jaden Herbet in third (57.09) and Pia Murray in fourth (57.41). Nina Kucheran picked up her first of three victories on the day in the 100 breast, touching with a time of 1:01.44. However, the Yellow Jackets gained ground by winning the next five events. The Noles stopped the streak with a one-two finish in the 200 back, led by Murray in first (2:00.84) followed by McDonald in second (2:01.25). Kucheran won the 200 breast by nearly four seconds, touching with a time of 2:12.71. Georgia Tech won the 500 free, but rookie Edith Jernstedt touched first in the 100 fly at 54.16. After the break, Kucheran (2:02.78) and Jernstedt (2:04.17) placed first and second in the 200 IM, sealing the win. On the board, the Noles were led by Samantha Vear, who finished second on 1-meter with a score of 286.05 and third on 3-meter at 308.10. Freshman Victoria Cervantes added fourth place points on both 1-meter (267.98) and 3-meter (300.30). “The ladies did really well today too,” Proctor added. “We got some zone scores and that was one of our goals today.” The Seminoles will return to the Morcom Aquatics Center on Oct. 29 to welcome Florida Southern, West Florida and North Florida in the annual ‘Paint it Pink’ meet. The teams will also be participating in the mental health awareness initiative on Saturday. For more information, visit Facebook (FSUSwimmingDiving), Twitter (@FSU_Swimming) and Instagram (@fsuswimdive). -30-