MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin continued its strong start to the season in the freestyle events, garnering four wins Friday during the first day of competition in a dual meet at Georgia. 
 
Halfway through the two-day competition, the Georgia women lead 116-70 while the Bulldogs men also hold a 130-56 advantage over the Badgers. 
 
Senior Matt Hutchins notched Wisconsin's first win of the day, winning the men's 1,000-yard freestyle in 9 minutes, 6.23 seconds, a time that ranks fifth in the nation.
 
Sophomore Cierra Runge saw similar success in the women's 1,000 free, also notching the fifth-fastest time in the country in the event, touching the wall in 9:48.78 to earn runner-up honors. 
 
Senior sprint freestyle specialists Chase Kinney and Cannon Clifton kept the momentum going for UW, sweeping the 50-yard freestyle events.
 
Kinney, who is undefeated in the event this season, won in 22.75, out-touching the Bulldogs' Chantal Van Landeghem, who won a bronze medal at the Olympics with Team Canada. 
 
Clifton completed the sweep for the Badgers, earning the victory in 20.15, nearly a half-second faster than Georgia's second-place finisher, Chris Powell. 
 
Wisconsin's women's 200-yard free relay team ended the day on a high note, with the team of Kinney, Emmy Sehmann, Jess Unicomb and Marissa Berg claiming victory with a blistering time of 1:30.80 that ranks third nationally.
 
The men's 200 free relay team also ended its day strong with a runner-up finish. Clifton, Ryan Stack, Kevin Braun and Brett Pinfold posted a season-best time of 1:21.34, which is tied for the 11th-fastest time in the country. 
 
The Badgers also saw top-three finishes in a variety of other events, including the 400-yard medley relay.
 
The men's team of Pinfold, Griffin Back, Harrison Tran and Clifton took second in 3:17.41 while the women's team of Beata Nelson, Maria Carlson, Dana Grindall and Kinney took third in 3:42.72.
 
Runge notched her second runner-up finish of the day in the 200 free, finishing in 1:48.56 while Sehmann was right behind to take third in 1:48.60.
 
In the 100 back, Unicomb was second in 54.59 after a neck-and-neck race with Olympic gold medalist Olivia Smoliga of Georgia. Junior Todd McCarthy placed third in the men's race with a time of 49.82.
 
The Badgers went 2-3 in the women's 100 breaststroke, with Berg earning runner-up honors (1:03.67) and Carlson finishing third (1:04.74).
 
Grindall and Tran each placed third in their respective 200 butterfly races, with Grindall notching a time of 2:00.35 and Tran clocking in at 1:48.10.
 
Freshmen Back and Cooper Hodge also stood out for Wisconsin, swimming to a pair of third-place finishes. Back earned a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (57.74) while Hodge took third in the 400 IM (3:58.80).
 
On the diving boards, sophomore Andrew Pearce led UW to a 2-3 finish on the 1-meter springboard.
 
Pearce took second with a total of 309.98 points, followed by freshman Kevin Pomeroy, who placed third with a score of 300.98.
 
Sophomore Hazel Hertting was the top finisher for UW on the 3-meter board, taking third with 280.95 points. 
 
Day two of competition in Athens begins Saturday at 9 a.m. (CT) with the 400-yard medley relay.