Results

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin coach Whitney Hite had a lot to be excited about prior to Thursday's home opener for his Badgers vs. Georgia.
 
Hite, who began his coaching career at Georgia 20 years ago, was excited to get the Bulldogs in the Badgers' home pool.
 
"We've gone down there a couple of times, and I have a special relationship with their coaching staff," Hite said. "It's where I started my coaching career and it holds a special place in my life."
 
Georgia, with its eighth-ranked men's and fourth-ranked women's team, has been a powerhouse in college swimming for decades. "It was nice to get them up here," Hite said.
 
However, hosting Georgia for the first time was not the only thing Hite could take away from the dual meet inside the UW Natatorium. A number of Badgers had outstanding meets.
 
Sophomore Beata Nelson continued her outstanding start by setting a UW Natatorium record in the 200-yard backstroke — something she has been doing since her high school days at nearby Verona.
 
Emmy Sehmann had a day, netting wins in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 free, and taking part in two winning relay squads.
 
"I have never been super competitive in dual meets, but it's been very fun to be able to step up for the team and get my hand on the wall first," Sehmann said.
 
On the men's side, Tyler Zelen earned his first win as a Badger in the 50-yard freestyle, sprinting to a time of 20.89.
 
"That was a lot of fun," said Zelen, a transfer from North Dakota. "I feel accomplished, like I'm hitting my stride here."
 
Freshman Matt Novinski followed up his coming-out party from last week's opener with Auburn and Tennessee by turning in another stellar meet.
 
"I definitely wanted to make an impact as soon as I got here," Novinski said. "That's always been the goal."
 
Novinski swam the 200 backstroke neck and neck with Georgia's Jay Litherland, a 2016 Olympic qualifier. "To be able to compete with a guy like that, like I did today, was pretty cool," he said.
 
Despite a number of individual successes, the Bulldogs emerged with a sweep of UW. The Georgia women won, 183-117, and the men's team claimed victory by a margin of 168-127.
 
"Certainly, our goal was to win the meet, which was cut a little bit short, but it's all about competing," Hite said. "I think we did a really great job of competing today, and we're looking forward to more competition against NC State."
 
Notable
• The women's 200 medley relay squad of Jess Unicomb, Marissa Berg, Nelson and Sehmann started off the meet with a win in 1:40.41.
 
• The men's squad of Stack, Anthony Lyons, Novinski and Griffin Back wrapped up the meet with a win in the 400 free relay (3:00.61).
 
• Andrew Pearce broke the UW Natatorium record in men's 1-meter diving with a winning score of 348.15.
 
• Nelson won the women's 200 backstroke (a pool-record 1:54.28), the 200 IM (1:59.64) and finished second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:00.17.
 
• Sehmann scored wins for the Badgers in the women's 50 freestyle, clocking in at 23.10, and the 100 free (50.24). She also took third in the 200 free in 1:49.69.
 
• Senior Ryan Stack scored a win in the 100 free in 44.99.
 
• Abby Jagdfeld swam the women's 200 free in 1:48.35 for a second-place finish.
 
• Unicomb's time of 53.93 was good for a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke.
 
• Berg finished third (1:04.45) and Avalon Schultz finished fourth (1:04.71) in the 100 breaststroke.
 
Quotable
Junior Tyler Zelen
On his strategy for the 50-yard freestyle:
"I knew what I had to do — and that was swim fast."
 
Junior Andrew Pearce
On his win in 1-meter diving:
"Georgia is a great team, so to be able to come in here and win feels great. We've put in a ton of work over the past month, so it feels very gratifying."
 
Junior Emmy Sehmann
On her strategy in the 50 free:
"I don't think we've ever been this close to a top-five team before, so this is a big meet for us. We'll just keep moving forward — compete super hard and see what we can do."
 
Up Next
The Badgers are back in action next Friday against NC State, opening a two-day meet with the Wolfpack at the Nat.