The Emory University men's swimming & diving team returned to the pool on Saturday, taking on crosstown foe Georgia Tech in the first dual meet of the 2024-25 season.
The Eagles held their own going up against their Division I counterparts, winning four events at the meet. The Yellow Jackets secured the team win by a 205-91 margin.
Four different Eagles earned event wins on the afternoon to highlight the Blue & Gold. Senior Liyang Sun claimed Emory's first victory of the year, taking the 100 Breast at 55.48. Classmates Dylan Yin and Jeff Echols followed with wins as Yin touched first in the 50 Free at 20.70 and Echols was first in the 100 Fly at 49.17. Freshman Solly Berkenwald became the first Eagle to win on the diving board, opening his Emory career with a resounding win on the 3-meter with a mark of 340.80.
Sun added a second place effort in the 200 Breast, finishing at 2:06.06, while Echols (3rd, 1:52.01) and Yin (3rd, 50.08) added additional top-three performances on the day. Senior Crow Thorsen put forth a third place showing of his own in the 200 Freestyle (1:40.99) and led the team in the 500 Freestyle, taking fourth at 4:38.44.
Sun and Echols aided Emory's third place 200 Medley Relay in the meet's first event as the Eagles posted a time of 1:30.35. Thorsen was on Emory's 400 Freestyle Relay that closed out the meet with a time of 3:05.89 to place third.
Freshman Zachary Spicer turned in a pair of fourth place finishes in his Emory debut, recording times of 50.61 and 1:54.38 in the 100 and 200 Backstroke double. Also putting forward top-five showings was Berkenwald in the 1-meter (4th, 312.75), senior Zachary Zhao in the 200 IM (4th, 1:58.17) and junior Caden Bjornstad in the 100 Freestyle (5th, 46.87).
The Eagles return to action on Saturday with another dual meet against Queens University of Charlotte at 11:00 AM in North Carolina while the divers will take part in competition at West Florida.
