Georgia’s swimming and diving teams went on the road to Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon and swept Alabama, with the Bulldogs (6-2-1) winning 152-148 and the Lady Bulldogs (8-1) taking a victory over the Crimson Tide 173-121.

The men’s teams were battling down to the very last relay, with the Bulldogs needing to finish either first or take both second and third place. Freshman John Simmons and sophomore Doug Reynolds anchored their relay teams to second and third place finishes, respectively, to clinch the win for the Bulldogs.

The male and female swim teams were able to successfully defeat Alabama on the road. Now the Bulldog squads look ahead to the SEC's. FILE/Red & Black

“It went right down to the end and we basically needed something heroic in every event,” Georgia associate head coach Harvey Humphries said. “I don’t think we were in control of that meet until Doug Reynolds made the last turn on the ‘B’ relay [team] of the final leg.”

Humphries said some of the men were underperforming on the day and stepped up when they had to.

Senior Owen Blank contributed to the cause with a come-from-behind victory in the one-meter diving competition, finishing with a score of 325.8.

“Owen [Blank] might be one of the scrappiest kids in the program as far as just battling,” Humphries said. “Owen just kept his head on straight and kept diving.”

Junior Martin Grodzki won three times on the day in the 500 and 1,000 yard freestyle as well as the 400 individual medley. Sophomore Melanie Margalis matched her teammate by winning three times — the 1,000 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly.

Even though the Lady Bulldogs won convincingly on the scoreboard, Humphries said it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

“Alabama’s girls in a lot of events swam really well, and pushed us harder than probably they looked like they would have on paper,” he said. “They didn’t shy away from us and came after us real hard.”

The teams can now look ahead to the Southeastern Conference Championships starting Feb. 15 and will resume training on Monday.

“It’s pretty important what you do between Monday and Friday, not just on Saturdays,” Humphries said. “Our kids are working hard, they’re putting the work in and they’re a really dedicated group. I’m confident they’re going to do everything they have to do to prepare to be the best they can be for SEC’s.”

With a coaching staff that has been together for decades, the coaches are prepared for another strong postseason in this year’s campaign. Humphries is confident in head coach Jack Bauerle and what this year’s team will be able to do.

“Jack – he’s done this a million times and so has the rest of our staff – and we’re all excited about giving the kids a little rest and seeing how fast they’re going to go when we get to Knoxville [for SEC’s],” Humphries said.