Alabama swimming and diving participated in back-to-back meets this weekend, falling just short against Georgia on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama, and dominating Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday morning.

The Crimson Tide men and women won nine events against Georgia and 14 over Vanderbilt for a total of 23 wins over the two days.

“Having two meets in two days in two different cities can be a challenge, but our ladies kept their focus and swam hard today, giving us two good days of competition,” coach Coley Stickels said.

The Crimson Tide women won eight individual events as well as the final relay against the Bulldogs on Friday, but fell short 163.5-136.5. The men also won both of their relays and six individual wins, but were edged by Georgia with a score of 157-143.

“We had the opportunity to be competitive against a very good Georgia team today,” Stickels said after Friday’s meet. “They got us in some tight ones, so we missed out on some very close opportunities. We were right there thought the meet, particularly on the men’s side. Overall, we looked better than we did at Delta State and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Among the notable performances of the day was sophomore Rhyan White, who won both the women’s 100 (53.78) and 200 (1:55.51) backstrokes, as well as the 100 butterfly (54.15).

Sophomore Kevin Li also won two diving events, finishing first in the 1-meter (324.75 points) and 3-meter (312.45 points).

After the meet, the men returned to Tuscaloosa, while the women traveled to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt, who fields only a women’s team. The Crimson Tide dominated the Commodores, sweeping the individual races and both relays, and emerged victorious with a final score of 146-105.

“We looked at back-to-back meets as a prelims/finals scenario that we will ultimately face later on during championship season,” Stickels said. “From here, we just need to keep our momentum moving in the right direction and online to train hard as we move forward through the season.”

White once again performed well on Friday, posting two individual wins on the day in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, going 53.79 and 1:56.17 respectively.

Sophomore Kensey McMahon also had a notable performance, winning both the 500 (5:02.79) and 1,000 (10:13.15) freestyle.

After opening the season with this weekend’s back-to-back meets, Alabama travels to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Georgia Tech Invitational on Nov. 22-24.