AUSTIN, Texas - The Georgia men's swimming and diving team suffered its third loss of the season Saturday, as the No. 16 Bulldogs fell to the second-ranked Texas Longhorns 135.5-101.5 at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin.

"Our kids did a great job today, but we ran into the best team in the country," said head coach Jack Bauerle. "Our team raced real tough. Our goal is to finish in the top 10 at NCAAs, and one loss to a top 10 team is not going to make us think we can't do that. This was a high-level meet, and our times would have won 80 percent of the meets we compete in. We were just up against a top team.We have a young team, and we still have a lot to look forward to."

Freshman Robert Margalis, swimming in his first collegiate meet as a Bulldog, won three events to lead the Georgia effort. In the second event of the night, Margalis posted a time of 9:18.08 to win the 1000-yard freestyle, while Scot Davis and Miguel Mendoza finished third and fourth, respectively.

A native of St. Petersburg, Fla., Margalis posted his second victory of the night with a first-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley with a winning time of 1:49.04. He rounded out the meet by taking top honors in the 500-yard freestyle with a four-second advantage to second-place Chris Kemp of Texas.

"Margalis had a terrific meet," added Bauerle. "He won three events and was definitely the star of the meet, on both sides. He will help us a lot this year, especially at the NCAA Championships."

Senior co-captain Marc Lindsay finished first in the 200-yard backstroke with a winning time of 1:47.17. Freshman Peter Osborn finished second (1:49.35) followed by Colin Underhill in fourth (1:51.41). Andrew Mahaney led a 2-3 punch in the 200-yard butterfly, taking second with a time of 1:48.05. Randy Lam took third, touching the wall in 1:49.04.

Freshman Matt Brado finished second in the 100-yard freestyle, while Kyle Salyards took second in the 200-yard breaststroke.

In the diving well, Kris Daugherty finished third in the 1-meter springboard event, while Todd Avery took third in the 3-meter competition. Olympian and NCAA Champion Troy Dumais won both events, while his brother Justin finished second.

Final Score:
Texas 135.5
Georgia 105.5