Photo Credit: Virginia Athletics
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia women’s swim and dive team and Virginia Tech men’s team took home victories Saturday afternoon as the teams’ two-day dual meet came to a close. The Cavalier women posted a 243-110 win, while the Hokie men earned a 218-135 victory.
Virginia Press Release
The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving team picked up 10 event wins on the final day of a two-day meet against Virginia Tech Saturday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The No. 6 Cavalier women (3-1) defeated the Hokies (7-3), 243-110, while the No. 12 Virginia Tech men (9-1) were victorious, 218-135, over No. 21 UVa (1-4).
“Our target is the ACC Championships or NCAA Championships and while you are training hard for those targets, you have to race through a lot of pain and tired legs,” UVa head coach Augie Busch said. “I thought we did a better job of fighting through those obstacles today then we did last night and Monday morning, we go back to focusing on our main targets.”
To open the day, the women’s 200 medley relay team of junior Courtney Bartholomew (Holland, Mich.), sophomore Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany), senior Ellen Williamson (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and freshman Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.) touched first in a time of 1:40.35. The men’s team of sophomore Zach Bunner (Marietta, Ga.), junior Yannick Kaeser (Mumpf, Switzerland) and sophomores Austin Quinn (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Matt Lockman (Charlottesville, Va.) placed second in 1:30.64.
In the women’s 1,000 free, sophomore Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won in a time of 9:47.27, while freshman Jessie Gvozdas (Henrico, Va.) placed third in 10:03.40. Brendan Casey touched second in the men’s 1,000 in 9:18.56.
Sophomore Ellen Thomas (Guildford, United Kingdom) captured the women’s 50 free in 23.41, while Cooper was second in 23.68. In the men’s 50 free, senior Charlie Rommel (East Amherst, N.Y.) and Lockman finished second and third in 20.79 and 20.88, respectively.
Bartholomew touched first in the women’s 100 back in 52.60, ahead of freshman Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.), who was second in 55.82. Freshman Henrik Pohlmann (Beavercreek, Ohio) placed third in the men’s 100 back in 50.55.
Simon captured the women’s 200 breast in 2:12.99, while Kaeser claimed the men’s event in 2:02.15. Junior Eric Holden (Orange, Conn.) was third in the men’s race in 2:05.04.
The Cavaliers swept the women’s 100 fly, with Williamson winning in a time of 54.90, followed by Bartholomew (55.23) and Marrkand (55.29). On the men’s side, sophomore John Denning (Chesapeake, Va.) was third in 50.50.
In the 200 free, Quinn placed second in the men’s race in 1:39.83, while junior Hanne Borgersen (Frederick, Md.) and Thomas finished second and third in the women’s race in 1:50.66 and 1:51.44, respectively.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.) led a 1-2-3 UVa sweep in the women’s 400 IM with a time of 4:19.95. Smith placed second in 4:22.64 and junior Haley Durmer (Decatur, Ga.) was third in 4:23.33. Casey won the men’s race in 3:59.71.
Virginia went 1-2 in the women’s 400 free relay with the team of Borgersen, Thomas, Williamson and Smith finishing in 3:23.68, just ahead of Cooper, Bartholomew, Jones and Marrkand in 3:23.80. The men’s team of freshman Nicholas Magana (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Lockman, Quinn and freshman Luke Georgiadis (Jacksonville, Fla.) placed second in 3:02.96.
Next up, the Cavaliers host North Carolina in their final dual meet of the season on Jan. 24 at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.
Virginia Tech Press Release
The Virginia Tech swimming & diving teams completed their final day of competition against rival Virginia Saturday afternoon. The 12th-ranked Tech men earned a 218-135 over the No. 21 Virginia men while the Tech women fell to No. 6 Virginia, 243-110.
With the win, the Tech men improve their record to 9-1 on the year and the women fall to 7-3.
Women’s meet
“Jess Hespeler had an outstanding day for the lady H2Okies, as did Holly Harper and Maggie Gruber,” head coach Ned Skinner said about the women’s meet. “More importantly, our women competed with great spirit and fantastic attitudes. The coaching staff is so excited about this upcoming championship season.”
Saturday’s portion of the meet began with the 200 medley relay, where Tech’s A-team finished second with a time of 1:42.46. Jessica Hespeler immediately followed that race with her own second-place finish in the 1000 free.
Shortly thereafter, Tech picked up two third-place finishes from Margaret Parcell (50 free) and Holly Harper (100 back) before Weronika Paluszek and Blaire Kinsey finished second and third in the 200 breast.
Tech picked up a big win in the 200 free when Jessica Hespeler finished first with a time of 1:50.36. The meet concluded with the 400 free relay where Tech finished third and fourth.
Men’s meet
“Owen Burns, Morgan Latimer and Collin Higgins showed us why they are outstanding leaders in and out of the pool,” Skinner commented. “I can’t say enough about the Fiala brothers and what they mean to this program. They are team-first swimmers, and they bring great energy to everything they do.”
The H2Okies began Saturday’s races with a win in the 200 medley relay from Morgan Latimer, Brandon Fiala, Drake Becksted and C.J. Fiala (9:14.29). Behind them, Tech’s B-team finished third.
In the next event, Jacob Ores won the 1000 free in 9:14.29 and Michal Szuba finished behind him in third. C.J. Fiala picked up another win for Tech in the 50 free when he touched in the wall in 20.66.
Collin Higgins picked up his second win of the meet in the 100 back when he finished with a time of 48.79. Robert Owen finished in second with a time of 49.94.
Tech earned another top-two finish in the 100 fly when Latimer picked up his second win with a time of 48.43 and Drake Becksted took second.
After a second-place finish in the 200 IM on Friday, Owen Burns won the 200 free with a time of 1:38.39 with Adam Stacklin behind him in third.
To close out the meet, Tech finished first and third in the 400 free relay with Burns, Latimer and the Fiala brothers winning with a time of 3:00.21. Overall, the H2Okies finished the meet with 13 first-place finishes en route to their ninth win of the year.
The H2Okies return home next week for a dual meet against the men from Georgia Tech and UNC Wilmington and the women from Miami.
For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter.
Results: Virginia Tech vs. Virginia