PHILADELPHIA – West Virginia swimming managed to split a pair of dual meets against Villanova with the men winning 174-85 and the women losing 146-116.
West Virginia Press Release
The West Virginia University swimming and diving teams split a dual meet against Villanova earlier today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The WVU men earned a 174-85 win, while the women fell to the Wildcats 146-116.
“The men swam well, and overall we had some solid swims today,” said coach Vic Riggs. “Andrew (Marsh) and Nate (Carr) continue to swim at a high level, and Max (Spencer) is improving every meet.”
For the third consecutive competition, West Virginia’s Haily VandePoel swept both of the women’s diving events on the 1- and 3-meter boards. Fellow Mountaineer Lindsay Schmidt placed second on the 1-meter board and third on the 3-meter board.
On the men’s side, Michael Proietto continued his success on the 1-meter board, while taking first place with a score of 295.87. The men took first and second in the 1-meter event, as Alex Obendorf placed second with a mark of 272.17.
Emma Skelley carried her momentum in the distance freestyle events from the Penn State meet into today’s competition. Skelley placed first in the 1,000 free in 10:08.94 and claimed second in the 500 free in 4:58.85.
“It was a disappointing loss for the women,” Riggs said. “We definitely had our chances to take control in a few events and we missed those chances.”
The men were also successful in the distance free events behind first-place finishes from Pierce Bradshaw in the 1,000 free (9:46.32) and the 500 free (4:44.16).
The 200 free saw the WVU men take first, second and third behind strong performances from Nate Carr, Nathan Cobbe and Chris McMahon, respectively.
Max Spencer took first in the 50 breast (26.53) and the 100 breast (56.61), while Julie Ogden placed first in the 100 fly (56.00) and the 200 fly (2:04.76).
The Mountaineers will return to competition at the Mizzou Invite in Columbia, Missouri, on Nov. 20-22.
Villanova Press Release
The Villanova women’s swimming team (2-1) closed out Homecoming weekend with a 146-116 victory over West Virginia on Saturday from the Villanova Swim Complex. The `Cats went 2-1 over the three-day stretch with wins over La Salle on Friday and WVU on Saturday.
The women earned eight first place, seven second and 12 third place finishes to sink the Mountaineers. The Wildcats swept the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke to help secure the victory.
Freshman Gabby Daigneault (Montreal, Quebec/William H. Hall) led the way for `Nova with three wins in the only individual races she swam. Daigneault won the 100 backstroke (57.18), 200 backstroke (2:03.04) and 400 individual medley (4:31.44). She also placed second in the first event, the 400 medley relay, with freshman Heather Farley (Mendota Heights, Minn./Convent of the Visitation), junior Fiona Hardie (Hampshire, England/Bournemouth School) and senior Sara Jurek (Gilbert, Ariz./Chandler).
Daigneault, along with freshman Mary Spillane (2:06.62; Trumbull, Conn./Academy of Our Lady of Mercy) and Colleen Lord (2:08.14; Sugar Land, Texas/Clements), finished first through third in the 200 backstroke.
Junior Kaisla Kollanus (Hyvinkaa, Finland/Makelanrinteen Iukio) won two individual races and the final team relay. Kollanus earned victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle with times of 23.97 and 52.23, respectively. Kollanus, senior Katrin Heider (52.28; Bergisch Gladbach, Germany/Herkenrath) and Jurek (52.71) finished one-two-three in the 100 free, all within half a second of one another.
Sophomore Mary Snyder (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) secured a first place finish in the 200 freestyle, which the Wildcats swept, with a time of 1:53.38 to lead the pack. Jurek finished behind her at 1:54-flat and Heider followed suit at 1:54.19.
Sophomore Emily Mayo (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) won the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:56.41.
The Wildcats concluded the afternoon with a first-place 400 freestyle relay finish. Hardie swam first leg as Kollanus, Heider and sophomore Jessica Randolph (Davie, Fla./American Heritage) finished off the race.
The Villanova men’s swimming team (0-3) closed out the Homecoming Triple Header with a 174-85 loss to West Virginia on Saturday afternoon from the Villanova Swim Complex.
The Wildcats finished with seven second-place and 10 third-place finishes.
Senior Jason Moyer (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) earned two second place individual finishes in the 50 backstroke (24.43) and 50 butterfly (24.13).
Sophomore Mike Rodriguez (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) placed second in the 100 backstroke placing at 53.94, 1.44 seconds off the lead.
Senior Tony Sipala (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) finished second in the 100 breaststroke at 1:03.40.
Sophomore Harrison Rodts (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) closed the 500 freestyle at 4:51.90, good for second place.
Junior Nikolai Tchobanov (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster High School) placed second in the 200 individual medley at 2:01.70.
The men closed out the Saturday meeting with a second place 200 freestyle relay. Freshman Joe Moleski (Tucson, Ariz./Bishop Guertin), Rodriguez, senior Chris Tamanini (Kingston Twp., Pa./Dallas) and Moyer swam legs one, two, three and four, respectively.
Results: Vest Virginia vs. Villanova