By Chandler Brandes, ACC Beat Writer
Pitt swimming and diving hosted Denison on January 16, where the Panther men defeated the Big Red 216-84 and the Panther women won 219-81.
The Panther women (1:45.08) and men (1:32.68) started the meet with wins in the 200 medley relay, and the Pitt women won the 200 free relay. Kaleigh Ritter won both the women’s 1000 (10:08.98) and the 500 free (4:57.22) and Aaron Sett won the men’s 1000 (9:29.58) as Pitt swept the event. Amanda Richey won the women’s 200 free (1:51.10), 200 back (2:02.92), and led the sweep of the 200 IM in 2:06.26. The Panthers swept both the 50 free and 100 free, led by Emily Murphy in 23.76 and 51.53. They also went 1-2-3 in the men’s 100 fly, led by Bryce Kampfe (50.99).
Matt Tankle won the men’s 100 back (50.77) and 200 back (1:50.36), Kinga Cichowska won the women’s 100 breast (1:03.50) and 200 breast (2:18.03), and David Sweeney won the 50 free (20.66) and 100 free (45.30). Other Pitt event winners included Brian Lovasik in the men’s 200 free (1:40.59), Blair Wegescheide in the women’s 100 back (58.00), Alex Cook in the men’s 200 breast (2:05.03), Mack Rice in the men’s 200 fly (1:49.68), Zachary Lierley in the men’s 200 IM (1:52.43), Spencer Gray in the men’s 500 free (4:34.72), and Athena Summa in the women’s 100 fly (57.42).
Dominic Giodano won both the men’s 1m (395.40) and the 3m (396.15) while teammate Tony Galante placed second in the 1m (323.70) and 3m (371.78). One of the most exciting events of the meet was the women’s 1m, where Pitt diver Meme Sharp won in record-setting fashion: her score of 327.08 shattered both the team and pool record. The sophomore also placed second in the 3m (327.90) behind teammate Sam Winkelman (340.35).
“Well, she did that earlier in the season as well, and to see her come back and dive so well at home again, it’s really exciting knowing that we’re ready to go into the ACC Championships, and she’s going to be right there in scoring position for the ACC,“ said Panther head coach Chuck Knoles on Sharp’s performance in a Pitt press release.
The Panthers have a weekend off before returning to competition on January 29 and 30 as the host the annual Pitt Invite.
Full meet results: 2016 Pitt vs. Denison – Results