The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept Penn State on Saturday (Oct. 6) in the program’s season opener. The Cavalier women defeated the Nittany Lions 178-112 in the home meet at the Aquatic and Fitness Center, while the UVA men topped Penn State 171-121.
“Great meet for us, being our first meet on the season,” Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo said. “I’m excited to see a lot of our first-years in action. We have a pretty large (freshman) class and we were hopeful they would thrive in our program, and they have thus far in the season. We are definitely excited about the future of the program.
“All of our returners are in a better place right now than they were this time last year. The last six weeks of training have been significantly more intense than the first six weeks of last season. The goal is to build on last year and have each dual meet this year build on each other and try to get faster as the season goes. We have a handful of dual meets left as well as the SMU Classic next week. We definitely have a long way to go, but we will take this weekend and will review some race video, and will try to be better from week to week. Definitely excited, we had a lot of individuals win their first ever event in a college dual meet. We are excited for them and excited for the future.”
The Cavaliers opened the day with the men’s and women’s 1m and 3m dive. Junior Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) won both women’s events, recording a score of 296.78 in the 1m board and 311.55 in the 3m board, while freshman Walker Creeden (Cary, N.C.) topped the men’s 3m board with a score of 297.90.
The swim meet opened with Virginia sweeping the 200-yard medley relay. Redshirt junior Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), freshman Kaki Christensen (Darien, Conn.), sophomore Anna Pang (London) and sophomore Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.), respectively, captured a time of 1:40.64 to pace the women’s race, while junior Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), senior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and freshman Lewis Burras (Dubai), respectively, recorded a time of 1:28.42 to place first in the men’s race.
During the swim meet, Virginia captured a combined 23 individual first-place finishes. Junior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) led the squad, topping the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.49, the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.94 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.07.
In their first meet with the Cavaliers, freshmen Lewis Burras (Dubai) and Casey Storch (Great Falls, Va.) finished first in two individual events. Burras paced the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.67 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.10. Storch captured first in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:00.17 and finished first in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:49.92.
In addition to Hill, the women’s team won eight additional events. Sophomores Marcella Maguire (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.) tied for first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.92. Moroney paced the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.72, while junior Mary Claire Tansill (Bristow, Va.) finished first with a time of 2:15.37 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) recorded a time of 4:49.12 in the 500-yard freestyle as sophomore Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) captured a time of 2:03.57 in the 200-yard individual medley.
Freshmen Julia Menkhaus (Charlotte, N.C.), Christensen and Jessica Nava (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) rounded out the women’s competition. Menkhaus won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:00.44 as Christensen led the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.59 and Nava led the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 55.76.
In the men’s meet, redshirt senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) recorded a time of 9:21.87 for first place in the 1000-yard freestyle. Clark won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 48.90, while Barnum won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.39 and junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.) won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:39.64. Junior Ted Schubert (Ashland, Va.) paced the 200-yard butterfly, recording a time of 1:48.13. Freshman Justin Grender (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded his first win as a Cavalier, topping the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:47.00. Sophomore Robby Giller (Wilton, Conn.) and senior Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) recorded wins in the 500-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, respectively. Giller swam a time of 4:31.15, while Fong recorded a time of 49.36.
Virginia concluded the day sweeping the men’s and women’s 400-yard freestyle relay. Hill, Madden, sophomore Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) and Christensen, respectively, swam a time of 3:26.76, while the men’s team of Burras, Grender, freshman Nico Ferrara (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Storch recorded a time of 3:04.09.
FOR PENN STATE
Senior captain Ally McHugh earned three top-three finishes and led Penn State in a sweep of the 1000 Free. McHugh claimed the first place with a time of 9:52.54, and was followed by freshman Madison Murtagh and sophomore Stephanie Szekely, who completed the swim with times of 10:06.67 and 10:13.34, respectively.
McHugh then led another Nittany Lion trio in the 500 free, placing second in 4:51.23, with Murtagh (4:55.33) and Camryn Barry (4:57.47) following in order. McHugh also took third in the 200 butterfly coming up two seconds short with a time of 2:02.28.
On the boards, senior Hector Garcia Boissier won the 1-meter dive, earning a final score of 335.03 to punch his ticket to the NCAA Zone Regionals. Additionally, freshman Jonah Cey had a solid first outing, earning second place in the 3-meter with 292.73 points.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Virginia and Penn State. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
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Lisa Ferrara