The Washington University men's and women's swimming & diving teams added 10 first-place finishes and 19 B-cut times on day two as both teams won the team titles at the Wheaton Invitational Saturday.
The Washington U. women scored 1,106 points to win by more than 400 points over host Wheaton College (683). The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater finished third with 666.5 points. On the men's side, Washington U. scored 1,135.5 points to take the team championship over Wisconsin-Whitewater (647.5) and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (640).
After posting 23 B-cut times on day one of the meet, the Washington University teams combined for 19 B-cuts Saturday. Sophomore Justin Morrell continued his strong weekend by winning a pair of individual events with B-cut times. He finished first in the 50 freestyle in 20.83. Freshman Ross Brown added a third-place finish in the event in 21.30. Morrell added a first-place finish in the 200 free in a time of 1:40.05, while junior RJ Petrella was third in 1:43.59.
Junior Reed Dalton posted the lone school record of the day for the Washington U. men with a B-cut time of 48.00 in the prelims of the 100 butterfly. He won the event with a B-cut of 48.72 in the finals. In the men's 1,650 free, the Bears had six of the top-eight finishers. Senior Zane Turpin (15:59.60) and sophomore Andrew Ellison (16:14.78) both posted B-cuts to finish first and second, respectively, while freshman Landon Bennett (16:19.48) took third. Freshman Wending Zhu (16:45.20), senior Jacob Hale (16:53.85) and sophomore Grigg Schneider (16:55.33) placed fifth through seventh, respectively.
The Washington U. women had three individuals post B-cuts in the 200 free. Sophomore MariMac Collins won the event with a B-cut time of 1:52.39. Junior Kristalyn McAfee was second in 1:53.83 after posting a B-cut of 1:51.29 in the prelims. Junior Grace Counts also had a B-cut in the prelims (1:53.24), before finishing fourth in the final in a time of 1:54.36. Senior Sara Taege (4:33.59) and freshman Nicole Zanolli (4:33.81) added B-cut times to finish second and third, respectively, in the 400 individual medley.
Zanolli also won the women's 1,650 free with a B-cut time of 17:20.49. Sophomore Erin Polries was second in 17:46.55, while senior Courtenay Willcox (17:53.86) finished fourth. Sophomore Reese Frerichs recorded a first-place finish in the men's 200 breaststroke with a B-cut time of 2:04.18.
Washington U.'s other three first-place finishes on the day came in relays. Collins, Counts, sophomore Claire Savage and McAfee clocked a B-cut time of 3:28.00 to win the 400-free relay. Junior Katie Anderson, junior Sophie Gan, sophomore Lauren Carlos and Savage added a B-cut time of 1:46.46 to finish second in the 200-medley relay.
The men's 400-free relay team of Brown, Dalton, freshman TJ Dawson and Morrell also finished first in a B-cut time of 3:03.53. The Washington U. men also had the top-two finishers in the 200-medley relay. Junior Kaisen Yao, sophomore Michael Lagieski, Dalton and Morrell won the event in a B-cut time of 1:31.22. Junior Luke Duschl, Frerichs, sophomore Matt Liu and Brown finished second in 1:34.00. Liu added a B-cut in finishing second in the men's 400 IM with a time of 4:06.54. Turpin (4:08.17) and sophomore Jacob Nason (4:11.78) placed third and fourth, respectively.
Gan also clocked a B-cut time in the women's 200 breaststroke. She finished second in the race in 2:21.84, after posting a B-cut time of 2:20.74 in the prelims. Carlos (57.46) and freshman Niamh O'Grady (58.31) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 100 butterfly. O'Grady clocked a B-cut time of 57.31 during the prelims.
The Washington U. diving teams competed in the one-meter diving at the Pioneer Classic hosted by Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, Saturday. Freshman Laura Barber posted a season-best mark of 364.50 to finished second in the women's event. Sophomore Emily Ramos was fourth (342.80) and senior Tina Hinman placed sixth (290.35). Freshman Ryan Nathenson placed fifth in the men's one-meter diving with a season-best score of 310.90, while freshman Fernando Rojo was ninth with a score of 195.60.
After this weekend, the Washington U. men now have at least one B-cut time in 17 of 18 swimming events, while the Bears' women have B-cuts in 15 of 18 events. Overall, 25 different individuals have been part of at least one B-cut.
The Washington University men's and women's swimming & diving teams return to action Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, when they host the WU Invitational at Millstone Pool.
