Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams took the top spot in 11 of 14 events on Saturday, as the H2Okies wrapped up a solid opening day at the Virginia Tech Invitational at Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
In their final meet of the regular season, the H2Okies had a solid start in the morning’s preliminaries before rolling to a dominant evening.
Freshman Auriane de Premilhat highlighted the day for the women, recording an NCAA “B” standard time of 54.69 en route to a win in the 100 backstroke.
Jayme Katis also had a standout Saturday, as the junior started the day with a victory in the 200 freestyle (1:50.63), before taking runner-up honors in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.78, finishing just behind teammate Maggie Gruber, who won in 23.78.
Junior Katie Rogers finished just behind Katis in the 200 freestyle, taking second in 1:51.43, before winning the 500 freestyle in 5:01.78.
On the men’s side, freshman Adam Stacklin took home a pair of victories to pace the H2Okies. Stacklin opened his day with a win in the 200 freestyle, clocking 1:38.36 before capping the day with a 50 freestyle time of 20.47 to earn a victory in that event.
Freshman Ben Borgert notched his first career victory, taking the 100 backstroke in 49.54, senior Nathan Hoisington recorded an NCAA “B” standard time of his own in the 100 breaststroke, taking the win in 54.89.
The H2Okies were joined at the meet by women from Arkansas and Harvard, men from VMI, as well as combined squads from UNC Wilmington and Johns Hopkins, though no team scores were tallied. Complete results can be found at the attached link.
The second day of the Virginia Tech Invitational will kick off at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning with preliminary action. The finals will begin at 4 p.m.
Arkansas
Four Razorbacks recorded six career-best swims, in addition to one event win, during the first day of competition at the Virginia Tech Invite in Blacksburg, Va., at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
Senior Molly Milborn (Fishers, Ind.) began the morning prelims by breaking her career-best time in the 200-yard freestyle to qualify for the final. During the final, Milborn set a career-record a second time by finishing fourth with a time of 1:54.86. Milborn cut 1.01 seconds off her personal-best time entering the invitational. Sophomore Jordan Kimmey (Flower Mound, Texas) placed sixth in the 200 freestyle final with a time of 1:55.56 and sophomore Rebekah Harvey (Austin, Texas) rounded out the Razorbacks with a ninth-place finish in 1:55.70.
Kimmey recorded a career-best time of 5:06.65 in the 500 freestyle, finishing in fourth place. The time was 1.39 seconds faster than her previous record of 5:08.04 set earlier this season at the Mizzou Invitational.
Senior Lizzy Whitbeck (Oklahoma City, Okla.) swam a career-best time of 58.86 in the 100 backstroke, finishing 10th overall. That finish cut 1.41 seconds off her previous best time of 1:00.27 set in on Oct. 20, 2011 in a dual meet against Florida. Whitbeck also finished sixth in 100 butterfly final in 57.54 and 11th in the 50 freestyle final with a time of 24.92.
Sophomore Rebekah Porter (The Woodlands, Texas) swam two career-best times during the preliminary heats. Porter’s career-best 1:08.53 in the 100 breaststroke punched her ticket to the final, where she finished sixth in the event. In the 50 freestyle, Porter recorded a career-best 24.59 during prelims and finished seventh in the final of the event.
Sophomore Rachel Kessler (New Rochelle, N.Y.) won the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:32.53. She also placed 13th in the 100 butterfly final with a time of 59.32.
Senior David Woodford posted a pair of NCAA provisional times to highlight the Johns Hopkins men's swim team's performance on day one of the Virginia Tech Invitational. The Blue Jays are competing against several Division I schools in their final regular season meet.
Freshman Kyle Verdeyen kicked things off with a fifth place finish in the A final of the 200 Free, as he finished in 1:47.04. In the prelims of the 100 Back, Woodford swam a time of 51.00 - a career best and NCAA B time. In the 100 Breast, freshman Bryan Pon placed third in 58.78, while classmate Connor Johnson took fourth in 59.70.
Woodford then won the 100 Fly with a career best and NCAA B time of 49.91. Pon posted a prelim time of 56.10. Verdeyen finished fourth in the 500 Free as he touched in 4:49.81. While in the 50 Free, freshman Mitchell Boyer placed third in a time of 21.99.
The Virginia Tech Invitational concludes on Sunday at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
Johns Hopkins Women
Freshman Ariana Waitkavicz posted an NCAA provisional time in the 100 Back to highlight the efforts of the Johns Hopkins women's swim team at the Virginia Tech Invitational Saturday. The Blue Jays are competing against several Division I teams in their final regular season meet.
Freshman Kristen Kaiser opened things up with a seventh place finish in the A final of the 200 Free, clocking in at 1:57.42. Freshman Helena Arose then placed second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:47.80 while senior Katie Rownd finished in 4:50.02 for third place. Waitkavicz took fourth place in the A final of the 100 Back, finishing in a career best and NCAA provisional time of 57.80.
In the 100 Breast, Arose placed seventh in the A final with a time of 1:10.01. Senior Katie Rownd took first in the B final with a career best time of 1:11.65. Freshman Sarah Westley then placed sixth in the 100 Fly in 59.42. Kaiser took fifth place in the 500 Free, clocking in at 5:15.09, while junior Selena Guerrero-Martin took sixth in 5:20.28. Freshman Megan Auzenbergs won the B final of the 50 Free as she touched in 24.51 and Westley placed fourth in 25.29.
The Virginia Tech Invitational concludes on Sunday at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
VMI
The VMI swimming and diving teams were in action Saturday at the Virginia Tech Invitational, the squads’ final tune-up before this year’s CCSA Championships, and the teams were led by the Keydets sprinters on the day.
Connor McMahon was the top finisher for the Keydets, finishing sixth in the prelims of the 50 free with a 21.99 time. John Kelly trailed closely behind at 22.26, as the two led five VMI swimmers in that event. In the slightly longer 200 free, Jeff Whiteman was eighth in 1:48.34, while John Dante was ninth in the 100 breast.
On the women’s side, just two Keydets logged times, as Elizabeth Johnston and Yana Conrad took part in the 50 free, finishing 23rd and 24th respectively (27.39/27.42).
VMI swimming and diving will return to action Feb. 19th, opening the CCSA Championships in Knoxville, Tenn.
