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H2Okie Invite Recaps - Day 2

Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams wrapped up the second day of the H2Okie Fall Invitational Friday evening still in control on ! both the men’s and women’s sides. The women dominated on Day 2 with 10 top-three finishes.

“The energy was even higher today than yesterday, which makes me feel good in light of the fact that I can just tell we are getting tired,” said Tech head coach Ned Skinner. “We are really proud that our kids are out there giving it 100 percent. That includes our divers, they really had a great day today and we really fed off that men’s final. I also thought the women’s 800 free relay was outstanding. It was a strong day for the Hokies.”

The men are ahead of the pack with 860 points. Alabama sits in second (761), followed by South Carolina (523), William & Mary (250) and Villanova (147).

The women nearly doubled the score of their next competitor with 922 points. Alabama sits in second with 501 points and South Carolina rounds out the top three teams with 433 points. Villanova is in fourth (292), William & Mary in fifth (259), Ohio in sixth (224) and Liberty in seventh (93).

Women’s Competition

The H2Okies got the evening out to a great start, claiming second and third in the 200 medley relay. In the next event, Fiona Donnelly kept it going for Tech with a second-place finish in the 400 IM (4:14.46).

The H2Okies’ first win of the day came from a 1-2 finish in the 100 butterfly. Maggie Gruber took the event with a time of 53.91, and Klaudia Nazieblo was right behind her, finishing in 54.44.

The women continued to roll as Gabrielle Bishop led four top-eight Tech finishers with a second-place finish in the 200 free (1:48.24). Holly Harper also tacked on another second-place finish with a time of 54.22 in the 100 backstroke before the H2Okies claimed the 2-4 spots in the 100 breaststroke, led by Weronika Paluszek (1:01.00).

The women capped off the day with an 800 free relay win as the team of Donnelly, Bishop, Jessica Hespeler and Emily Ryczek finished in 7:14.70.

Men’s Competition

The H2Okies saw three teams earn points in their first event of the evening, the 200 medley relay, and were led by a second-place finish from Morgan Latimer, Brandon Fiala, Drake Becksted and C.J. Fiala with a time of 1:27.49.

Robert Owen tacked on another second-place finish in the following event, finishing the 400 IM in 3:52.78. Latimer was able to break up an Alabama sweep in the 100 fly as he finished in 48.13, good for third place.

The H2Okies racked up points in the 200 free as Owen Burns led the 3-6 Tech finishers with a time of 1:37.88.

The men claimed the 3-meter event with ease as Mauro Castro-Silva took first with a score of 407.80 and Kyle Butts, T.J. Schinholser and Logan Stevens took 3-5, respectively.

Following a diving win, Tech added second and fourth-place finishes in the 800 free relay to end the day and seal the victory.

The fall invitational event will conclude tomorrow, with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 6 p.m. 

 

Alabama

Alabama swimming and diving junior Emma Saunders roared to a school-record 1:46.40 on the way to winning the 200 freestyle on day two of the H2Okie Invitational, leading the Crimson Tide to eight wins on the day.

Saunders bettered her own school mark, set during her freshman year, by four-hundredths of a second. She came back later in the night to win the 100 backstroke with a career-best 54.01, which ranks her third all-time at Alabama.

“Emma got off to a great start this season and has carried that throughout the fall into this weekend,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “As a team, we got off to a much faster start this morning and we were able to see that through to even better swims tonight. Now we have to finish strong on Saturday.”

In addition to Saunder’s two wins, the Tide won both the men’s and women’s 200 medley relays while junior Brent Walsh (100 butterfly) and sophomore Connor Oslin (100 backstroke) picked up individual wins on the men’s side while freshman Mia Nonnenberg (400 individual medley) and senior Kaylin Burchell (100 breaststroke) earned victories on the women’s side of the slate.

The Tide opened up finals by winning the women’s and men’s 200 medley relays. Freshman Temarie Tomley, Burchell, junior Justine Panian and sophomore Bailey Scott combined to win with a 1:39.89. On the men’s side, sophomores Oslin, Pavel Romanov and Kristian Gkolomeev combined with junior Brett Walsh to turn in a 1:26.62 for the victory.

The Tide went 1-2-4 in the men’s 100 butterfly, with Walsh posting a 47.23 for the win, while Gkolomeev was second at 47.84 and Oslin was fourth with a 48.26. Oslin kept things rolling with a win in the 100 backstroke with a time of 47.19.

Nonnenberg won the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:12.89, which ranks her third all-time at Alabama. Fellow rookie Karolina Szczepaniak took fourth with a time of 4:16.63, which ranks her fourth all-time for the Tide.

Burchell kept her 100 breaststroke win streak going after posting a 59.67, bettering the field by more than a second.

Sophomore Taylor Charles ripped off a 3:51.70 to win the B final of the 400 individual medley, which would have placed him second in the A final, and ranks him fifth all-time at Alabama.

Sophomore Alex Gray posted a career-best 1:37.37 to take second in the 200 freestyle while Romanov was second in the 100 breaststroke after touching the wall with a 54.08. Sophomore Anton McKee was third in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.16. Sophomore Brent Sagert was second off the 3-meter board after scoring 387.05 points.

 

South Carolina

The South Carolina swimming team had another successful day at the Virginia Tech Invitational and both the men and women remain in third place through two days of competition.  

The Virginia Tech men and women retained their lead and are currently in first place with 860 and 922 points, respectively. Alabama finished the day in second place as the men tallied 761 points and the women have 501 points. The third-place Gamecocks have 523 points on the men’s side and 433 on the women’s side. 

The women opened day two finals with a fifth-place finish in the 200 medley relay. Freshmen Heather Merritt, Mairyn Branaman and Meredith Vay teamed up with junior Ellen Johnson to record a season-best time of 1:41.69, which ranks third all-time in school history. In the men’s relay, the team of sophomore Jonathan Boland, redshirt sophomore Kevin Leithold, senior Michael Covert and freshman Nils Wich-Glasen turned in a fourth-place finish with a season-best time of 1:28.36, which ranks seventh in school history. 

In the women’s 400 IM final, senior Victoria Mitchell finished third with an NCAA B cut time of 4:15.05. Seniors Annika Jonsson (4:20.31) and Elisabeth Worrell (4:21.77) placed sixth and seventh, respectively. 

After finishing second in the preliminary heat, freshman Tomas Peribonio won the 400 IM final with an NCAA B cut time of 3:51.41. Freshman Bryce Kananowicz finished third, also recording an NCAA B cut time of 3:52.94. Freshman Nils-Wich Glasen shaved more than eight seconds off of his preliminary time to finish 10th overall and second in the B final, with a time of 3:54.29, also an NCAA B cut. 

Freshman Heather Merritt advanced to the A final of both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke after placing fourth and third, respectively, in the preliminaries. She finished eighth in both finals with times of 56.32 in the 100 butterfly and 56.91 in the 100 backstroke. 

Sophomore Jonathan Boland recorded a pair of top-five finishes for the Gamecocks, placing fifth (48.48) in the 100 butterfly final and third (48.54) in the 100 backstroke final. Boland recording a new personal best and an NCAA B cut time of 48.32 in the preliminary heat of the 100 backstroke.  

In the women’s 200 freestyle final, freshmen Meredith Vay (1:48.50) and Taylor Worrell (1:49.98) finished third and sixth, respectively. Junior Marwan El Kamash won the men’s final with a time of 1:36.88. 

Freshman Kersten Dirrane placed seventh in the 100 breaststroke final with a time of 1:03.36. Swimming in the B final, junior Ellen Johnson set a new personal record with a time of 1:02.63 and finished 10th overall. 

Leithold won the 100 breaststroke final with a school-record and NCAA B cut time of 53.36. In the preliminary heat, Leithold matched the previous record of 53.57, which he had set at last year’s Virginia Tech Invitational, to finish first and advance to the final. Wich-Glasen placed fourth in the final with a NCAA B cut time of 54.71 and sophomore Evan Mahoney finished eighth with a time of 56.17. 

In the women’s 800 freestyle relay, the team of Merritt, Vay, Mitchell and Taylor Worrell finished in fourth place with atime of 7:27.31. The Gamecock men concluded the day with a win in the 800 freestyle relay. Leithold, El Kamash, Peribonio and Patrick McCrillis teamed up to finish in 6:29.80, which ranks sixth all-time in school history. 

DIVING AT GEORIGA TECH INVITATIONAL
At ATLANTA Ga. – The Gamecock divers had a successful day at the Georgia Tech Invitational, as seniors Cole Miller and Patricia Kranz both won their events. Miller took first place in the men’s three-meter final with a score of 392.35, while Kranz finished first in the women’s one-meter final with a score of 323.90. Sophomore Jordan Gotro and freshman Julia Vincent also advanced to finals, finishing in fifth and third place, respectively. 

KEY STAT
Both Kevin Leithold and Marwan El Kamash recorded their second wins of the invitational. 

NOTEABLES
•       Six Gamecocks recorded at least one NCAA B cut time. 
•       Kevin Leithold set a new school record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 53.36. Leithold matched the previous record of 53.57 in the preliminary heat – he had set the previous record at last year’s Virginia Tech Invitational.
•       Victoria Mitchell’s time of 4:15.05 in the 400 ranks second in school history, entering the day her time of 4:15.33 ranked third.
•       Tomas Peribonio set a new PR of 3:51.41 in the 400 IM, his time ranks seventh in school history. 
•       Bryce Kananowicz set a new PR of 3:52.94 in the 400 IM, his time ranks 10th in school history.
•       Wich-Glasen has now recorded an NCAA B cut time in four different events this season (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 IM and 400 IM). 
•       Heather Merritt’s set a new personal record in the 100 backstroke prelim with a time of 55.30, which ranks second in school history.
•       Jonathan Boland set a new personal record in the 100 backstroke prelim with a time of 48.32, which ranks fourth in school history. 
•       Jeremiah Bohon set new personal records in the preliminary heats of both the 400 IM (4:01.43) and the 100 breaststroke (57.38).   
•       The time of 6:29.80 in the men’s 800 freestyle relay ranks sixth in school history. 

QUOTABLE
Head swimming coach McGee Moody
“Tom (Tomas Peribonio) had a great night. He had a really strong 400 IM and swam well in every race. His performance says a lot about what he’ll be able to do at the end of the season. Kevin Leithold broke the school record, which we knew he was capable of doing, but then to turn around have a top-10 (in school history) relay time was huge. The women’s relay at the end of the day was really good as well. Victoria Mitchell had a great 400 IM and Meredith Vay had a good night in the 200 freestyle. All in all, it was a very successful day and something for us to build on moving forward.”  

Head diving coach Todd Sherritt
“The women did a great job today. Lauren (Lamendola) just missed making the finals and both Patricia (Kranz) and Julia (Vincent) were diving really well today. There are a lot of divers at this event and it’s very similar to what we’ll see in the postseason, so it’s an important meet for us. Cole (Miller) beat a really good diver from Utah (Jacob Crayne) and Jordan (Gorto) did a good job as well. Overall, I’m really proud of this group. We accomplished what we needed to and this will help prepare for the postseason.” 

 

Liberty

The Liberty swimming & diving team posted several season-best times during day two of the 2014 Virginia Tech Invitational, Friday at Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
        
The Lady Flames are currently in seventh position in a field that includes four teams that were ranked in the first CollegeSwimming.com Power Rankings. Host Virginia Tech continues to lead the way, with 922 points, followed by Alabama in second place with 501 points. South Carolina has scored 433 points for third place. Villanova (292) and William & Mary (259) round out the top five. Ohio (224) is sixth, while Liberty is in seventh place with 93 points.
        
This week’s events are in a similar event format as the 2015 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships. However, the Virginia Tech Invitational allows for unlimited entries for each team.
        
Freshman Prudence Rooker swam a season-best 1:05.51 to qualify for the C Final in the 100 breaststroke, where she place 21st overall in 1:05.73. Her time of 1:05.51 is the fourth-best in program history. Classmate Rachel Wasko clocked 1:08.04 for 27th place.
        
In the 100 fly, freshman Rachel Hart swam her top time of the season, 56.92, and then went 57.47 in the C Final for 24th overall. Hart’s 56.92 is ranked fifth on Liberty’s all-time top five list. Junior Ranndi Grubbs came in 32nd, at 58.50, while classmate Natalie Beale finished 39th in 59.83. Freshmen Danielle Boothe (1:00.27), Rachel Rippey (1:00.32) and Sydney Archuleta (1:02.60) took 42nd through 44th place, in that order.
        
Senior Emily Duff picked up a 23rd-place showing in the 400 individual medley, touching the wall in 4:33.81 in the C Final. Freshman Sarah Browning claimed 24th place with a 4:34.80 clocking in the consolation final. Junior Hannah Wakeley went 4:41.39 for 31st position overall.
        
Liberty’s A 800 free relay took 14th place in 7:44.56, as the quartet of Duff, Kristin VanDeventer, Chelsea Pond and Meghan Babcock clocked the fifth-best performance in program history.
        
The Lady Flames’ 200 medley relay team of Kendall Hough, Rooker, Hart and Babcock placed 11th with a season-best 1:44.76.
        
Sophomore Victoria Tschoke led Liberty’s group of participants in the 100 back, taking 28th place in 58.28. Hough finished 36th at 59.40. Archuleta (1:00.67), Beale (1:00.80), senior Chloe Thomas (1:01.12) and Boothe (1:01.18) placed 41st through 44th, in that order. Senior Jennifer Garzinski (1:02.01) and freshman Rachel Rippey (1:03.43) came in 48th and 49th, respectively.
        
VanDeventer swam 1:55.72 for 45th in the 200 free, followed by Pond (1:55.78) and Babcock (1:56.04) in 46th and 47th position. Freshman Ashlee Sall claimed 51st in 1:56.84, followed directly by classmate Rachel Hoeve in 1:56.86. Senior Cori Gary clocked 2:01.29, finishing 58th.

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