Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech swimming & diving teams finished first in the H2Okie Fall Invitational on Saturday night, concluding three days of dominating swimming and diving competition. The 17th-ranked H2Okie men edged past No. 15 Al! abama by 102 points and the H2Okie women won big over all their competition, scoring 512 more than second-place finisher No. 24 Alabama.
“I am very proud of our H2Okies,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “This was an outstanding team effort all the way down to our family, friends and support personnel. It is a lot of fun watching swimmers and divers take full ownership in their performances. It starts with our outstanding senior leadership. They have brought the way we handle ourselves to another level.”
Klaudia Nazieblo led the H2Okie women, breaking two school records and securing a win for Tech. The final standings for the women’s meet were as follows:
1. Virginia Tech - 1333
2. No. 24 Alabama - 821
3. South Carolina - 611.5
4. Villanova - 407
5. William & Mary - 348.5
6. Ohio - 270
7. Liberty - 133
Collin Higgins and Morgan Latimer each broke pool records to lead the H2Okies. The final scores on the men’s side were as follows:
1. No. 17 Virginia Tech - 1255
2. No. 15 Alabama - 1153
3. South Carolina - 743
4. William & Mary - 353
5. Villanova - 187
Women’s Competition
The H2Okie women’s squad entered the final day of the meet with a sizable lead and it didn’t take long for them to add to that lead. Jessica Hespeler won the 1650 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 16:30.50.
In the next event, the 200 back, Tech finished in second, third and fourth, earning the H2Okies numerous team points. Nazieblo finished second and broke the Virginia Tech record with a B-cut time of 1:55.23.
In the 200 breast event, Weronika Paluszek picked up the win after touching the wall in an NCAA invited time of 2:10.24.
In the 200 fly event, Nazieblo broke another Virginia Tech record and set a new pool record after swimming an NCAA invited time of 1:55.90.
In the final swimming event, Tech’s relay teams took second, third and fifth in the 400 free relay.
In Friday night’s 1-meter diving event, the H2Okie divers grabbed 18 team points after finishing in the top four positions. Kaylea Arnett picked up the win after posting a score of 302.75. Less than two points behind her, Kelli Stockton finished second with a score of 300.70. Neck and neck with both of them, Ashley Buchter finished third with a score of 298.25. Emma Villarreal took the fourth spot, scoring 263.00.
In tonight’s event from the platform, Tech swept the competition, taking the top six spots. Kelli Stockton earned the win with a score of 306.35.
Men’s Competition
Michal Szuba got Saturday’s finals started on a high note for the H2Okies, winning the 1650 free after touching the wall in an NCAA B-cut time of 15:11.30. Jake Ores was right behind him, swimming another B-cut time of 15:11.33.
Higgins set a new pool record in the 200 back, clocking in with an NCAA invited time of 1:42.69. In the same race, Robert Owen took third. Another pool record was broken in the 200 fly event when Latimer swam with a B-cut time of 1:44.30.
To close out the evening, Tech’s relay teams took second and fourth in the 400 free relay.
In the platform diving event, Mauro Castro-Silva scored big for the H2Okies, winning the event after posting a score of 365.50. Right behind him, Thomas Shinholser took second with a score of 361.15. Logan Stevens took third to give Tech the one, two, three finish.
With this event, Tech has concluded their fall swimming schedule. Their next event is on January 4, 2015 against Buffalo in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The divers have one more event for the fall season: the University of Georgia Invitational on Dec. 5-7 in Athens, Georgia.
South Carolina
The South Carolina swimming team wrapped up a successful fall season with a third-place finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Saturday night at Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
Both the Virginia Tech men and women finished in first place with scores of 1255 and 1333, respectively. Alabama took second place in both the men (1153 points) and women’s (821 points) competition. The Gamecock men finished with 743 points while the women tallied 611.5 points.
Seniors Victoria Mitchell (third) and Charlotte Ward (5th), as well as freshman Sarah Smith (9th) all placed in the top ten in the 1650 freestyle to begin the last night of finals. In the men’s race, freshmen Tomas Periboino (15:18.03) and Travis Morrin (15:46.26) placed third and seventh, respectively.
In the women’s 200 backstroke final, Mitchell placed seventh with a time of 2:00.74. Swimming in the B final, freshman Heather Merritt (1:59.28) finished ninth and senior Elisabeth Worrell (1:59.57) placed 10th overall. Sophomore Jonathan Boland recorded a fourth-place finish for the men with an NCAA B cut time of 1:45.72 while freshman Bryce Kananowicz took sixth with a time of 1:47.69 and senior Michael Covert (1:46.86) finished ninth overall after racing in the B final.
Freshman Meredith Vay recorded her third top-three finish of the invitational, as she took second in the 100 freestyle final with a time of 50.21. Kevin Leithold (44.54) and Marwan El Kamash (45.28) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the men’s 100 freestyle.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke, freshman Nils Wich-Glasen finished second and set a new school record with his NCAA B Cut time of 1:55.98. Senior Alex Vance placed seventh with a time of 2:02.28. On the women’s side, freshman Brittany Oxley finished eighth with a time of 2:19.60.
Seniors Annika Jonsson (2:03.19) and Charlotte Ward (2:04.01) took seventh and eighth place, respectively, in the 200 fly final. In the men’s final, Kananowicz (1:50.70) and freshman Caleb Tosh (1:51.69) placed sixth and eighth, respectively.
The team of El Kamash, Leithold, Boland and Wich-Glasen recorded a third-place finish in the men’s 400 freestyle relay to conclude the invitational for the Gamecocks.
KEY STAT
Throughout the three days of competition, eight different Gamecocks recorded NCAA B cut times.
NOTABLES
• Charlotte Ward’s time of 16:47.35 in the 1650 freestyle ranks 10th all-time in school history.
• Tomas Peribonio’s NCAA B cut time of 15:18.03 is the third fastest in school history.
• Jonathan Boland recorded his second NCAA B cut of the season with a new PR of 1:45.72 in the 200 backstroke.
• Heather Merritt recorded a new PR of 1:59.28 in the 200 backstroke, which ranks seventh in school history.
• Meredith Vay set a new PR in the 100 free with a time of 50.21, her time ranks fifth all-time in school history.
• Nils Wich-Glasen set a new school record in the 200 breaststroke with his NCAA B cut time of 1:55.98. Alex Vance held the previous record of 1:56.47.
• Thomas Hang set a new PR in the 200 breaststroke with his time of 2:06.14. He finished 17th overall after swimming in the C final.
• The team of El Kamash, Leithold, Boland and Wich-Glasen finsiehd the 400 freestyle relay in 2:57.67, which is the sixth fastest time in school history.
QUOTABLE
Head swimming coach McGee Moody
“A couple of highlights from tonight were definitely Nils Wich-Glasen and Tom (Tomas) Peribonio. Nils broke the school record in the 200 breaststroke and put himself in a position to make the NCAA Championship at the end of the years. Tom had another outstanding night all around. Our relays at the end of night were great and we had great swims across the board. As a whole, I think this is the best meet we’ve had. We learned a lot about ourselves and where we stand at this point in the season.”
Head diving coach Todd Sherritt
“We had a great day. We’re usually at a disadvantage competing in platform since we don’t have a 10-meter platform at home, but we were able to have a great day and Cole (Miller) beat every school that was there. Cole did a great job and Jordan (Gotro) had a phenomenal day as well, they were both very consistent and I’m very happy with what they accomplished. Marissa (Roth) did really well in her first platform competition and Patti (Patricia Kranz) had a great day as well. The entire team this week was very consistent and this meet definitely helped to prepare us for the SEC Championship and the NCAA Championship. Everyone has been working really hard, they have a great attitude and its paying off. Overall we had a phenomenal trip.”
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks return to action on Jan. 3, 2015 when they host Georgia at Carolina Natatorium.
Liberty
Liberty swimming & diving wrapped up its fall schedule on Saturday, posting a seventh-place finish at the three-day Virginia Tech Invitational at Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
Host Virginia Tech led the meet from start to finish, winning with 1,333 points. Alabama followed in second with 821 points and fellow SEC team South Carolina placed third, at 611.5. Villanova (407) took fourth, while William & Mary (348.5) claimed fifth. Ohio finished in sixth with 270 points, while Liberty’s 133 points were good for seventh.
This week’s events a similar event format as the 2015 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships. However, the Virginia Tech Invitational allows for unlimited entries for each team.
Junior Hannah Wakeley earned Liberty’s best individual placing of the day, taking 12th place in the 1,650 free with a time of 17:03.76. Kristin VanDeventer, also a junior, went 17:14.08 for 16th place. Freshman Sarah Browning finished in 21st, at 17:23.37, while classmate Rachel Hoeve swam 18:36.92 for 27th position. Browning’s 17:23.37 ranks third on Liberty’s all-time list for 1,650 free.
The Lady Flames’ 400 free relay of senior Meghan Babcock, freshman Prudence Rooker, junior Kendall Hough and freshman Chelsea Pond recorded an eighth-place finish with a 3:28.85 mark.
Freshman Prudence Rooker qualified for the C Final in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:22.63 preliminary clocking, before placing 20th overall with a season-best 2:22.04 in finals. Rooker’s 200 breaststroke time is ranked fourth in program history. Freshman Rachel Wasko came in 26th, touching the wall in 2:28.71.
Senior Emily Duff claimed 24th overall for the 200 back with a C Final time of 2:06.74 after swimming 2:04.63 in qualifying heats. Browning earned 43rd place by clocking 2:11.02, while sophomore Victoria Tschoke trailed Browning by one place, at 2:11.61. Junior Natalie Beale placed 45th, in 2:12.13, followed by senior Jennifer Garzinski (2:17.42 – 47th) and Hoeve (2:18.77 – 48th).
Rooker registered a 52.89 in the 100 free, good for 27th, while junior Kendall Hough followed one spot behind Rooker, in 52.92. Junior Meghan Babcock placed 30th, in 52.99, while freshmen Chelsea Pond (53.31) and Ashlee Sall (53.71) took 35th and 41st, respectively. Freshman Rachel Wasko (54.11), senior Chloe Thomas (54.14) and senior Cori Gary (54.15) finished 45th through 47th, in that order.
Wakeley led Liberty’s 200 fly contingent, coming in 33rd at 2:08.76. Junior Ranndi Grubbs (2:11.72) and freshman Kendall Hart (2:13.04) placed 39th and 40th, respectively.
The Lady Flames have closed out the fall portion of their 2014-15 schedule. Liberty will send select student-athletes to compete in the USA Swimming AT&T Winter National Championships, held Dec. 3-6 in Greensboro, N.C.
Alabama
For the second day in a row, Alabama swimming and diving’s Emma Saunders picked up a pair of individual wins and broke a school record, closing out the final day of the H2Okies Invitational on a fast note.
“It was another good day for us,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “We certainly had some fast swims both individually and in the relays, as well as another school record from Emma Saunders. We still have room to grow and improve, but we made strides as a team this weekend.”
Saunders won the 200 backstroke and 100 freestyle in back-to-back swims, bettering her own school mark in the backstroke event. The junior touched the wall with a 1:54.27, becoming the first UA woman under 1:55 in the 200 backstroke, and finishing nearly a second ahead of the field. Moments later she won the 100 freestyle with a 49.94, the only woman under 50 seconds in the meet.
Alabama closed out the three-day meet by winning both the women’s and men’s 400 freestyle relays as well as wins from sophomores Anton McKee (200 breaststroke) and Kristian Gkolomeev (100 freestyle).
Saunders added another “W” to her victory filled weekend when she joined with freshman Temarie Tomley, junior Justine Panian and sophomore Bailey Scott to win the women 400 freestyle relay with a 3:20.18. Saunders led off the relay with a season-best 49.83.
Sophomores Alex Gray and Gkolomeev combined with juniors Crews Wellford and Brett Walsh to win the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 2:54.45. Gray led the relay off with a career-best 43.82, which ranks him seventh all-time at UA.
McKee took top honors in the 200 breaststroke with a 1:55.76. Sophomore Pavel Romanov was third in the 200 breaststroke with a 1:58.02. Gkolomeev raced to a 43.28 to win the 100 freestyle. Walsh was second in the 100 freestyle with a 44.13.
Sophomore Connor Oslin was second in the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly, posting times of 1:44.63 and 1:46.76, respectively, while senior Kaylin Burchell was second in the women’s 200 breaststroke with a 2:12.38. Oslin’s time in the 200 butterfly is a career-best and ranks him eighth all-time for the Tide.
Freshman Mia Nonnenberg was third in the 200 butterfly with a 2:00.91, which ranks her tenth all-time at Alabama.
