The University of Louisville men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams won all but three races to take the title after the final day of competition at the Louisville Invitational Sunday afternoon at the Ralph Wright Natatorium
The Louisville men's team won with 2,261, followed by WKU 1,181; Missouri 1,157; UConn 1,083 and SIU 913. The Louisville women won with 1,872, ahead of WKU 1,566, UConn 1,282, Missouri State 1,069 and SIU 795 for the final standings.
“This meet exceeded our expectations,” said Arthur Albiero, UofL head coach. The energy level was great and it made for a top notch tuneup for our kids. I am pleased with our performances and the environment that the crowd provided. We had a full house every night. I was also pleased with the depth of our relays for both the men and the women because it creates more options for the championship relays.”
In all, 19 Cardinal swimmers made B-cuts in a total of 38 events over the three days of the Invitational.
In the women’s 200-backstroke, WKU’s Allie Duff won in 1:57.10 for a B-cut. UofL’s Erica Belcher dueled her down the stretch to put up a 1:57.65 for second. Hannah Magnuson was right behind with a third place B-cut time of 1:58.23.
In the men’s 200-back, UofL’s Aaron Greene made a B-cut with the winning time of 1:43.31. Josh Quallen was third in 1:45.62, also a B-cut. Nick Hasemann was fifth in 1:47.11.
In the women’s 100-freestyle, Kelsi Worrell put up a pool record time of 48.75 for a B-cut and the win. Andrea Kneppers was fifth in 50.37, Abbie Houck was sixth in 51.21, Alex Sellers 51.28 and Rachel Grooms was 8th in 51.49. w
In the men’s 100-freestyle, Cardinal Grigory Tarasevich had his hands full with a tightly contested finish that saw him touch in 44.50 for the win. Teammate Rudy Edelen was two one-hundreths of a second behind at 44.52 and he was tied by Missouri State’s Uvis Kalnins. Trevor Carroll was fourth in 45.08 and Estefan Albiero was fifth in 45.21.
In the women’s 200-breast, WKU’s Claire Conlon took top honors with a 2:14.61 for a B-cut and the win. Cardinal Devon Bibault was in hot pursuit, touching second in 2:14.90 for another B-cut. Teammate Lucy Kramer was third in 2:16.74.
In the men’s 200-breast, UofL’s Carlos Claverie set a pool record with a 1:54.58 and a B-cut for the win. Cardinal freshman Todd Owen was third in 1:58.99. Addison Bray touched in 2:00.78 with fellow Cardinal Dexter Thomas going 2:00.86.
In the women’s 200-butterfly, Devon Bibault was the fastest, going 1:57.88 for the win. Hannah Magnuson was sixth in 2:03.38.
Louisville’s Joe Brown took the 200-fly with a time of 1:49.40. Cardinal Ryan Massey was 4th in 1:50.98, Brett MacKenzie was sixth in 1:51.75 tying with Jake Schultz.
In the women’s platform diving, UofL’s Alessandra Murphy put up a 234.45 for the win for UofL. Emily Stalmack was second with a 229.20. Mady Ingmire was fourth with a score of 201.35.
In the men’s platform diving, Sean Piner was second with a score of 320.20. Teammate Ryan Bohn was sixth with a 189.90 for sixth.
In the women’s 400 Free Relay, the Louisville foursome of Andrea Kneppers (50.12), Kelsi Worrell (48.39), Alexandra Sellers (50.31) and Tanja Kylliainen (49.06) combined for a 3:17.88, the win and a B-cut time.
The Cardinal men won the men’s 400 Free Relay with a B-cut time of 2:54.64. Thomas Dahlia (44.06), Caryle Blondell (43.32), Trevor Carroll (43.81) and Rudy Edelen (43.45) combined for the win.
The Cardinals head to the USA Short Course Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 4-6.
Connecticut
The UConn men’s swimming and diving team concluded the Louisville Invitational on Sunday, finishing the meet with fourth-place honors with a final score of 1,083. The Cardinals finished first (2,261), while Western Kentucky (1,181) and Missouri State (1,157) rounded out the top three.
Senior Lachezar Shumkov (Sofia, Bulgaria) and juniors Mike Lennon (Williston Park, N.Y.) and Jeff Magin (Brookfield, Conn.) all turned in solid days for the Huskies, as they each finished in the top six in individual races.
Shumkov swam to a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:00.64), and Lennon completed the 1650-yard freestyle in 15:54.44, good for the fifth-best mark in the race. Magin touched the wall in 1:49.56 in the 200-yard backstroke to earn sixth-place honors.
Junior diver John Brice (Bala Cynwood, Pa.) concluded his strong weekend on the boards, placing third in the platform diving event with a final score of 247.40. Freshman Daniel Kinney (Middletown, Conn.) was seventh (186.90) in the event, while sophomore Spencer Beaulieu (Portland, Conn.) was ninth. Freshman Jeffrey Aselin (Riverside, Conn.) finished 10th with a score of 150.55.
In the final event of the invitational, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Connecticut team of Magin, sophomores James Donlevy (Lake Grove, N.Y.) and Kevin Konarski (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and senior Felix Samuels (London, England) swam to fifth place in the racing, posting a time of 3:03.27.
“Many of our swimmers were at conference level times without a taper or shave,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said. “That makes us very excited for our conference championship in February.”
UConn wraps up its winter schedule in December with the AT&T Winter Nationals, set for Dec. 5-7 in Greensboro, N.C.
University of Connecticut sophomores Christine Pedersen (Vinterbro, Norway) and Sophie Nothnagle (Victor, N.Y.) both set school records on Sunday for the UConn swimming and diving team, which finished in third place (1,282 points) in this weekend’s Louisville Invitational. The Cardinals earned the top spot with a score of 1,872, while Western Kentucky was second after totaling 1,566 points.
Pedersen posted a time of 1:58.76 in the 200-yard backstroke, as she placed fifth in the A Final to award the Huskies 25 points. Nothnagle set her school record in the preliminary round of the 200-yard butterfly, swimming it in 2:00.81.
On the diving side, sophomores Michelle Kalupski (Chicago, Ill.) and Alexandra Butera (Havertown, Pa.) both finished in the top-10 of the platform diving event. Kalupski was eighth (162.85) and Butera was ninth (159.20), while junior Taryn Urbanus (Quincy, Mass.) finished 11th with a score of 137.90.
Connecticut’s Chinyere Pigot (Miami, Fla.) had another strong showing this weekend in a freestyle event, finishing second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.82. The senior speedster’s time of 22.66 in Friday’s 50-yard freestyle currently stands as one of the best times in the country.
Multiple Huskies recorded solid times in 200-yard breaststroke final, as three UConn swimmers finished in the top eight. Junior Laura Ruttan (Stittsville, Ontario) was fourth (2:18.29) and freshman Sammi Bassman (Austin, Texas) finished fifth (2:19.56), while junior Laura Hyland (Southport, England) swam to a seventh-place finish after completing the race in 2:20.49.
“Many of our swimmers were at conference level times without a taper or shave,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said. “Setting three school records is extraordinary.”
Other notable times on Sunday came from Nothnagle (Victor, N.Y.) and freshman Emily Parillo (Phillipston, Mass.), who both saw a top-eight finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Nothnagle earned fifth-place honors with a time of 2:01.26, and Parillo continued her strong freshman campaign, finishing seventh after recording a time of 2:03.93.
In the final event of the invitational, the 400-yard freestyle, Pigot teamed up with sophomores Deanna Parsons (Ellicott City, Md.) and Margot Manning (Frederick, Md.) and senior Katy Munzenmaier (Lake George, N.Y.) to finish the race in fourth place (3:27.14).
The Huskies wrap up their winter schedule in December with the AT&T Winter Nationals, set for Dec. 5-7 in Greensboro, N.C.
Missouri State
Missouri State concluded the Louisville Invitational with multiple swimmers earning B standard times in events for the Bears’ swimming and diving teams on Sunday, Nov. 23, at Ralph Wright Natatorium.
“This meet provided our athletes with a championship environment and format,” head coach Dave Collins said. “Managing prelim and final swims with crowded warm-ups and individual recovery is all part of preparing for success in February and March. I was overall very pleased with our team as a whole. The effort was good, I felt we raced tough and supported our teammates well. Now, our staff will go back and breakdown the meet and tweak a few things in an effort to put our group in a position to be at our best in a few months.”
Both the Bears’ men’s and women’s teams completed the three-day event with highly-competitive races against strong opposition. The No. 5 Cardinals won the men’s portion of the Invite with 2,261 points. They were followed by Western Kentucky (1,181), MSU (1,157), Connecticut (1,083) and Southern Illinois (913). The No. 17 women’s team from Louisville completed a sweep for the Cardinals with 1,872 points. Western Kentucky followed with 1,566 points, with Connecticut (1,282), MSU (1,069) and Southern Illinois (795) rounding out the final three.
Senior Paul Le and juniors Miguel Davila and Uvis Kalnins earned B-cut times to lead the Bears’ men’s side on Sunday.
Le came out of the gate placing runner-up in the prelims of the 200 back, then matched that result by besting his previous 2014-15 NCAA consideration mark in the finals with a 1:43.50. Davila earned the lone victory in any event for MSU on Sunday. The junior earned a B-cut mark in the 1650 free by finishing the race in 15:18.66 to lead a variety of top finishers in the event for the Bears. Kalnins also earned another B-cut during the Invite in the third day of action with a 43.99 time in the 100 free prelims. He wound up placing third in the finals.
Le and Kalnins, along with Isaac McKnight and Will Brand, combined forces for a runner-up finish and top time for the Bears in the 400 free relay this season.
MSU was able to move into third and narrowly fall to runner-up Western Kentucky with a variety of individuals earning critical points in A- and B-Final appearances.
In the 200 back, season-best swims behind ninth-place Will Frisbie (1:52.48), 11th-place Canaan Campbell (1:52.43) and 12th-place Brandon Weissman (1:54.19) got the Bears motivated early. McKnight placed seventh in the A-Final and Brand followed in 12th in the 100 free. Matthew Wilson placed second in the prelims of the 200 fly with a season-best 1:50.34, with Ethan Bresette and Campbell earning spots in the B-Finals.
Uldis Tazans, Isaac Springer, Christopher Heye and Aaron Dennis all put together their quickest times of the year in the finals of the 200 breast, led by Tazans’s eight-place finish.
“This weekend was a fun opportunity to put on racing suits and see what we could do,” senior men’s captain Aaron Dennis said. “I was pleased with our progression and am excited to see how our times will translate in March with a full rest and shave.”
The divers had the opportunity to compete from a diving platform on Sunday. Diving from 10-meters, MSU’s Garett Nevels finished fifth with 212.65 points and Elijah Swaim got eighth with 167.15 points.
“This weekend was a good opportunity to dive in a championship format,” senior men’s diver Garrett Nevels said. “It was good for some of the younger divers to see the amount of pressure that goes into the finals at night, so they can better prepare for conference championships.”
The Bears’ women’s swimming and diving team also continued its strong performance with a mix of classes leading the way.
Kate Gately swam a personal-best time in the 100 free finals (50.27) for fourth in the event, one of the team’s top results on the day. Dora Kiss earned another season-best time for the third-consecutive day, placing fourth in the 200 fly after posting a 2:00.20 time in the prelims. The 400 free relay team of Megan Holthoff, Anna Bump, Sydney Zupan and Gately swam an MSU-best 3:25.99 in the 400 free relay for this season.
“We’ve had a solid couple of weeks of intense training and that hard work definitely paid off this weekend,” junior women’s swimmer Kate Gately said. “We had good, positive attitudes coming into this weekend and as a result, people raced tough and had great in-season times, along with some personal bests. I think that the Missouri Valley Conference and MAC were well represented by the Bears at this meet.”
The MSU women’s side had multiple swimmers compete for top points in the final day of the Invite.
Zupan placed sixth in the 200 back in a time of 1:59.29 and Megan Holthoff had a 2014-15 top time in the event for a 15th-place finish. Briana Horozewski, CeCe Etter, Hanna Flanagan, Quincy Howell and Emily Chesser also swam season-bests. Lauren Pavel had her top swim of the year (2:20.11) and also finished sixth in the 200 breast, followed by Andi Burroughs who got first in the B-Final with a 2:23.44 mark.
Kiss led the Bears in the 200 fly with her fourth-place finish, but Rebecca Amparano, Emma Wall and Ibby Simcox all made B-Final appearances to highlight MSU’s showing at the Invite.
“This was a very important weekend and I am proud of the Bears,” junior women’s swimmer Dora Kiss said. “Posting personal- and season-best times now will give us the confidence for a successful conference meet. I really think we are on the right track and cannot be happier right now.”
The Invite concludes MSU’s scheduled events for the 2014 calender year. The Bears’ women’s team will next head to Houston for a dual on Jan. 3, 2015, against the Rice Owls. MSU’s men’s team is off until Jan. 8, 2015, when the Bears will compete in a double dual at College Station, Texas, versus Tennessee and host Texas A&M.
Western Kentucky
The WKU swimming and diving completed the final day of the Louisville Invite, as both the men and women’s team finished in second place at Ralph Wright Natatorium.
WKU got great preparation for the Conference USA Championships in February as the field was set up similar to the event. For point totals, the Hilltoppers totaled 1,181 points, trailing just host and top-25 team Louisville. The women’s squad had 1,566 points at weekend’s end, just behind Louisville’s nationally-ranked team.
Allie Duff and Claire Conlon closed a strong weekend in the water with wins in their respective events. Duff took a NCAA B-standard time in the 200 back at 1:57.10 while Conlon hit the NCAA time in the 200 breast at 2:14.61.
Along with those pair of Lady Toppers, other swimmers hit B-times. Fabian Schwingenschlogl’s second-place time in the 200 breast at 1:58.04 made it in the standard while Hannah Musser got second in the 200 fly with a B-cut time of 1:59.35.
Two school records also fell in the day’s finals. Savannah Neddo set a new best on platform with a score of 219.85, finishing third in the event. The women’s 400 free relay team also lowered a time that stood since 2011, as Michelle Craddock, Duff, H. Musser and Logan Graumann set a new school-best time of 3:21.30.
Craddock also did well in the 100 free, taking third with a time of 50.13. Haley Black notched a third-place time of 2:00.22 in the 200 fly.
Seth Musser took fourth in the 200 back after hitting the wall in 1:45.82. Russ Bryant followed suit in the 1650 free, stopping the clock in 15:44.08 while taking fifth in the 200 fly with a time of 1:51.50.
Zach Batus finished fourth on the boards with a score of 239.80 on platform. Madison Rylee placed fifth on platform with a score of 198.00 while Alexandra Mata followed in sixth with an evaluation of 186.20.
The Invite closed the book on the first half of the season for some of the WKU swimmers and divers, but some of the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers will travel to Greensboro, N.C., for the USA Short Course Nationals on Dec. 4-6. After that, WKU won’t compete again until its training trip in Florida at the FIU Relay Invite on Jan. 10.
Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois swimming and diving wrapped up the final day of the Louisville Invite on Sunday, with a few more swimmers earning qualifying times for the USA Swimming Championships.
The Saluki men had two swimmers qualify in the 100-yard freestyle. Andre Brilhante (45.29) and Till Pallmann (46.17) each earned bids after their performances on Sunday. Calvin Kolar qualified in the 200-yard breaststroke, after he finished his race in a time of 2:01.40. In the 200-yard butterfly, Michael Wolfefinished third overall with a time of 1:50.55. His finish earned him a provisional qualification in the event. Wolfe followed his performance with a second place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle.
Kegan Skelton capped off his weekend by taking first in the platform dive. He tallied a final score of 336.25 in the event.
Kelsie Walker took third in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:51.66. The freshman finished her weekend after qualifying for the
USA Championships in a pair of events. Sarah James was the top Saluki in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing third in the B-final, while Holly Johnson finished third in the B-final of the 100-yard freestyle.
With the conclusion of the Louisville Invite, SIU finished their competition for the fall season. The Salukis will return to action on Jan. 17.
