Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech women’s swimming & diving team finished the first day of the ACC Women’s Championships in first place after three events at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Ce! nter. Kaylea Arnett won her second-straight gold medal in the 3-meter diving event and Kyle Butts took fourth in the 1-meter diving event to highlight the H2Okie success.
Tech currently has 178 team points, ahead of second-place North Carolina by 20 points (158). Miami is in third with 150 and Virginia is in fourth with 144.
“Very strong start for the Hokies,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “Kaylea Arnett remains one of the toughest competitors this conference has ever seen. All of our divers are very impressive and are led by one of the best in the business. Our relays raced very well and we are excited about our positioning for tomorrow’s events.”
Arnett, the reigning three-time ACC Most Valuable Diver, led the way for the H2Okies in the first day of competition, capturing the gold in the 3-meter after posting a final’s score of 369.45. It is Arnett’s third career medal in the 3-meter event, after she won gold last year and silver in 2013.
Kelli Stockton finished the morning preliminary competition in sixth place after posting a score of 301.80. In the finals competition, however, she finished in fifth with a score of 333.30. Last year, Stockton also took fifth in this event.
Ashley Buchter was the third H2Okie in the finals, the most from any school. She earned a seventh-place finish after notching a score of 301.35.
“To have three girls in the top eight was incredible,’ head diving coach Ron Piemonte said. “Ashley Buchter and Kelli Stockton did an amazing job to get in there. Kaylea Arnett obviously had a great day, culminating in her fifth ACC title.”
In the first swimming relay of the championships, Klaudia Nazieblo, Alyssa Bodin, Maggie Gruber and Margaret Parcell earned Tech a sixth-place finish in the 200 medley relay, clocking an NCAA B-cut time of 1:38.35.
Then, in the other swimming event of the day, Fiona Donnelly, Jessica Hespeler, Gabrielle Bishop and Nazieblo took fifth in the 800 free relay with an NCAA B-cut time of 7:09.53.
In the final event of the evening, the H2Okie men’s divers gave Tech some early points. Butts finished fourth in the 1-meter diving competition, posting a score of 366.55. Thomas Shinholser finished behind him in eighth with a score of 308.35.
“Neither Kyle Butts nor Thomas Shinholser competed in the 1-meter finals last year,” coach Piemonte commented. “So for Kyle to get fourth and Thomas to get eighth is really an amazing accomplishment. We also had Logan Stevens and Mauro Castro-Silva earn us some points. I think we’re off to a great start with a good, solid first day.”
Logan Stevens finished 14th in the event with a score of 296.20 and Mauro Castro-Silva finished 18th with a score of 287.65.
The diving portion of men’s championships are held a week prior to the swimming portion, so final team scores won’t be decided until the conclusion of the swimming championship on Saturday, February 28.
Action continues tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. with the prelims for the 500 free, the 200 IM, the 50 free and the women’s 1-meter diving event. The finals will begin at 6 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN3.
Duke
Duke swimmers broke a school relay record to highlight the first evening of competition at the 2015 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship, hosted by Georgia Tech at the Aquatic Center. The Blue Devils competed in one diving event and two relays to open the conference championship in 10th place overall.
Freshman Isabella Paez, sophomore Brittany Friese, freshman Verity Abel and freshman Lizzie Devitt took down the previous program record in the 800-yard freestyle relay, combining for a 7:17.43 clocking to place seventh. Paez was just off of the 200 freestyle school record on the leadoff leg, touching in 1:49.24 for the fifth-fastest time in Duke history.
In the 200 medley relay, sophomore Jessie Sutherland, sophomore Ashleigh Shanley, freshman Leah Goldman and sophomore Maddie Rusch clocked a season-best 1:39.27 to finish eighth in the field. That mark also ranked second on Duke’s all-time top-10 chart.
Duke’s divers started off the day competing in the 3-meter preliminaries, with junior Kendall McClenney leading the way in 21st place. Her score of 258.00 surpassed the NCAA Zone Diving qualification standard for the event. Classmate Jaimee Gundry earned an award of 242.05 to come in 26th, while sophomore Kirby Quinn was 30th (236.80) and freshman MaryEllen Targonski 35th (219.10).
Florida State
The Florida State swimming and diving teams began competing at the 2015 ACC Championships in Atlanta on Wednesday. After three women’s events, the Seminoles are in eighth place with a total of 102 points.
The night started off with the team of Bianca Spinazzola, Natalie Pierce, Chelsea Britt and Kaitlyn Dressel placing fifth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.79. The time was just off their NCAA automatic seed time (1:37.57) that was set in December at the Georgia Invite.
“I thought it was a solid relay,” FSU head coach Frank Bradley said. “There were parts of that race that could have been better and a little cleaner, but that relay is on to NCAA’s. That’s key and these ladies will take what they’ve learned tonight on to the next level.”
Wednesday’s session concluded with the 800 free relay as the team of Sami Pochowski, Josie Cuda, Brenna Ruth and Kendall McIntosh turned in a time of 7:17.81 for ninth place.
Pochowski led off with a 1:46.84, which was her career best time and Cuda followed her personal best split time of 1:47.53.
Redshirt senior diver Katrina Young scored points in the 3-meter event by placing 15th with a score of 274.65.
Sophomore Dylan Grisell qualified for his second career ACC championship final in eighth place after posting a score of 323.95 on 1-meter. In finals, Grisell improved his score to 331.95 and moved up to sixth place.
“Dylan had the smallest degree of difficulty in that final heat tonight,” FSU head coach John Proctor said. “He was a little better tonight and he moved up. That was a great day for him.”
Thursday’s prelims start at 10 a.m. with the 500 free, 200 IM and the 50 free and will follow with the prelim of women’s 1-meter. Finals will start at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3.
“Tomorrow is a new day,” Bradley said. “Hopefully we have the jitters out of the way and we can get to work tomorrow. It will be a big day for us.”
Louisville
The University of Louisville women’s swimming and diving team set two school records and made two NCAA A-cuts in the first night of competition at the ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta, Ga. Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
Virginia Tech closed the night in first place in the women’s team scoring with 178 points, followed by North Carolina at 158, Miami at 150, Virginia at 144 and Notre Dame at 141.
Louisville held sixth place at 139, followed by NC State at 111, Florida State at 102 and Pitt at 101.
Duke was in 10th at 94, followed by Georgia Tech at 48, Boston College at 30 and Clemson with four points.
“What a night,” said UofL head coach Arthur Albiero. “It started with our two divers who battled to score some important points. That set the tone for two school record on inspired relays, both also achieving NCAA A-cuts. I am proud of the way we supported each other tonight. It was a good Day One.”
In the first swimming event of the Cardinals’ inaugural appearance in the ACC, UofL took second in 200 Medley Relay. The foursome of Kylliainen (24.88), Cottrell (26.99), Worrell (22.34) and Kneppers (22.18) not only set a school record of 1:36.49 but was an NCAA A-cut.
In 3-meter diving, Virginia Tech’s Kalyea Arnett took top honors with a score of 311.30. Cardinals Emily Stalmack (286.05) and Andrea Acquista (285.60) took 12th and 13th respectively.
In the men’s 1-meter diving which is held in conjunction with the women’s championship, Sean Piner placed 23rd with a score of 276.55.
The women set another school record when the 800 free relay team finished third in a time of 7:05.75. Andrea Kneppers led off in in 1:45.62, Rachael Grooms went 1:47.10, Abigail Houck went 1:46.61, and Tanja Kylliainen anchored in 1:46.42.
N.C. State
The NC State swimming and diving team notched a pair of top five finishes on the opening night of the ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship, hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Wolfpack Relays
The team ofAlexia Zevnik, Kayla Brumbaum, Ashlyn Koletic and Riki Bonnema finished third in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.22. Their mark is just shy of a school record by .04 seconds, but enough for an NCAA ‘A’ standard time.
Virginia claimed the event title with a time of 1:35.88 while Louisville placed second, touching the wall at 1:36.30.
In the second relay event of the opening night, the squad of Rachel Muller, Natalie Labonge, Lotta Nevalinen and Lauren Rhodes finished fourth in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:09.21. Muller's leadoff split of 1:45.21 marked a 200 free school record and gave her an NCAA 'B' standard time, while the relay team’s mark earned the program another ‘B’ cut on the night.
Virginia also captured the title in the 800 free relay with a time of 7:00.93, followed by UNC-Chapel Hill and Louisville to round out the top three of the event.
Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame women’s divers Lindsey Streepey and Allison Casareto finished fourth and eighth, respectively, on the 3-meter board to highlight day one of the ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships Wednesday for the Irish.
Streepey, who racked up 338.55 points, and Casareto, who totaled 300.35 points, scored a combined 48 points for the Irish.
In the pool, the 200 medley relay squad notched the first NCAA B cut of the championships for Notre Dame, as the foursome of Catherine Galletti, Emma Reaney, Courtney Whyte and Catherine Mulquin placed seventh in 1:38.39.
Suzanne Bessire, Elizabeth House and Katie Miller then joined Reaney in the 800 free relay to close out the night. The group finished 10th in 7:20.35.
Pittsburgh
Pitt opened up the 2015 ACC Championships at Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center on Wednesday night with a pair of season best relay performances that barely missed school-record status.
Through one day and three events, Pitt sits in ninth place with 101 team points, only one point behind Florida State for eighth and 10 points back of NC State for seventh. Virginia Tech leads the ACC Championships with 178 points.
The 200-medley relay squad, consisting of junior Blair Wegescheide (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes), sophomore Kinga Cichowska (Wroclaw, Poland/Zespol Szkol Sportowych), junior Mackenzie Meixner (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and junior Danyel Johnson (Dansville, N.Y./St. Francis University), placed ninth in the event and recorded a time of 1:40.66, which was a mere 0.03 seconds off the school mark. That record was set at last year’s ACC Championships and featured holdovers Wegescheide and Meixner.
Wegescheide led off the race with a 50-yd back time of 25.62, good for a Panthers season best by 0.01 and only 0.22 seconds away from her own school record.
Closing out the evening was the 800 free relay team of senior Dani des Tombe (Burlington, Ontario/Nelson), junior Kaleigh Ritter (Houston, Texas/Bellaire), freshman Amanda Richey (Boulder, Colo./Boulder HS) and junior Leticia Lelli (Scottsdale, Ariz./University of Arizona). The Panthers came into the race with a season-best time of 7:22.02 and bettered that mark by nearly six seconds, finishing in sixth place in 7:16.12. The sixth place effort was the best team finish by a Panthers relay team since joining the ACC last year.
Despite des Tombe completing the leadoff leg in a Pitt season best of 1:48.96, the Panthers were jockeying between seventh and eighth through one swimmer. On the strength of Ritter’s 1:48.18 200-yd split, Pitt was able to move up to sixth, and Richey and Lelli held off a late surge by Duke to keep sixth.
Freshman Meme Sharp (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville HS) and sophomore Rachel Saunders (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks West) also scored points for the Panthers in 3-meter diving. Out of 52 competitors, Sharp placed 16th with a score of 271.90 and Saunders was 23rd with 251.35. The top 24 finishers earn points at the ACC Championships.
Additionally, sophomore Dominic Giordano (Wexford, Pa./Florida State) earned points for the upcoming men’s championships, which will predominantly take place next week. He placed 12th on 1-meter, scoring 303.90 points.
Virginia
The No. 8 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team broke two ACC records on the first night of the ACC Championships Wednesday night (Feb. 18) at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
After one night, Virginia is fourth with 144 points. Virginia Tech leads with 178 points, followed by North Carolina (158) and Miami (150). Notre Dame is fifth (141), followed by Louisville (139), NC State (111), Florida State (102), Pitt (101), Duke (94), Georgia Tech (48), Boston College (30) and Clemson (4).
The 200 medley relay team of junior Courtney Bartholomew (Holland, Mich.), sophomore Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany), senior Ellen Williamson (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and sophomore Ellen Thomas (Guildford, United Kingdom) came from behind to win in an ACC-record time of 1:35.88. Going into the final leg, UVa was 0.30 behind Louisville, but Thomas used a freestyle leg of 21.46 to clinch the win.
In the final event of the evening, the 800 free relay of sophomore Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.), junior Hanne Borgersen (Frederick, Md.), sophomore Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.) and freshman Cece Williams (Tallahassee, Fla.) broke the ACC record in 7:00.93.
“It is a seven-session battle and battle number two is tomorrow morning,” Virginia head coach Augie Busch said. “The 500 free and the 200 IM are two of our best events, so we have to build on the momentum we created tonight.”
That last relay was awesome. Watching a freshman (Williams) anchor was a really special moment for both her and the team. She has come in and injected a bunch of positive energy in our program.”
Senior JB Kolod (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned All-ACC honors in the men’s 1-meter diving event, placing third with a score of 372.90. Junior Carl Buergler (Arlington, Va.), who made is his first ACC final, finished seventh with a mark of 321.65.
In women’s 3-meter diving, freshman Corey Johnson (Ambler, Pa.) placed 11th with a score of 286.20, while junior Becca Corbett (Louisville, Ky.) finished 27th with a mark of 238.10.
I thought our divers did a great job today,” UVa head diving coach Jason Glorius said. “Corey (Johnson) had her best meet of the year under the biggest spotlight. JB (Kolod) and Carl (Buergler) really did a great job staying consistent and tight. Everyone has one event under their belt, so I’m looking forward to great things these next few days.”
