North Carolina holds the team lead heading into the final day of the 2015 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships.
A consistent effort throughout the first 14 events of the meet left the Tar Heels with 862 team points at the conclusion of the third day of competition on Friday. Seven-time defending champion Virginia holds second place with 839.5 points, while Virginia Tech is third at 664.5. Louisville is in fourth at 641.
NC State is fifth at 589, followed by Notre Dame at 449, Florida State at 408, Miami at 365, Pitt at 330, Duke at 325, Georgia Tech at 137, Boston College at 92 and Clemson at 4.
Prelims in the seven remaining events will be held on Saturday, beginning at 10 p.m., in addition to the men’s platform diving. Saturday’s decisive finals session will begin at 6 p.m.
WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY
Seven-time defending champion Virginia closed the third day of the 2015 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in grand style
Buoyed by an ACC meet record of 50.58 by leadoff swimmer Courtney Bartholomew, the Cavaliers swam to the women’s 400 medley gold medal record in a meet-record time of 3:28.79. Virginia bettered the mark of 3:29.94 it set last year and fell just short of the ACC overall record and nation-leading time of 3:27.84 it posted earlier this season.
Bartholomew was joined in the winning effort by Laura Simon, Ellen Williamson and Kaitlyn Jones. Louisville placed second at 3:31.58, while Virginia Tech took the bronze at 3:34.75.
WOMEN’S 3-METER DIVE
No one can say Miami freshman Briadam Herrera hasn’t made a strong first impression.
Herrera claimed the gold medal in the men’s 3-meter drive of the 2015 ACC Men’s Diving Championship on Friday night, collecting a first-place score of 400.20. The strong showing came one day after Herrera posted a first-place finish in the 1-meter dive.
Virginia Tech’s Logan Stevens was second at 384.75, and Virginia’s JB Kolod claimed his second bronze medal of this year’s event at 383.95.
100 BACKSTROKE
It’s a three-peat for Courtney Bartholomew.
The Virginia junior swam to a gold medal finish in the 100 backstroke at the ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships for the third consecutive year, posting an impressive time of 51.36. The effort came a few hours after Bartholomew swam a time of 51.21, breaking her own ACC Championship meet record of 51.50 set last year. Bartholomew also holds the ACC overall record of 50.01, which she set on Dec. 5 of this season. That time was the second fastest ever in the women’s 100 fly.
NC State’s Alexia Zevnik finished strong on Friday evening for a silver medal time of 52.18. Virginia Tech sophomore Klaudia Nazieblo took the bronze at 52.53.
100 BREASTSTROKE
The Most Valuable Swimmer of the 2014 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships is showing her winning form in 2015, too.
Notre Dame senior Emma Reaney swam to a first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke on Friday night with a time of 58.72. The time was a pool record for the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, which hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and the third-fastest in the nation this year.
Virginia sophomore Laura Simon placed second with a time of 58.97, and Louisville sophomore Andrea Cottrell took the bronze at 59.27.
200 FREESTYLE
Virginia sophomore Leah Smith became a double gold medalist in the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, as she swam to a first-place time of 1:43.80 in the 200 freestyle that ranks as the fourth-fastest in the nation this season. Smith finished ahead of 2014 winner Danielle Siverling of North Carolina, who took the silver medal at 1:44.65. Florida State senior Kaitlyn Dressel was third at 1:45.13.
Smith’s victory came one night after she captured her second straight ACC Championship gold medal in the 500 freestyle. UNC’s Siverling was also the silver medalist in that event.
100 BUTTERFLY
Two ACC Women’s Championship Swimming and Diving events, two record-shattering performances by Louisville.
Cardinal junior Kelsi Worrell delivered the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history with a gold medal showing of 50.17 in the 100 butterfly that topped her own ACC overall and Championship mark of 50.38 set earlier in the day during prelims. Worrell joined teammate Tanja Kylliainen, who posted an ACC overall and Championship mark in the 400 IM to open the night.
Florida State sophomore Chelsea Britt took second place with a time of 51.79, while Duke freshman Leah Goldman claimed the bronze medal at 52.28.
400 IM FINALS
Tanja Kylliainen is taking another gold medal back to Louisville – along with a new ACC overall and Championship meet record.
The Cardinal senior rocked the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in the opening event of Friday night’s ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships finals session with a winning time of 4:04.21 in the 400 IM that ranks as the second fastest in the nation this season. Kylliainen topped the previous ACC Championship record by nearly three seconds and also obliterated the previous overall conference mark of 4:06.77 set by North Carolina’s Cari Blalock in 2013.
Kylliainen captured her second IM gold medal in less than 24 hours after swimming to first place in the 200 on Thursday night. Friday night’s record IM time placed her ahead of Virginia sophomore Kaitlyn Jones, who saw a silver medal time of 4:06.62 that ranks among the top 10 nationally and was also faster than the previous ACC overall mark. Virginia Tech’s Fiona Donnelly placed third with a time of 4:08.30.
MEN’S 3-METER DIVIING PRELIMS
Virginia’s JB Kolod led the way in the men’s 3-meter diving preliminaries early Friday afternoon at the 2015 ACC Women’s Swimming and Men’s & Women’s Diving Championships.
Kolod finished with 390.50 points and was followed by seven additional qualifiers in Florida State’s Tyler Roberge (385.35), North Carolina’s Jack Nyquist (382.10), Virginia Tech’s Logan Stevens (374.80), Georgia Tech’s Bradley Homza (358.20), Miami’s Briadam Herrera (355.70), Pitt’s Dominic Giordano (354.50) and North Carolina’s Sean Burston (353.60).
The finals are set for the evening session at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center and will also feature championship heats in six women’s swimming events.
DAY THREE PRELIMS UNDERWAY
The third day of the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Swimming and Men’s & Women’s Diving Championships have opened with a full slate of preliminaries, and two event records quickly fell by the wayside.
Louisville junior Kelsi Worrell’s time of 50.38 in qualifying for the women’s 100 butterfly was the fastest in the nation this year and set both an overall conference and ACC Championship record. Worrell had already set the previous ACC record of 50.91 earlier this season. She broke the ACC Championship mark of 51.78 set by Virginia Tech’s Heather Savage in 2013.
In the 100 backstroke, Virginia’s junior Courtney Bartholomew swam a time of 51.21, breaking her own ACC Championship meet record of 51.50 set last year. Bartholomew also holds the ACC overall record of 50.01, which she set on Dec. 5 of this season.
In addition to the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, Friday morning prelims include the women’s 400 IM, 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. The men’s 3-meter diving preliminaries are set for a noon start. Finals in all six events, plus the women’s 400 medley relay, are set to begin this evening at 6 p.m.
Seven-time defending champion Virginia head into the day leading the women’s field with a team score of 486 through eight events. North Carolina is second at 458, followed by NC State at 383.
Louisville holds fourth place at 369, followed by Virginia Tech at 342, Miami at 267, Notre Dame at 251 and Florida State at 232.
Pitt holds ninth place at 232, and Duke rounds out the top 10 at 207.
Georgia Tech (99), Boston College (60) and Clemson (4) round out the scoring.
Duke
Duke University freshman Leah Goldman captured the first All-ACC honors of her career to highlight a record-breaking day of action at the 2015 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship at Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center.
Blue Devil swimmers took down four program records and featured an All-ACC performer in the 100-yard butterfly for the second consecutive year on the third day of the conference championship. Goldman broke 2014 graduate Lauren Weaver’s 100 butterfly record in Thursday morning’s preliminaries with a 52.82 swim, earning a spot in the championship final. The evening session saw the rookie from Burlingame, Calif., go even faster, as she touched at 52.28 to surpass her own school record and garner the bronze medal in the event.
Freshman Isabella Paez (54.17) and sophomore Maddie Rusch (53.87) joined Goldman in scoring for Duke in the 100 butterfly finals, with Paez finishing 16th overall and Rusch 21st. In addition, Paez posted the fifth-fastest mark on the program’s all-time top-10 chart in the event preliminaries with a personal-best 53.97 showing.
“We’re extremely proud of Leah for her accomplishments throughout the meet thus far,” said head coach Dan Colella. “For her to come home the way she did in that last 25 and to finish third and break the school record again was quite impressive. Everybody was very excited for her.”
Earlier in the day, the Blue Devils placed four swimmers in the 400 IM finals. Junior Kiera Molloy turned in personal bests in both sessions while breaking the Duke record in the ‘B’ final at 4:17.41, which placed her 15th in the field. Freshman Lizzie Devitt tapped the wall 18th in 4:19.20 to rank third in program history and fellow rookie Verity Abel (4:20.74) and sophomore Liza Bragg (4:23.14) were just behind in 19th and 20th, respectively.
“We got tonight off to a really great start, having the four girls in the 400 IM,” Colella said. “They were able to score a number of points. We’re very thrilled for Kiera and the work she’s put in, and to have that pay off. Her last couple years going into ACCs, she’s had a variety of obstacles that didn’t allow her to perform at her highest level. She came into this year’s meet healthy and we saw the results of that tonight.”
Sophomore Brittany Friese added a fourth school record in the 200 freestyle ‘C’ final, registering a time of 1:48.85 to shave over five-tenths of a second off of her morning swim and finish 20th in the conference.
“Brittany has been performing really well,” Colella said. “With every swim she seems to get stronger and better. Tonight’s 200 free was a great race for her. I know she wanted that record really badly and she went out and got it.”
Fellow sophomore Jessie Sutherland advanced to the ‘C’ final in the 100 backstroke, coming in 24th at 55.88.
The Blue Devils’ 400 medley relay of Sutherland, sophomore Ashleigh Shanley, Goldman and Rusch combined for a mark of 3:32.29 to take ninth in the final event of the evening.
The Duke women sit in 10th place in the team standings (325 points) with one full day of swimming and diving remaining in Atlanta.
Florida State
Leading the Florida State women’s swimming and diving team on the third night of the 2015 ACC Championships at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center was senior Kaitlyn Dressel and sophomore Chelsea Britt as both set new school records on their way to the podium.
With the pressure of three races on her shoulders at finals, Britt first captured her second career ACC silver medal in the 100 fly, touching just under her FSU record at 51.79.
Following that swim, Britt came back and fell just shy of the podium in the 100 back swimming a time of 52.70 for fourth place. She was followed by junior Bianca Spinazzola, who finished eighth with a final time of 53.95 after swimming a 53.17 in prelims.
“It was a long and tough day,” Britt says. “But I was happy with my swims and getting a medal was sweet. I’m ready to see what tomorrow brings.”
Both Britt and Spinazzola finished their day on the 400 medley relay along with Dressel and freshman Natalie Pierce, however it was determined that the Seminoles were disqualified. The mishap affected FSU in the team standings dropping them to seventh with a total of 408 points after climbing safely into sixth.
“That day from Chelsea was just impressive,” FSU head coach Frank Bradley said. “Swimming five times over the course of one day is so taxing, but this is the second year she’s done that and I’m glad we can count on her to pull out those races.”
After she lowered her FSU record this morning in the 200 free by over a second to 1:45.15, Dressel used her speed up front, splitting a 50.63 at the halfway point of the race for the lead in finals.
However her pace could not hold off stamina as the two fastest distance swimmers in the conference took over on the back half as Dressel held on for her second bronze of the meet. She lowered her career best to 1:45.13.
“When I first got to FSU last year I thought Kaitlyn could be a good 200 swimmer,” Bradley said. “It took us 18 months to figure out how to swim that race but we did it. She went out after it and it paid off. She was patient with the process and I’m very anxious to see her 100 tomorrow.”
“I trusted in how Frank was telling me how to swim that race,” Dressel said. “It’s awesome to get back on the podium again and I’m excited for tomorrow.”
The Seminoles were poised to make a jump in the standings by earning nine spots in finals including six in championship heats. Among the nine swims set the evening session, four were new career best times.
“That morning session was big for us,” Bradley said. “I believed that we could have a big session and we did. They’re getting better as the meet goes on and they got it done in the morning. Even those that didn’t make it back still had best times and that’s encouraging.”
In the 100 breast, Pierce and Sami Pochowski finished in sixth and seventh respectively, switching their seeds from prelims. Pierce turned in her personal best at 1:00.79, while Pochowski finished with a 1:01.08 after posting a 1:00.90 in prelims. \
Freshman Colby Harvey squeezed into the ‘B’ final, qualifying in 16th place with a career best time of 54.03. At night, she improved her time and place to 54.01 taking fifth in the heat and 13th overall.
Josie Cuda took 16th place in the 200 free after swimming her best time in prelims of 1:48.22 and Caroline Neil finished 24th in the 200 breast following her personal best in the morning of 1:03.55.
In men’s diving, Tyler Roberge made his ACC Championship final debut after scoring a total of 385.35 on 3-meter, ranking him second.
After putting up the highest score in the first round of 72 points, Roberge was slightly off on his next two dives with tallies of 49.50 and 51.15. However, the third round shook up the standings with several divers missing their marks, leaving Roberge in the middle of the pack in fourth.
The leaders started to become established in the fourth round and Roberge would finish in sixth place with a score of 340.75.
“That was a great event for Tyler today,” FSU head diving coach John Proctor said. “He’s a tower specialist and he did a very good job today. He was a little off in finals but he got the job done in prelims. I’m pumped to see him dive tomorrow.”
In addition to Roberge contesting in his first career ACC championship final, Dylan Grisell placed 11th with a score of 347.60. Both Canadian 10-meter national finalists will contest their specialty on Saturday along with US national team member Katrina Young.
“It was a shame we got disqualified in that last relay,” Bradley says. “But we can’t let that take away from what we did today. There were a lot of best times and we’re getting better as the meet goes on. We have one more day, let’s see what we have left in the tank.”
Louisville
Kelsi Worrell’s gold medal swim in the 100-fly and Tanja Kylliainen’s gold in the 400-IM shattered two ACC records, which along with two other school records setting performances in the 100-breast and the 400-medley relay, paced the University of Louisville women’s swimming and diving team in the Day 3 finals of the 2015 ACC Championships.
North Carolina holds the team lead heading into the final day of the 2015 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. The Tar Heels lead with 862 team points at the conclusion of the third day of competition on Friday. Seven-time defending champion Virginia holds second place with 839.5 points, while Virginia Tech is third at 664.5. Louisville is in fourth at 641. NC State is fifth at 589, followed by Notre Dame at 449, Florida State at 408, Miami at 365, Pitt at 330, Duke at 325, Georgia Tech at 137, Boston College at 92 and Clemson at 4.
"We had a special session tonight. Anytime you can win an event in such a high level conference, it is a great honor. To be able to win two ACC titles definitely is off the charts,” said UofL head coach Arthur Albiero. "Fantastic efforts by Kelsi and Tanja for the wins, but a good overall team outing including a top 3 finish and school record in the 100 breast for Andrea Cottrell and also school record for our 400Medley relay!"
The Cardinals started out the evening with a star performance when Tanja Kylliainen took another gold medal back to Louisville – along with a new ACC overall and Championship meet record. The Cardinal senior blew open the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center’s Friday finals session with a winning time of 4:04.21 in the 400 IM which ranks as the second fastest in the nation this year. Kylliainen topped the previous ACC Championship record by nearly three seconds and also obliterated the previous overall conference mark of 4:06.77 set by North Carolina’s Cari Blalock in 2013.
“The way we’ve been training, I’m surprised it was that (fast),” Kylliainen told ESPN3. “I thought it was going to be 4:06 or 4:07 this time of the year, but we’ll see how it goes at NCAAs.”
Kylliainen captured her second IM gold medal less than 24 hours after swimming to first place in the 200 IM on Thursday night. Louisville’s Abby Chin was into the wall fifth in the 400-IM with 4:13.38. In 400IM B-Final, Marah Pugh goes 4:17.01f for fourth.
Cardinal junior Kelsi Worrell delivered the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history with a gold medal win of 50.17 in the 100 butterfly that topped her own ACC overall and Championship mark of 50.38 set earlier in the day during prelims.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” Worrell said. “My mom’s birthday is tomorrow and I really wanted to give her something special. I’m just so thankful for this opportunity.”
In the A-finals of the 200-freestyle, Andrea Kneppers touched sixth, going 1:46.26. The B-final saw Abbie Houck finish 4th in 1:47.09 and Rachel Grooms was 7th in 1:48.71
In the 100 breast, Andrea Cottrell is third in A-final with a 59.27 in 100 breaststroke which set a school record.
In the C-final of the 100-back, Erica Belcher won in 53.77; Kenzie Buss was 3rd in 54.58; Hannah Magnuson was 6th in 54.88.
Cards touched second in 400 Medley Relay with 3:31.58 beating school record by 2.5 seconds and also under pool record. Splits on school record 400 Medley Relay were: Kylliainen’s 53.43, Cottrell’s 58.45; Kelsi Worrell 49.89; and Abbie Houck’s anchor of 49.81. The Cards were edged by the Cavaliers who were powered by an ACC meet record of 50.58 by leadoff swimmer Courtney Bartholomew, took gold record in a meet-record time of 3:28.79. Virginia bettered the mark of 3:29.94 it set last year and fell just short of the ACC overall record and nation-leading time of 3:27.84 it posted earlier this season.
North Carolina
On a day in which Hellen Moffitt set two school records, it was the University of North Carolina’s overall depth which lifted it into the lead at the 2015 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Tar Heels have scored 862 points through the third day of competition at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center, while seven-time defending champion Virginia now stands in second place with 839.5 points.
Moffitt, a sophomore from Alexandria, Va., set school records in the preliminaries Friday in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke. She clocked a 51.98 in the 100 fly to take down the school record set by Katie Nolan in 2013 at 52.02. Moffitt also broke Carly Smith’s school record in the 100 back as she swam a 52.16 in the morning heats. Smith’s school record had been 52.20 established in 2011.
The Tar Heels took the lead in the team standings through their team depth. UNC had multiple scorers in each event but one and piled up points winning “B” and “C” consolation finals. Only one Tar Heel, Danielle Siverling in the 200-yard freestyle, earned a spot on the awards stand during the evening’s competition.
Complete team scores after Friday’s finals session have Carolina at 862 points, Virginia at 839.5 points, Virginia Tech at 664.5 points, Louisville at 641 points, NC State at 589 points, Notre Dame at 449 points, Florida State at 408 points, Miami at 365 points, Pittsburgh at 330 points, Duke at 325 points, Georgia Tech at 137 points, Boston College at 92 points and Clemson at 4 points.
In the opening event Friday night, Carolina had five swimmers score in the 400-yard individual medley led by junior Emma Nunn with a fourth place finish. She swam a career best time of 4:08.39 and moved into third place all-time in the event at UNC. Junior Maddy Burns also competed in the championship final, going a career best 4:14.13 to finish in sixth place in the event. Her time moved her up to seventh place on UNC’s all-time chart in the event.
A pair of UNC swimmers took the top two spots in the consolation final with Hannah Runyon-Hass seizing ninth place overall at 4:15.21 (ranking 10th all-time in UNC history) and Caty Hulsey scoring in the 10th position with a time of 4:15.75. UNC junior Annie Harrison won the bonus consolation heat of the 400 IM to finish 17th overall with a time of 4:16.44.
Carolina had four swimmers score in the 100-yard butterfly led by Hellen Moffitt in fourth place with a time of 52.45, just off her school record time set in the preliminaries. Junior Hannah Lincoln placed sixth with a career best time of 52.79, which now ranks her fourth all-time in UNC history. Sarah Koucheki placed 10th in the event in a career best 53.37 while freshman Megan Bestor placed 20th in 53.85. The times for Koucheki and Bestor place them sixth and ninth all-time on the record board at UNC.
In the 200-yard freestyle, the Tar Heels had two of the top four finishers. Senior co-captain Danielle Siverling placed second with a time of 1:44.65, just a shade off her school record time she set leading off the 800-yard freestyle relay Wednesday night. During her career as a Tar Heel, Siverling recorded one first place, two second place and one fourth place finish in 200 free in ACC Championships competition.
Junior Ally Hardesty finished fourth in the event in a career best time of 1:46.06, a clocking which moves her into fourth place all-time as a Tar Heel. Junior Lauren Earp swam in the consolation final and took 11th place with a time of 1:47.02.
Carolina had only one entry in the 100-yard breaststroke but Katie Munch turned in an outstanding swim, winning the consolation final in 1:01.05 and taking ninth place overall. Munch had been seeded fifth in that heat heading into the nighttime swim. Her time was well below the career best of 1:02.50 she brought into this school year. She now ranks fourth all-time at UNC in the 100 breast.
Carolina loaded up in the 100-yard backstroke with four swimmers placing between fifth and 10th and another finishing 16th. Hellen Moffitt was fifth in 52.91, after going a school record 52.16 in the preliminaries. Freshman Megan Bestor finished seventh in the event in 53.43, making her the fifth fastest Tar Heel ever. Sophomore Sarah Hitchens and freshman Caroline Baldwin took the top two spots in the consolation final to finish ninth and 10th overall with times of 53.72 and 53.76. Baldwin’s time was a career best and moves her into seventh place all-time at UNC. Freshman Emily Slabe took the No. 16 spot in the event.
UNC’s 400-yard medley relay ended the night with a fifth place finish. The team clocked a time of 3:35.30. Hellen Moffitt (53.57), Katie Munch (1:00.18), Hannah Lincoln (53.07) and Caroline Baldwin (48.48) made up the relay for UNC.
The men’s diving competition is also held during the championships this week with those scores carrying over to next week’s ACC men’s championships in Atlanta. For the second straight diving event, the UNC men’s divers placed four competitors in the Top 16. Sophomore Jack Nyquist placed fourth in three-meter diving with a score of 375.85 while freshman Sean Burston rallied from a poor first dive to take fifth place with 351.60 points. Senior Ryan Fox was 13th with 334.25 points and junior Ozzie Moyer was 16th with a score of 328.05.
N.C. State
The NC State women’s swimming and diving team capped off its third day of competition at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Swimming and Diving Championship with three school records.
Sophomores Addisynn Bursch, Kayla Brumbaum and Alexia Zevnik all notched school records in their respective events in Friday’s morning session, while the Pack’s 400 medley relay team came up just shy of a school record in the finals session.
A total of seven school records have been broken inside the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta over the first three days.
Wolfpack Relays
The team of Zevnik, Brumbaum, Krista Duffield and Riki Bonnema finished just shy of a school record by .10 seconds with a time of 3:35.63 in the 400 medley relay. The squad’s time was enough to earn an NCAA ‘B’ standard time.
Back It Up
Zevnik took the runner-up spot in the 100 back with a time of 52.18, which was enough to earn another invitation to the NCAA Championship. In the morning session, she swam the same time to break her school record.
Individual Medley
Addisynn Bursch notched another school record for the Pack in the morning session of the 400 individual medley after touching the wall at 4:13.74. She finished seventh overall in the ‘A’ final with a time of 4:15.07.
Freestyle Watch
Rachel Muller finished eighth in the overall standings of the 200 freestyle, as she swam a time of 1:46.36. She already received her invitation in the 200 free to the NCAA Championship as she broke her school record as the leadoff split in Thursday’s 800 free relay event.
Breaststroke
Brumbaum broke her school record in the preliminary session of the 100 breaststroke, swimming a time of 1:01.20. She finished eighth in the finals session with a time of 1:01.51.
Notre Dame
After clinching a spot at her fourth NCAA Championships in the morning session, University of Notre Dame women’s swimming standout Emma Reaney continued to add to her impressive Atlantic Coast Conference legacy Friday night, as she won her second consecutive ACC title in the 100-yard breaststroke with an impressive finals swim of 58.72.
A night after a disappointing disqualification in the 200 IM, Reaney quickly put it out of her mind, as she went 27.72 in the first leg of the 100 breast and 31.00 in the second to beat out Virginia’s Laura Simon by .25 seconds to win her second title. She’ll look to go for another individual title Saturday night in the 200-yard breaststroke, an event she holds the American record in after setting it at last year’s ACC meet and resetting it at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Reaney’s gold medal-winning performance highlighted an outstanding day in the pool for the Irish.
Sophomore Katie Miller started off the night session with an eighth place showing in the 400 IM, in an NCAA B cut time of 4:17.38. Senior Bridget Casey placed 22nd (6th in “C” final) in 4:22.98.
One event later, junior Catherine Galletti won the “B” final by swimming an NCAA B cut time of 53.24. Teammate Courtney Whyte joined Galletti’s winning ways by claiming the “C” final of the 100 fly (53.49). Her time was also an NCAA B cut.
In addition to Reaney’s sterling performance in the 100 breast, sophomore Danielle Margheret claimed second (10th overall) in the “B” finals in an NCAA B cut time of 1:01.20, while junior Genevieve Bradford placed third (19th overall) in the “C” finals (1:02.58) and freshman Sherri McIntee claimed seventh (23rd overall) in 1:03.92.
Galletti continued her outstanding night by touching the pad third (11th overall) in the 100 back in an NCAA B cut time of 53.81. Teammate Catherine Mulquin finished close behind in fifth (13th overall) in an NCAA B cut time of 54.15.
Notre Dame closed out the night with an outstanding effort in the 400 medley relay, as Galletti, Reaney, Whyte and Mulquin placed fourth in an NCAA B cut time of 3:35.00.
Through three days, the Irish sit in sixth place out of 13 squads with 449 points.
PRELIMS RECAP
Highlighting the morning session was an impressive swim from Reaney. Quickly putting Thursday night’s disappointment behind her, the Lawrence, Kansas native qualified first in the 100 breast by .62 seconds, notching an NCAA A cut time of 58.87. It was the third fastest time in the country this year and automatically qualified her for March’s NCAA Championships for the fourth time in her career.
Elsewhere in the 100 breast, Margheret looked strong in her swim, locking up a spot in the “B” finals (10th overall) with a time of 1:01.36. Meanwhile, Bradford (1:02.33) and McIntee (1:03.38) claimed spots in the “C” finals. Bradford’s swim was an NCAA B cut.
The Irish got off to a great start on day three, as Miller qualified eighth for the “A” finals in the 400 IM, with a season-best time of 4:17.38 (NCAA B Cut). Senior Bridget Casey locked up a slot in the “C” finals of the event (4:22.98). Fellow senior Melissa Scott sits in the second alternate spot (4:28.37).
In the 100 fly, Galletti just missed out on the “A” finals by .36, as she placed ninth in 53.35, which tied her career-best time. Whyte earned a spot in the “C” finals (20th overall) with an NCAA B cut time of 54.23.
Sophomore Elizabeth House placed in the second alternate spot of the 200 free (1:49.89). She swam a career-best in addition to career bests from Molly Treble (1:50.65) and Molly Barry (1:54.23).
In the 100 back, both Mulquin (54.08) and Galletti (54.40) locked up spots in the “B” finals, as they placed 15th and 16th, respectively, with NCAA B cut swims.
Pittsburgh
Junior Leticia Lelli (Scottsdale, Ariz./University of Arizona) rewrote the record books in the 100-yd butterfly and junior Blair Wegescheide (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) lowered her own mark in the 100-yd backstroke, highlighting the third day of competition of the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, Feb. 20 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
Entering the day, the school record in the 100-yd butterfly had stood for more than 11 years. In a matter of eight hours, Lelli broke that mark not once, but twice. Despite being the first female in Pitt history to go sub-55.00 in the prelims and setting a new mark in the process (54.56), Lelli didn’t get the chance to race in the finals until another swimmer scratched. She took full advantage of her extra opportunity and lowered the record once again, placing sixth in the C Final in a time of 54.13.
Overall, it was Lelli’s third school record of the weekend after also making history as a member of the 200 free relay squad on Thursday night.
Wegescheide had the 10th fastest time of the morning, beating her own Pitt record from last year’s ACC Championships by 0.34 seconds and finishing with a time of 53.35 seconds. Racing in the B Final, Wegescheide was in the front pack coming down the final stretch, but less than two-hundredths of a second separated first from fourth and Wegescheide had to settle with fourth (12th overall) in 53.90 seconds.
The Panthers were well-represented in the 100-yd breast finals, bringing back two swimmers to the B Final and one to the C Final. Sophomore Kinga Cichowska (Wroclaw, Poland/Zespol Szkol Sportowych) bettered her morning time by one-hundredth of a second to finish fourth (12th overall) in the B Final in 1:01.77. Junior Cam Dixon (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Balmoral) was right behind her in fifth in 1:01.79. In the morning prelims, Dixon swam a career-best 1:01.49. Freshman Katie Fernander (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hampton HS) also lowered her personal best time twice on the day, first swimming the prelim in 1:02.28, then dropping her time to 1:01.89 to win the C Final.
Pitt snuck two swimmers into the night’s 400 IM C Final after freshman Amanda Richey (Boulder, Colo./Boulder HS) and sophomore Athena Summa (Poquoson, Va./Poquoson) qualified with the 23rd and 24th fastest times of the prelims. Both swimmers impressed in their return to the pool as Richey moved up two spots relative to her morning standings to finish fifth (21st overall) in the C Final with a time of 4:23.48, while Summa slid up one spot to seventh (23rd overall) in a time of 4:24.78. Both performances were about two seconds faster than their morning swims.
Getting season best performances from senior Dani des Tombe (Burlington, Ontario/Nelson) (1:49.01) and junior Kaleigh Ritter (Houston, Texas/Bellaire) (1:49.20) in the 200-yd freestyle prelims, Pitt placed a pair of swimmers in the C Final of the event. Ritter’s morning time was good enough for a personal best as well. Neither swimmer was able to improve their time from earlier in the day with des Tombe taking sixth (1:49.55) and Ritter finishing in eighth (1:52.06).
The 400 medley relay team consisting of Wegescheide, Dixon, Lelli and des Tombe (in that order) grabbed seventh place in the event with a time of 3:40.30, less than a second off the school record.
Men’s 3-meter diving was contested as well with sophomore Dominic Giordano (Wexford, Pa./Florida State) qualifying for the finals one night after freshman Meme Sharp did the same on 1-meter for the women. Giordano had the seventh highest score from prelims of 354.50.
Through two dives, Giordano sat in first with 141.70 points. However, Giordano struggled with his next two dives and ultimately finished in eighth with 261.05 points.
Pitt’s performance in the relay to end the night helped the Panthers surpass Duke in the team standings for ninth at the end of the night with 330 points. Duke has 325. The Panthers are also right behind Miami for eighth (365).
Virginia
The No. 8 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team won three events on the third day of the ACC Championships Friday (Feb. 20) at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
With one day to go, Virginia sits in second place with 839.5 points. North Carolina is in first place with 862 points, while Virginia Tech is third (664.5), followed by Louisville (641), NC State (589), Notre Dame (449), Florida State (408), Miami (365), Pitt (330), Duke (325), Georgia Tech (137), Boston College (92) and Clemson (4).
The 400 medley relay of junior Courtney Bartholomew (Holland, Mich.), sophomore Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany), senior Ellen Williamson (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and sophomore Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.) broke the ACC Championship record in a time of 3:28.79. The lead-off 100 back leg of 50.58 by Bartholomew was also a new championship record.
“Relays are the ultimate essence of team in the sport of swimming and what those four women did with very tired bodies was inspirational,” UVa head coach Augie Busch said. “It closed the day for us on an extremely high note, now we have to use that momentum and have a strong session tomorrow morning.”
Bartholomew captured her third-consecutive ACC title in the 100 back, winning in a time of 51.36. It was Bartholomew’s fifth individual ACC crown (200 back in 2013 and 2014). It is the 12th time in program history that a Cavalier has won at least three conference titles in a single event.
Sophomore Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) captured the 200 free title in a time of 1:43.88, which ranks second on UVa’s all-time top-10 list and fourth in the country this year. It is Smith’s fourth individual crown (500 free in 2014 and 2015, 1,650 free in 2014) and second this meet.
Junior Hanne Borgersen (Frederick, Md.) placed seventh in the 500 free in 1:46.35. Freshman Cece Williams (Tallahassee, Fla.) won the consolation final in a time of 1:46.33, the seventh-fastest mark on UVa’s all-time top-10 list.
Jones broke the program record in the 400 IM, finishing second and earning All-ACC honors in a time of 4:06.62.
Simon earned All-ACC honors by placing second in the 100 breast in a time of 58.97, just 0.01 off of her own school record.
In the 100 fly, Williamson took fifth in 52.72, while freshman Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.) touched in a tie seventh in a time of 53.27.
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech women’s swimming & diving team moved into third place at day three of the ACC Championships on Friday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Logan Stevens won a silver medal and Klaudia Nazieblo and Fiona Donnelly won bronze medals to highlight the Tech success.
The H2Okies have a team score of 664.5 after three days of competition. They lead Louisville by a slim margin of 3.5 points and trail Virginia by 175 points.
“It was a total team-swimming effort today,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “We had 16 opportunities to score in swimming tonight, and we converted on 15 of them. I’m so proud of our women and the fight they showed today. With no women’s diving, we knew we had to bring the best in the pool, and they delivered, especially in the morning. The proof is in the results with three medals for the ladies and one from Logan Stevens in the men’s diving.”
Donnelly won her first career medal in the first race of finals - the 400 IM - when she broke her own school record with a time of 4:08. 30 for the bronze medal. After sitting in third for most of the race, Donnelly held off a late push from UNC’s Emma Nunn to earn Tech their first swimming medal of the championships. Laura Schwartz also finished 11th (4:16.25) in the event.
In the 100 fly, Maggie Gruber finished seventh, clocking in an NCAA B-Cut time of 53.27.
In the 200 free, Jessica Hespeler earned fifth place after touching the wall in 1:46.09. Gabrielle Bishop wasn’t far behind her, taking tenth with a time of 1:46.95.
Two H2Okies tied for fourth in the 100 breast when Weronika Paluszek and Mackenzie Stewart both hit the wall after 1:00.36. Alyssa Bodin finished in 11th with a time of 1:01.59.
Tech got on the podium again in the 100 back event when Nazieblo finished third with an NCAA Invite and school-record time of 52.53. Holly Harper was just behind her, taking sixth-place after a time of 53.23.
The swimming concluded with the 400 medley relay, where Nazieblo, Paluszek, Gruber and Hespeler won the bronze medal with a time of 3:34.75. After a rock-solid day that included three bronze medals and nine top-10 finishes for the women’s swimmers, Tech bumped into third place in the team standings heading into the final day of competition.
In one of the most surprising stories of the week, Stevens won the silver medal in the men’s 3-meter with a score of 384.75. Throughout the regular season, Stevens never finished higher than third-place in any diving event, but he performed on the big stage to earn the Tech men some valuable team points.
“What a great story this is,” Skinner said. “Basically a walk-on, Logan showed up to Virginia Tech and developed into the elite diver that he is. That’s what it is all about in the sport of swimming & diving.”
Three other Tech divers barely missed out of the evening finals, but still placed in the top 12 to give Tech quality team points. Kyle Butts finished ninth with a score of 352.75, Thomas Shinholser finished tenth with a score of 351.10 and Mauro Castro-Silva finished 12th with a score of 336.10.
