Michigan, Virginia and Penn State put on a show in Charlottesville during a two-day battle that featured some strong swims throughout.
Michigan Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Junior PJ Ransford, junior Evan White, freshman Charlie Swanson and freshman Jacob Montague all won individual events to pace the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team to wins over No. 25 Virginia (203-140) and Big Ten foe Penn State (217-126) on Saturday (Nov. 5) inside the UVA Aquatic and Fitness Center.
The Wolverines showcased their depth on Saturday, going 1-2-3 in a pair of races. Ransford led the way in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:08.68), followed by senior Cameron Stitt (9:08.85) and freshman Felix Auböck (9:13.42). Montague coasted to victory in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:58.70), followed by senior Chris Klein (1:59.92) and Swanson (2:01.55). White and Swanson were the other victors: White in the 100-yard butterfly (47.76) and Swanson in the 400-yard IM (3:50.59).
U-M won the 200-yard medley relay with a 1-2 finish, but it was the 'B' team that touched the wall first. The quartet of freshman Alex Martin, Klein, sophomore Jon Burkett and fifth-year senior Luke Papendick made up the winning team (1:28.86).
With the result in hand, Michigan elected to exhibition all non-winners after the 100-yard butterfly. The Wolverines still produced some solid in-season times, particularly from senior Jack Mangan in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.61, would have been second) and junior Tristan Sanders in the 100-yard backstroke (49.09, would have been third).
In the diving well, freshman Jake Herremans took second on the one-meter springboard (295.15).
Papendick, junior Paul Powers, Ransford, Swanson and White will represent Michigan and the Big Ten at the USA College Challenge, set for next Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 12-13) in Indianapolis. The dual meet, which pits Big Ten All-Stars vs. select U.S. National Team members, begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The Big Ten Network will show both sessions beginning at noon on Sunday.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The top-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team split its double dual, toppling Penn State (270-83) and falling to No. 6 Virginia (196.5-156.5) on Saturday (Nov. 5) at the UVA Aquatic and Fitness Center.
After winning two events yesterday (Friday, Nov. 4), sophomore Siobhán Haughey added to her bounty on Saturday, tying for first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:12.47; a pool record) and also beating Virginia's Leah Smith, a U.S. Olympian, in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.35). The latter event was the best of the afternoon for Michigan, as junior G Ryan (1:47.36), sophomore Becca Postoll (1:48.19) and junior Gabby DeLoof (1:48.28) finished behind those two in third, fourth and fifth.
The other individual victor on the day was junior Clara Smiddy, who touched first in the 100-yard backstroke (54.41). U-M showed its depth in this race, as well, with sophomore Catie DeLoof (55.40) and freshman Jacqui Schafer (55.88) taking third and fourth, respectively. U-M also won the 400-yard freestyle relay by nearly three seconds to close the meet, with Catie DeLoof, Gabby DeLoof, Postoll and Haughey making up the winning team (3:17.68).
Other top-three finishes came from senior Allie Murphy (288.65) and freshman Kristen Hayden (262.90) in the three-meter springboard competition; Ryan (9:40.32) and sophomore Yirong Bi (9:46.91) in the 1,000-yard freestyle; Catie DeLoof in the 50-yard freestyle (23.16); freshman Vanessa Krause in the 100-yard butterfly (54.26); and Bi in the 400-yard IM (4:15.76). The Wolverines also finished second in the 200-yard medley relay (1:40.66).
Swimmers Yirong Bi, Gabby DeLoof, Haughey and Smiddy will represent Michigan and the Big Ten at the USA College Challenge, set for Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 12-13) in Indianapolis. The dual meet, which pits Big Ten All-Stars vs. select U.S. National Team members, begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The Big Ten Network will show both sessions beginning at noon on Sunday.
Virginia Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The No. 6 Virginia women’s swimming team defeated No. 1 Michigan and Penn State Saturday (Nov. 5) at the Aquatic and Fitness Center in Charlottesville, while the No. 25 Cavalier men earned a split.
UVA’s women (3-0) defeated Michigan, 196.5-156.5, and Penn State, 266-87, while the Cavalier men (2-1) was victorious against Penn State, 236-115, but fell to No. 6 Michigan, 203-140.
“I am very proud of our teams’ performances this weekend,” UVA head coach Augie Busch said. “We raced very well on both sides. Our men are experiencing some great momentum which is so fun to see and our women also continue to do well. Now it is time to continue to train hard for our fall semester target meet, the Georgia Invite in four weeks.”
The Cavaliers won nine events on the second day, including two relays. In the first swimming event of the day, the women’s 200-yard medley relay of seniors Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.), Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany) and Ellen Thomas (Guildford, United Kingdom) and junior Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.) won in a time of 1:40.02, while in the final event of the day, the men’s 400 freestyle relay of seniors Austin Quinn (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Matt Lockman (Charlottesville, Va.), freshman John Whiteside (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Luke Georgiadis (Jacksonville, Fla.) came from behind to win in 2:58.00.
Senior Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won the women’s 1,000 free in 9:32.03 and the 400 IM in 4:13.19, while Quinn captured the men’s 200 free in 1:37.48. Jones touched first in the women’s 100 butterfly in 54.15, while Simon tied with Siobhan Haughey for the win in the 200 breaststroke in an AFC pool-record time of 2:12.47.
To start the day, the Cavalier divers swept the two events, with sophomore Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) winning the women’s 3-meter event with a score of 344.25, which ranks second on UVA’s all-time list. Freshman Bryce Shelton (Vienna, Va.) captured the men’s 1-meter event with a mark of 315.35.
“It was a great meet for our divers,” UVA head diving coach Jason Glorius said. “I’m very pleased with how we continue to focus on the process rather than the end results at this time. Our results are still very good for where we are in the season so our focus is working. We just need to keep working hard and getting better every day in practice.”
The Michigan women’s 400 free relay of Catie Deloof, Gabby DeLoof, Becca Postoll and Haughey broke the AFC pool record in 3:17.68. A total of eight pool records fell over the two-day meet.
Next up, the Cavalier divers will compete at the NC State/GAC Diving Invite in Greensboro, N.C. on Nov. 19. The full UVA team will be in action at the Georgia Fall Invitational Dec. 2-4 in Athens, Ga.
Penn State Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – NCAA ‘B’ cut swims and event wins from Shane Ryan (Havertown, Pa.) and Katie Saloky (Bloomsburg, Pa.) Saturday led their respective Penn State swimming & diving teams on the second and final day of competition in a double dual meet against Michigan and Virginia in the University of Virginia Aquatic and Fitness Center.
Despite the standout performances, the Penn State men fell to No. 6 Michigan, 217-126, and No. 25 Virginia, 236-115. The Penn State women fell No. 1 Michigan, 270-83, and No. 6 Virginia, 266-87. It was a weekend of progress for the Nittany Lions though.
“Last night and today, as a team, we had a very high percentage of almost all in-season best times,” said Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. “In terms of responding to the competition, that was good. I think the team feels good about the work that we have done to this point in time that it is starting to show up. It’s encouraging that we’re on the right track.”
Ryan ultimately won three individual events for the men’s side over the two-day meet. He swam the fastest 100 free time in the NCAA entering the weekend Friday evening, winning the event in a pool record 43.09 seconds. He followed Saturday with a victory in the 50 free in 20.09 seconds, achieving the NCAA ‘B’ standard and also winning the 100 back in a pool record 47.19.
On the women’s side Saloky also reached the podium twice Saturday. She won the 50 free in a ‘B’ standard time of 22.90, and then placed third in the 100 butterfly in 54.49 seconds.
Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) also had a strong day, placing second in the 400 IM in a personal best and NCAA B-standard time of 4:15.54. Casey Francis (East Meadow, N.Y.) followed in sixth in 4:21.91 and Megan Wujciak (Livingston, N.J.) was eighth in 4:22.67. The Nittany Lion women also saw success in the 1000 freestyle, led by McHugh, who placed fourth in 9:58.05. Francis and Amber Glenn (Ventor, N.J.) followed in fifth (9:59.17) and sixth (10.00.96), respectively. Freshman Maddie Hart (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) placed fifth in the 100 backstroke in 57.19.
Additional strong performances on the men’s side included Matt Stasiunas (Avondale, Pa.) in the 200 freestyle, as he placed second in 1:38.92. JP Cervone (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Ryan O’Neill (Howell, N.J.) were also strong in the event, posting times of 1:39.73 and 1:39.76, respectively. Kaelan Freund (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) was solid in the 200 breaststroke, placing sixth in 2:03.58.
Connor Scanlon (Laurel, Md.) placed third in the 1-meter dive with a score of 290.70, following up on a third-place finish in the 3-meter Friday (312.15).
Additionally, on Friday, Ryan also led the 400 medley relay team to a second-place finish in 3:15.23, while Freund took bronze in the 100 breaststroke in 55.58 seconds, narrowly missing the NCAA B-standard of 55.39.
On the women’s side, Penn State saw its most success in the 200 freestyle relay, as the team of Saloky, Siena Salvaggio, Niki Price (Manchester, Pa.) and Katrina Kuhn (Piscataway, N.J.) placed third in a season-best 1:32.34. Mackenzie Cornell (Germantown, Md.) posted the highest individual finish, taking fourth in the 1-meter dive with total of 250.15 points.
Katelyn Sowinski (Severna Park, Md.) led a trio of season-bests in the 500 free placing fifth as she touched in 4:51.16. She was followed by McHugh in a personal-best 4:51.36 and Francis in 4:52.52, placing sixth and seventh, respectively. Sowinski also led Penn State in the 200 butterfly (2:02.96).
Next, the Penn State divers will head to Princeton next weekend for a diving, while Casey Francis, Katelyn Sowinski and Shane Ryan compete in the USA College Challenge against members of the U.S. National Team.
