Swimming: WVU Falls to Pitt
January 09, 2005 03:05 PM | General
January 10, 2005
PITTSBURGH,Pa. - MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s swimming and diving team suffered a 160.5-82.5 loss to BIG EAST rival Pitt, while the women fell 180-62 at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, Jan. 8.
“We were pleased overall with the meet because it was our first meet in a month,” said head coach Sergio Lopez. “We know we aren’t there yet to beat a team like Pitt but we know that we are getting there.”
The Panthers made it hard for WVU to get any momentum on the afternoon as the Mountaineer women (4-5) could only muster two wins in the meet and the men (4-4) recorded only three.
The story of the meet for WVU was freshman swimmer Maritza Paredes who swam in her first collegiate meet against Pitt. Paredes won the 200 free (1:51.22) and the 100 free (51.9) individually and led off the 200 free relay that finished second.
Paredes time in the 200 free almost broke the school record and goes down as the second fastest time recorded by a swimmer in the BIG EAST this season. Her time in the 100 free and her time leading off the 100 free relay (24.08) were also impressive as they rank third and fourth in the conference, respectively. She becomes the 23 Mountaineer to qualify for the BIG EAST Championships as well.
“She can bring a lot to our team,” said Lopez.
Junior Ashley Bissett swam very well in the 1000 and 500 free events while sophomore Tara Potter improved once again in the 200 breast with a time of 2:30.2. Potter’s breast time has improved by 17 seconds since the beginning of the season.
“Her performance was one of the highlights of the meet for us,” said Lopez.
For the men junior Chris Hagedorn continued his dominance in the 50 free as he finished first in the event in a time of 21.00 seconds. Hagedorn combined with Matt Drozd, Kyle Williams and Pedro Pint to win the 200 free later.
Freshman Pablo Marmolejo had another successful day in the pool as he won the won the 200 fly (1:50.6) and took second in the 200 back (1:53.56) and 200 IM (1:52.92). The Mexico City, Mexico, native’s time in the 200 back marked the seventh fastest time in school history.
Senior Kevin Van Buskirk swam very well in the 1000 and 500 free events on the afternoon and Tommy Fletcher also continued improvement in the 200 and 500 free.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 15, when they host Syracuse at the WVU Natatorium at 11 a.m.
