Swimming: Mountaineers Fall to Arizona
January 08, 2009 08:36 PM | General
By Grant Dovey for MSNsportsNET.com
January 8, 2009
| Men's swimming & diving #3 Arizona 183.5, West Virginia 140.5 women's swimming & diving #7 Arizona 168, West Virginia 128 hillenbrand aquatic center tucson, ariz. |
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Meet Results |
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| Summary | ||||||||
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| First Place Finishes | ||||||||
| Pablo Marmolejo | 150 fly | 1:19.10 | ||||||
| Top WVU Swimmers | ||||||||
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia swimming and diving teams fell short in its upset bid as both squads fell to Arizona teams in Tucson. The Wildcat men are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation, while the women are ranked No. 7.
The women’s squad had key swims, however, Arizona’s depth proved to be too much as the Wildcats posted a 168-128 victory. The men’s team performed better, but again last year’s NCAA national champions defeated the Mountaineers 183.5-140.5.
“Today was a lot of fun swimming the best team in the country and swimming different events,” WVU Head Coach Vic Riggs said. “We had some good swims for as tired as we are.”
The Mountaineer women (3-6 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) had a number of good swims throughout the meet.
Kayla Andrews swam in the 50 back (27.72) and finished in fourth place. She also posted a second-place finish in the 100 free (50.42). In the 100 back (58.99), Morgan Callaway finished in second place and also had a fourth-place finish in the 150 back (1:32.06).
Stephanie Shupe had a great showing in the 100 fly (58.19) with a second-place finish. Jaryn Studer continues to improve and swam to a third-place finish in the 50 breast (32.18).
“This has been a great trip for the teams and staff, and I know I will be leaving with some great ideas,” Riggs says. “Having the opportunity to see how the best (programs) function and work gives our athletes an idea of what we can strive for.”
A young men’s squad (3-5 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) continues to improve this season, but was led by its veterans against the Wildcats.
Pablo Marmolejo led the men with a first-place finish in the 150 fly (1:19.10). Marmolejo also came in third in both the 200 IM (1:53.62) and 50 fly (22.84). Michael Walker narrowly took first in the 400 IM (3:57.98), but fell into second place. Walker also swam in the 150 breast (1:32.09) and finished in third place.
George Farquhar swam breast events with a second-place finish in the 50 breast (26.59), third place in the 100 breast (58.94) and fourth place in the 150 breast (1:33.32). Justin Galbreath swam in the distance events and finished in second place in the 500 free (4:48.43).
The Mountaineer divers continue a promising progression with their results against Arizona. Ashley Malik finished second in both the 1-meter (270.75) and 3-meter (266.93) dives. Matt O’Neill continues to provide strong performance with a third-place finish in the 1-meter (294.38) and a second-place effort in the 3-meter (329.78) dive.
“I look forward to seeing what we can do against Pitt this weekend,” Riggs says. “I really feel we will see the full benefits of this trip at the BIG EAST Championships.”
Both squads will be back in action Saturday, Jan. 10, when West Virginia travels to Pitt for its last BIG EAST meet of the season. Start time for the meet is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Trees Pool in Trees Hall.
