ResultsMORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia men’s swimming and diving team used eight top finishes en route to a 158-142 victory at Pitt on Saturday afternoon. Despite four first-place finishes of their own, the women fell to the Panthers, 194-104.
“Having to travel to Pitt always gives them the upper hand, as we had last year, but it was an exciting day and both teams swam well after a difficult training trip,” coach Vic Riggs said. “Defeating the Pitt men for the second consecutive year is big for our program, but we are going to have to continue to get better in the next month to defeat them at the BIG EAST Championships.”
Taylor Camp, George Farquhar, Brandon Carr and Tim Squires opened action for the Mountaineers with a first-place finish in a close 200 medley relay in 1:32.04. The women’s team of Rachael Gorrie, Jaryn Studer, Mandie Nugent and Lyn Ann Nelson placed second in the 200 medley relay in 1:47.45.
The WVU women then earned victories in the 1000 free and 200 free events, while the men took first in the 200 free. The women finished first and third in the 1000 free, with Rachael Burnett taking first (9:58.35) and Kata Fodor taking third (10:15.44). The men finished 2-3, with Tim O’Malley scoring second (9:49.38), followed by Jake Querciagrossa in third (9:51.96). Nelson earned the title in the women’s 200 free with a time of 1:51.61, while Hugh Simmonds took first for the men in 1:41.20. Jared Goldthorpe followed in second (1:41.70) for the men.
Goldthorpe then added a victory in the 500 free with a time of 4:40.14. The women complimented Goldthorpe’s victory with a second-place finish from Burnett in 4:55.01, followed by Fodor in third with a time of 5:03.92.
Pitt was able to score victories in the 100 back, with Gorrie placing second (57.43) for the Mountaineers, followed by Danielle Smith in third (58.75). Farquhar then started his outstanding meet in the 100 breast in a time of 57.26.
Nugent earned the top finish in the 200 fly in 2:01.93 for the women, with Camp placing first (1:49.95) for the men. Burnett also finished in third (2:06.45) for the women. In the 200 back, West Virginia was able to place 2-3 with Gorrie finishing second (2:06.99) and Smith third (2:07.59). Goldthorpe then earned his second individual victory of the meet with a first-place (1:52.25) finish in the 200 back. Eric Johnson touched the wall in third (1:53.47) for the men.
Farquhar won his third event of the day in the 200 breast in a time of 2:05.19, while Nugent also earned another victory in the 100 fly (56.56). Camp complimented Nugent’s victory with one of his own in the 100 fly (49.38). The Mountaineers also took the second and third spots with Carr taking second (51.33) and Kyle Bandy third (51.44).
Farquhar continued his success in the 200 IM and swam to first place in a time of 1:55.01. Carr once again took second in 1:56.99.
The meet ended with a pair of second-place finishes in the 400 free relay. A team of Nelson, Smith, Fodor and Burnett swam the race in 3:34.91, while Camp, Squires, Goldthorpe and Brad Eichenseer finished in 3:06.48.
In the diving well, Matt O’Neill scored second place on the 3-meter board with a score of 303.75 points. Richard Pokorny took fourth on the 3-meter with 287.85 points.
“Our women swam well, but our lack of depth hurt us today. Having Rachael (Burnett), Lyn Ann and Mandie providing wins today helped keep us focused,” Riggs said. “Jared, Taylor and George all had very good days for the men and their wins put the meet away.”
The Mountaineers next return home to WVU Natatorium on Jan. 22, to take on Maryland at 1 p.m. Results will be available at MSNsportsNET.com following the meet.
