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WVU Completes Day One of Big 12 vs. Big East
October 23, 2015 09:46 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dominated in the first day of the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend at the WVU Natatorium on Friday evening.
“Very strong evening for both teams,” said coach Vic Riggs. “We had some improvements from last week in a few individuals. The energy and support continues to be very good. We’ll try to build on today for tomorrow.”
The Mountaineers raised the bar high in the first day of competition as they won 13 of 14 events.
Starting off with relay competition, both the WVU men and women won the 200-yard medley relay. Courtney Miller, Marah Bieger, Natalie Johnsen and Jaimee Gillmore won for the women’s squad, touching the wall in 1:47.66, while Andrew Marsh, Max Spencer, Chase Williams and Ross Glegg lead the men’s squad to a first-place finish in 1:31.33.
In the women’s 200-yard freestyle, WVU posted four of the top-five finishes. Emma Mitchell won the race, touching the wall in 1:53.39, followed by Kelsey Frantz in third (1:56.16) Sydnee Karam in fourth (1:56.71).
For the men, WVU’s Marsh won the 200-yard free in 1:39.28, and in second place was Glegg with a time of 1:43.16.
The WVU women’s squad posted top three and fifth place finishes, with Bieger winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:07.30. Morgan Emter touched the wall in second in 1:07.53 and Emma Harris in third (1:08.22). As for the men, WVU also won the event, having Marsh finish first with a time of 56.07, and Aidan Fumagalli in second in 57.73.
Again, WVU saw first place finishes in the 400-yard individual medley in both squads. For the women, Bieger won the race with a time of 4:35.04 and Taylor Gill came in second place in 4:38.92. The men posted 1-3 finishes with Nate Carr winning the race in 4:00.12. James Koval came in second with a time of 4:09.47 and Drew Damich in third (4:09.57).
In the women’s 200-yard backstroke, WVU’s Courtney Miller won the race, touching the wall in 2:05.24, and Amelie Currat touched in second place in 2:06.81.
On the springboard, the WVU women took top-four finishes in the 3-meter diving. Averly Hobbs took first, scoring 289 points. Julia Calcut came in second with a mark of 274.60, followed by Madelyn Woods in third (258.50).
The WVU men’s diving squad dominated on the 1-meter board, posting top-five finishers. Mike Proietto took first, marking 331.30 points, while Alex Obendorf placed second in 315.25.
Jay Hickey swam to a second-place finish in the men's 200 back, touching the wall in 1:55.31.
The day ended in the 400-yard free relay with the WVU women winning the race. The first-place team included Mitchell, Sam Hall, Mackenzie Braden and Gillmore (3:36.20).
The Mountaineers return back to action to finish the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend Saturday at 10 a.m., at the WVU Natatorium, starting with the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay. Butler, Seton Hall and Xavier will return to conclude the final day of competition.
Admission is free for all fans. Parking is available in the lots surrounding the WVU coliseum. Live stats can be found at WVUsports.com/swimming.
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