MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend with wins over Xavier, Seton Hall and Butler at the WVU Natatorium on Saturday.
West Virginia dominated all teams in both the men’s and women’s squads. The Mountaineers won 25 of the 26 events and totaled 38 victories out of the 40 events this weekend.
“The teams competed well,” said coach Vic Riggs. “We discussed the difference between the two weekends, this weekend and last, and the importance of team support. We weren’t bad this weekend but not where we were last weekend, and I think it showed in a few events.”
Men
West Virginia University 251.00 Xavier University 108.00
Xavier University 177.00 Seton Hall University 154.00
West Virginia University 266.00 Seton Hall University 93.00
Women
West Virginia University 266.00 Xavier University 93.00
Xavier University 191.00 Seton Hall University 158.00
West Virginia University 275.00 Seton Hall University 88.00
Xavier University 260.00 Butler University 71.00
West Virginia University 284.00 Butler University 75.00
Seton Hall University 262.00 Butler University 87.00
“For the women to end the month with three wins today, two meet sweeps of events, one dual meet win and one dual meet loss is fantastic, said Riggs. “We set a goal of not losing an event this weekend and they didn’t.”
This morning’s competition started off with the 200-yard freestyle relay. The WVU women won the race with Jaimee Gillmore, Amelie Currat, Rachel Ward and Sam Hall touching in 1:38.82. The WVU men recorded first and third-place finishes. Andrew Marsh, Ross Glegg, Nate Carr and Frank Csonka led the team in first (1:23.73).
The WVU women’s squad finished first and second in the 100-yard butterfly. Natalie Johnsen won in 57.97, while Celia Martinez finished second with a time of 58.05.
On the men’s side, WVU posted first, second and fourth-place finishes in the 100 butterfly. Marsh won the race, touching the wall in 49.39, followed by Chase Williams in second (51.11) and Austin Green in fourth (51.63).
The WVU women’s squad won the 500-yard freestyle with Emma Mitchell placing first with a time of 5:03.39. In second place was Kelsey Frantz in 5:08.38 and in fourth was Georgia Baldus in 5:13.26.
The WVU men posted three top-five finishes in the 500 free with Lucas Fasulo winning with a time of 4:38.24, and in third was Drew Damich in 4:44.37.
The Mountaineers’ women’s squad posted three of the top five finishes in the 50 free, while the men took second, third and fifth. For the women, Gillmore touched the wall in 24.26, followed by Mia Fiorenzi in fourth (25.45). WVU’s Glegg touched second in 21.09, followed by Csonka in third (21.43).
WVU’s Emma Harris won the women’s 200 breaststroke, finishing with a two-hand touch in 2:24.49. Marah Bieger took second with a time of 2:26.13. For the men, WVU took the top three finishes. Max Spencer won with a 2:03.18, followed by Carr in second (2:07.01) and Aidan Fumagalli in third (2:08.66).
In more relay competition, the WVU women recorded two of the top-three finishes in the 800 freestyle relay. Emma Mitchell, Frantz, Currat and Sydnee Karam won with a time of 7:45.04. For the WVU men, Damich, Nathan Howells, Chris McMahon and Fasulo finished first, touching the wall in 6:57.72.
In the 100-yard backstroke, the Mountaineer women took first and third. Courtney Miller won, finishing with a time of 57.59. Currat touched third in 59.04. WVU’s Andrew Marsh won the men’s event, touching the wall in 48:45.
West Virginia recorded the top three finishes in the women’s 100-yard free. Gillmore won, touching the wall in 53.39, followed by Karam in second place (54.23). On the men’s squad, Marsh raced to a first-place finish, touching the wall in 45.58.
Emma Skelley led the Mountaineers to a first-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 17:02.91. The WUU men’s team saw Fasulo win the race in 16:25.59.
In the men’s 200-yard butterfly, WVU’s Williams took first with a two-hand finish of 1:55.28. On the women’s side, Johnsen won the race for the Mountaineers, touching the wall in 2:07.35.
On the 3-meter springboard, the WVU’s men’s diving squad captured all top five places, with Alex Obendorf winning event (324.80). In second place was Emmott Blitch with a score of 298.20.
On the 1-meter board, WVU saw top-four finishes from the Mountaineer women. Averly Hobbs secured first place, scoring 283.75. Mary Kevan Smith came in second with a mark of 241.35.
Both WVU’s men and women took first place in the 200-yard individual medley. Bieger won the race for the women’s squad, touching in 2:11.00, while Carr won for the WVU men’s team with a time of 1:52.87.
Today’s meet ended with the 400-yard medley relay with WVU winning the event on both the men’s and women’s teams. Courtney Miller, Morgan Emter, Johnsen and Gillmore touched first for the women with a time of 3:55.14
“These are long weekends, and the teams are tired from a month of racing and training,” said Riggs. “I think we finished the third session extremely well, both with our times and race strategies. If we can finish these types of meets in a day and a half, it should help us finish championship meets even better, when we get the full three days with proper breaks in between events.
“We now have a month to learn from this first month and get ourselves ready for Tennessee.”
The Mountaineers have four weeks off from competition to prepare for the three-day Tennessee Invite, in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Nov. 20-22. The meet will begin at 8 a.m., each day.
