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Mountaineer Men Down Pitt in Backyard Brawl
January 09, 2016 03:52 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s swimming and diving team beat Pitt as the Mountaineers hosted the Backyard Brawl Saturday morning at the WVU Natatorium.
The WVU men’s squad dominated Pitt, 180.5-119.5, to earn its first win over the Panthers in the annual rivalry meet since 2011. In the women’s competition, WVU fell 188-111.
"One of our areas I was concerned about coming into today was our focus and energy matching the same level we had against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech in the fall with such a long time off since we raced at Tennessee," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "However, we came out very strong and seized the moment. We knew it was going to take a total effort to win the men’s meet and both teams did a great job. From the start to the end the desire was there and we never let up."
The Mountaineers posted 16 first-place finishes. Senior Andrew Marsh led the way with four victories, including one with the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Junior Nate Carr won three individual events, and senior Max Spencer posted three victories, two in individual events and one in the 200 medley relay. Junior Frank Csonka also earned three victories, on in the 50 free and two in relays, the 400 free and 200 medley. Senior Chase Williams also earned a win with a victory in the 200 butterfly.
"Having our 200 medley relay win the first event set the tone and got us going," Riggs said about the men's team. "Winning 12 of the 16 events and having 1-2 or 1-2-3 finishes in 4 events really helped secure the win. Our seniors did a great job today and it was a total team effort and I’m really happy for the men. It is a special opportunity to win and it’s even better when it’s against Pitt. I know this is something they will remember for long time.”
For the WVU women, four seniors earned victories for the Mountaineers. Courtney Miller posted the first win, in the 100 backstroke, while Lindsay Schmidt won the 3-meter springboard competition. Natalie Johnsen won the 200 fly and Jaimee Gillmore won the 50 free.
"The women swam extremely well and we had many season-best times,” Riggs said. We did get away a bit from our race strategies and may have been a bit cautious in some of our races. Lindsay, Jaimee, Natalie and Courtney had very strong days and wins in their events. I think our freshmen on both teams are coming along well and we should be in a good spot for Big 12’s."
The Backyard Brawl competition began with the 200 medley relay, and the WVU men opened the meet with a victory. Freshman Merwane Elmerini, Spencer, redshirt sophomore Daniel Rodriguez and Csonka touched the wall in 1:32.18.
Carr won the men’s 200 free for the Mountaineers, as he touched the wall in 1:39.79. Senior Ross Glegg came in third with a time of 1:40.98.
The Mountaineer women saw 1-2 finishes in the 100 back, led by Miller touching the wall in 57.08. Sophomore Amelie Currat came in second with a 57.56.
Marsh’s first win of the day came in the men’s 100 back, thanks to a 49.65 to win by 1.49 seconds.
West Virginia posted a 1-2 finish in the men’s 100 breaststroke. Spencer claimed another first-place finish, touching the wall in 55.64. Senior Aidan Fumagalli touched in second with a time of 57.62, while senior Jake Iotte came in fourth (59.03).
The Mountaineer women dominated in the 200 fly with a 1-2-3 finish. Johnsen touched the wall in 2:07.62 for the victory. Junior Mackenzie Braden came in second in 2:08.84 and senior Kelsey Frantz was third in 2:09.39.
Williams helped WVU sweep the 200 fly with a victory in the men’s event. The senior touched the wall in 1:52.21.
Gillmore won the women’s 50 free for the Mountaineers with a time of 23.77.
West Virginia posted 1-2-3 finishes to sweep the top three finishes in the men’s 50 free. Csonka achieved his second victory of the meet, touching the wall in 21.11. He was followed by Glegg in second (21.15) and Elmerini, who tied for third in 21.28.
Marsh earned his second victory of the meet in the men’s 100 free with a time of 45.56. Csonka touched the wall in third (45.85).
Carr posted his second win of the day as he touched the wall in 1:50.33 in the men’s 200 back.
The Mountaineer men took first, second and fourth in the 200 breast. Spencer won in 2:01.21, missing the pool record by just .06. Fumagalli came in second with a time of 2:07.27, followed by Iotte in third (2:10.55).
WVU rolled to a 1-2-3 finish in the men’s 100 fly. Marsh claimed his third win of the day as he touched the wall in 49.64, followed by Williams in second (50.63) and junior Austin Green in third (50.90).
In the men’s 200 individual medley, Carr claimed his third and final victory of the meet, finishing in 1:50.91.
The meet concluded with the 400 free relay, as the WVU men’s relay team of Marsh, Glegg, Elmerini and Csonka, took the victory in 3:02.42.
On the springboard, Schmidt won the women’s 3 meter, scoring a total of 301.13 points. She added a second-place finish on 1 meter (242.55).
Sophomore Alex Obendorf saw two third-place finishes on the diving board. Obendorf marked a 301.43 on 3-meter and a 290.70 on 1-meter.
WVU will head to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete against TCU on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. ET.
The Mountaineers will then return home to host their final home meet of the season with Senior Night on Friday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. The men and women will compete against Villanova, while the women will also face Big 12 foe Iowa State.
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