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WVU Men Place Second, Women Fourth at Big 12s
February 28, 2016 12:47 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming and diving team concluded the 2016 Big 12 Championship as the men finished second in the conference and the women finished fourth at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.
The West Virginia men posted their best finish at the conference championship meet since they joined the Big 12 in 2012-13. WVU coach Vic Riggs was named the Men’s Coach of the Meet for the second time in three years.
The final day of the Big 12 Championship was highlighted by a pair of WVU record-breaking performances by freshman diver Austin Smith and senior swimmer Andrew Marsh. Smith set a school record on the men’s platform while Marsh broke the WVU record in the opening leg of the men’s 400 freestyle relay. The Mountaineers also added a silver and bronze medal on platform and in the 200 breaststroke, a silver medal in the men’s 400 freestyle relay and bronze medals in both the men’s and women’s 100 freestyle and the women’s 1,650 freestyle.
“It was a great week of swimming and diving,” said Riggs. “Our divers did a great job on tower today and basically secured our second- and fourth-place team finishes. On the swimming side, we were a little rough out of the gate this morning but we had some great swims in the finals.
“There were some tears for our seniors, but they were tears of joy. This has been an amazing season and championship for our team. This senior class cares so much and has done a great job representing WVU and this program.
“It's very humbling to be named Coach of the Meet, but it's a team effort. I am honored to be a part of such a great staff. Mike Grapner, our diving coach, has done an amazing job in five years in growing the diving program. Associate head coach Damion Dennis has done a wonderful job with the sprinters and is a huge part of why these kids are here. Liz Illiff has done a great job working with the team and Rick West's impact was felt immediately when he arrived last summer. I couldn't ask to work with a better group of people and am blessed and honored to be this program’s head coach.”
The men totaled a score of 847, while Texas took the Big 12 title with 1,018 and TCU finished third with 759. The WVU women placed fourth with 530, while the Texas women took the title with 1,043. Kansas came in second with 650.5, Iowa State was third with 570.5 and TCU finished fifth with 451.
“Taylor (Gill) led our women in the finals, and all of them saw improved times from the morning prelims. Jay (Hickey) and Nate (Carr) also swam great 200s. Jaimee (Gillmore), Andrew (Marsh) and Ross (Glegg) had very strong performances in the 100 freestyle, highlighted by Jaimee (Gillmore) and Andrew (Marsh) both with third-place finishes. (Emma) Skelley and James (Koval) had solid miles, and then (Emma) Harris and Max (Spencer) lead out 200 breaststrokes. In the 200 butterfly, Natalie (Johnsen) finished her career with an eighth-place finish and Chase (Williams) did a great job moving up in his final swam as a Mountaineer. To finish the night off, our relay teams were solid.”
Smith scored a school-record 322.55 on platform in the prelims to advance to the finals, where he placed fourth with a score of 291.45. In the finals, WVU sophomore Michael Proietto placed second, scoring a 315.35. Fellow sophomore Alex Obendorf placed third (303.10), Logan McHenry placed fifth (291.40) and freshman Emmott Blitch placed sixth (289.95).
In the 400 freestyle relay, the WVU men’s squad of Marsh, Ross Glegg, freshman Merwane El Merini and junior Nate Carr placed second, touching the wall in 2:55.74. Marsh swam the first leg of the relay in 42.77, recording a new team record for the Mountaineers.
Competition started with the women’s 200 backstroke, where sophomore Taylor Gill advanced to the A finals, placing eighth overall in 2:00.4. Sophomore Amelie Currat advanced to the B finals and placed second (10th overall) with an NCAA B qualifying time of 1:59.19. The two sisters, Courtney Miller and Maggie Miller, also competed in the B final, placing 11th and 12th overall, respectively.
For the WVU men, two Mountaineers posted top-five finishes in the 200 backstroke A final. Carr finished fourth, touching the wall with a career-best time of 1:46.79, and senior Jay Hickey placed fifth with a season-best time of 1:46.91. Freshman Fernando Duenas raced in the B final, touching the wall in first, ninth overall, with a season-best time of 1:51.21.
West Virginia took two of the top-eight finished in the A final of the 100 freestyle. Marsh placed third to win bronze for the men, with a NCAA B qualifying and career-best time of 43.07, and Glegg finished eighth with a season-best time of 44.82.
In the women’s 100 freestyle A final, senior Jaimee Gillmore touched the wall in third to win bronze with a season-best time of 50.30 for the women.
For the women, freshman Averly Hobbs placed seventh on the women’s platform final, scoring a 210.75.
Junior Emma Skelley raced in the women’s 1,650 freestyle, placing third overall with a time of 16:46.34. For the Mountaineer men, James Koval touched the wall in fifth with a season-best time of 15:43.66.
The Mountaineer men won silver, bronze and finished fifth in the A final of the 200 breaststroke. Senior Max Spencer won silver with an NCAA B qualifying and season-best time of 1:57.84. In third was senior Aidan Fumagalli, touching the wall in a career-best time of 2:01.41. Senior Jake Iotte came in fifth place in 2:02.42, a career-best time.
West Virginia posted a top-four finish in the women’s 200 breaststroke, with freshman Emma Harris touching the wall in fourth place with an NCAA B qualifying and season-best time of 2:14.82. Freshman Marah Bieger placed fifth in the B final and 13th overall in a season-best time of 2:19.11.
In the women’s 200 butterfly, senior Natalie Johnsen placed eighth in the A final with a season-best time of 2:05.32. Senior Kelsey Frantz was third in the B final and 11th overall in a season best, 2:03.54.
Senior Chase Williams placed fifth in the men’s 200 butterfly A final, touching the wall in a career best 1:48.01. West Virginia took first and second in the B final with freshman Drew Damich in first and ninth overall with a season-best time of 1:52.42, and junior Nathan Howells in second, 10th overall (1:53.29).
The championship concluded with the men’s and women’s 400 freestyle relay. The women’s relay team of Gillmore, Currat, Maggie Miller and freshman Georiga Baldus touched the wall in fourth in 3:25.41.
The West Virginia divers will compete at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships in Annapolis, Maryland on March 7-9.
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