Mountaineers Set for Senior Day

January 26, 2018 01:27 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams close the 2017-18 regular season by hosting Villanova on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the WVU Natatorium. The women's team also takes on Big 12 Conference foe Iowa State at the Senior Day meet.

Diving is set to begin at 9:45 a.m. ET, while swimming gets underway at 11 a.m. The Mountaineers also will honor their 15 seniors at the meet: Mariano Adame, Madeline Bolin, Nate Carr, Frank Csonka, Amelie Currat, Taylor Gill, James Koval, Celia Martinez, Logan McHenry, Chris McMahon, Michael Proietto, Drew Riebel, Daniel Rodriguez, Tony Sekowski and Loren Williams.

Additionally, the Mountaineers have partnered with Team IMPACT to perform a pre-meet ceremony, featuring 5-year-old Wyatt DeWitt, a Terra Alta, West Virginia, native.

Admission is free for all fans. Parking will be available in the lot directly in front of the WVU Shell Building. Due to ongoing events at the WVU Coliseum, all vehicles must display a WVU swimming and diving parking pass, which will be available at the WVU Natatorium upon arrival.

"It's a special day for our seniors, and we want to send them off with a great last meet," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "The teams are training and competing very well, so we want to keep that going with our best meet of the month. We still have areas we need to improve on, and this is our last opportunity to work on those areas in a meet."

Saturday marks the fourth consecutive season in which WVU will compete against Villanova. The Mountaineers swept the Wildcats on the road last season, as the men claimed a 172-71 victory, while the women's team won, 147-96.

The contest also features the fifth straight meeting between the WVU women's team and Iowa State. The Cyclones narrowly defeated the Mountaineers in Ames last year, 153-147.

The Mountaineer men enter the regular-season finale with a dual-meet record of 4-0. With a victory on Saturday, the team will enjoy its first undefeated dual-meet season since 2006-07. The women's team enters with a 3-1 record in dual meets. Both squads are 1-0 against Big 12 competition. WVU swept TCU on Jan. 13, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Mountaineer men topped the Horned Frogs, 221-77, while the women won, 196-103.

Villanova is led by 18th-year coach Rick Simpson. The Wildcats' women's team owns a 9-2 dual-meet record this season, while the men are 3-7.

For Iowa State, the Cyclones are under the direction of 21st-year coach Duane Sorenson. ISU will arrive to Morgantown with a 4-2 dual-meet record, including a 1-0 mark in the Big 12. The Cyclones took down TCU, 196-103, on Nov. 10.

The Mountaineers last competed on Jan. 18, when they hosted rival Pitt at the WVU Natatorium. For the second time in three seasons, the men's team defeated the Panthers, registering a 187-113 win. The WVU women fell to Pitt, 193-107.

WVU combined to break three WVU Natatorium records at the meet. Records fell in the men's 200 medley relay team, comprised of freshman Angelo Russo, redshirt junior Tristen DiSibio, freshman David Dixon and junior Merwane El Merini (1:29.94), the men's 200 butterfly by Dixon (1:45.80) and the women's 200 butterfly by sophomore Morgan Bullock. (2:00.47).

Dixon and Bullock, as well as senior diver Michael Proietto and junior diver Madelyn Woods, were selected as the Big 12 Swimmers and Divers of the Week on Jan. 24. The Mountaineers swept the conference bi-weekly awards for the second time this season and third time in program history.

Dixon claimed seven wins in eight events (individual and relay) over the course of the last two meets for WVU, while Bullock claimed six total wins in the Mountaineers' dual meets against Pitt and at TCU on Jan. 13. On springboard, Proietto won three times in the past two meets, while Woods won on 3-meter at TCU.

Saturday marks the conclusion of a three-meets-in-14-days stretch for the Mountaineers. Looking ahead, the teams will compete at the Big 12 Championship is Austin, Texas, from Feb. 21-24.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.