Records Fall, WVU Leads After Opening Session

Friday, October 19

Morgantown, W.Va.

11:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

241

Xavier

October 19, 2018 08:30 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Friday's Results

By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming and diving teams opened competition at home on Friday night, grabbing early leads on visiting Seton Hall and Xavier at the WVU Natatorium.

The Mountaineers combined to win 14 of 16 events, featuring two pool-record-breaking performances by sophomore David Dixon and the men's 200 medley relay team on the opening night of the two-day meet.

Dixon earned a time of 1:43.81 in the men's 200 butterfly, topping his previous WVU Natatorium-best time of 1:45.80 from last season. The Richmond, Virginia, native also notched the nation's best time in the event this season.

Dixon, the reigning Big 12 Men's Swimmer of the Week, also helped the men's 200 medley relay team, also comprised of sophomore Angelo Russo, redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio and senior Merwane El Merini, to a pool-record time of 1:28.77, breaking West Virginia's pervious top mark of 1:29.94, also from last season.

"It was a very strong session for us today," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "We came out, we talked about focusing on one thing that we can improve upon from last week, and the kids did a great job talking with the staff about that. The energy was really good; the kids were ready to race, and we had some really special swims, so it was a lot of fun."

Freshman Lauryn Kallay won a pair of individual events for the Mountaineers on Friday, while six others – junior Julia Miranda, Russo, senior Emma Harris, junior Morgan Bullock, Dixon and junior Julia Nilton – won one individual event and were a part of a relay victory.

Men
West Virginia 100, Xavier 30
West Virginia 97, Seton Hall 33
Xavier 68, Seton Hall 62

Women
West Virginia 85.5, Xavier 44.5
West Virginia 92, Seton Hall 38
Xavier 95, Seton Hall 35

Friday's session began at the diving well where redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay won on men's 1-meter with an NCAA Zones-qualifying score of 313.65. Freshman P.J. Lenz also topped the 300 plateau, earning a Zones-qualifying score of 307.5 in a second-place finish. Freshman Nick Cover (299.17) was third.

On women's 3-meter, senior Madelyn Woods recorded a score of 246 for second place, while senior Averly Hobbs (243.97) finished third.

"It was a pretty good night for the divers," diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I'm really happy to see Jacob and P.J. step up and compete this evening. They each got their Zones scores for 1-meter, so they're off to a great start this season.

"I'm really happy with all of the divers tonight; they looked relaxed and confident. We have been working on treating practice like competition, and competition like practice. I'd say it went really well tonight. Each of the divers are incredibly supportive and encouraging to each other, which helps with confidence during a competition."

The women's 200 medley relay team kicked off Friday's swimming events. Miranda, Harris, Bullock and Nilton teamed up to earn a first-place finish in 1:44.40.

After the men's 200 medley relay's performance, Kallay went on to win the women's 1,000 freestyle in 10:29.03. Junior Alex Pampalone finished second in 10:31.03. On the men's side, junior Trayton Saladin placed second in 9:46.36, while junior Brandon Christian took third in 9:51.50.

Kallay earned her second victory of the night in the women's 200 free, where she touched the wall in 1:52.16, ahead of sophomore Luisa Winkler, who was second in 1:54.95. Sophomore Max Gustafson (1:40.51) won for the men, while senior Drew Damich (1:40.81) trailed close behind for second place.

In the women's 100 backstroke, Miranda won in 56.37, good for a collegiate pool record, while sophomore Ally VanNetta was second in 57.26. Russo won for the men in 49.64, ahead of second-place sophomore Christopher O'Shea (51.93).

From there, Harris topped the field in the women's 100 breaststroke, touching the wall in 1:04.70. Di Sibio was victorious in the men's event, earning a time of 55.58. Freshman Fausto Huerta placed second in 56.92.

Bullock flirted with a pool record in the women's 200 butterfly, registering a time of 2:00.53, just .06 off the WVU Natatorium best. Sophomore Kayla Gagnon finished third in the event in 2:11.05.

After Dixon's big moment, Friday's session concluded with the 50 frees. Nilton grabbed the victory for the Mountaineer women in 23.54, while El Merini won for the men in 20.36.

This weekend marks the fourth consecutive year in which Seton Hall and Xavier have visited Morgantown. The Mountaineers have topped the two Big East Conference foes in each of the last three seasons.

Competition at the two-day meet ends on Saturday at the WVU Natatorium. Diving events are set to begin at 10 a.m. ET, while swimming will start at 11 a.m. Admission is free on both days and parking will be available in the parking lots surrounding the WVU Coliseum and WVU Natatorium.

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