Hobbs Breaks Record as WVU Sweeps Musketeers, Pirates

Friday, October 19

Morgantown, W.Va.

6:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

235

Seton Hall

October 20, 2018 02:36 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Complete Results Photo Gallery

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming and diving teams combined to win 15 of 16 events to complete victories over Seton Hall and Xavier on Saturday morning at the WVU Natatorium.

Saturday's competition was highlighted by a school-record showing by senior Averly Hobbs on women's 1-meter. Hobbs earned a winning score of 312.89, besting the previous WVU record of 297.45, set by Haily VanderPoel in 2014.

The Mountaineer men won every event and placed first and second in all seven individual events. They had four 1-2-3 finishes and claimed the top-four places in two events. The WVU women won all but one event on the day, with a 1-2-3 finish in the 500 free and a 1-2-3-4 showing on 1-meter.

The West Virginia men beat Xavier, 241-52, and Seton Hall, 235-64, while the women posted victories of 217-82 over Seton Hall and 199.5-93.5 against Xavier. At the two-day meet, WVU won 29 of 32 total events and broke two pool records on Friday in addition to Saturday's school record by Hobbs.

"As we discussed yesterday, we came in here focusing on one thing we could improve on for each swim," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "The teams did a great job with that, and it led to some really good swims. Overall, everyone was a little bit better, or a lot better, than last week, so that's good. The consistency is what I'm excited about."

Junior Morgan Bullock and sophomores David Dixon and Angelo Russo each won two individual events on Saturday, and senior Merwane El Merini, junior Julia Miranda and freshman Lauryn Kallay all earned an individual win and a relay victory. Dixon's two wins on Saturday comes after he broke the WVU Natatorium record in the 200 butterfly on Friday.

Saturday began on springboard, where Hobbs led the way with her school record on 1-meter, while senior Julia Calcut also eclipsed the previous school record with a 299.32 to place second. Fellow senior Madelyn Woods was third (286.34) and freshman Camille Burt (265.20) placed fourth. All four Mountaineers earned NCAA Zone-qualifying scores.

The men's divers also claimed the top-four spots on 3-meter, led by freshman Nick Cover, who won with a 271.94. Redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay was second (263.69), freshman PJ Lenz third (253.19) and sophomore Caleb Keck fourth (242.70).

"What a great day," diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I'm thrilled for all of the divers; they capitalized on a great opportunity to compete and come together as a team. The girls really were excellent today. Averly Hobbs didn't miss a dive, she was consistent, confident and came out with a win and a new WVU record. I'm really pleased with Julia (Calcut) and Maddy (Woods), who achieved NCAA Zone-qualifying scores. The divers have all been focusing on the basics for the first few months, so now they are all ready to start optionals and develop their competitive diving lists for the season."

Action in the pool began with the 100 freestyle, where the men earned a 1-2-3 finish. El Merini touched the wall in first with a 45.58, followed by senior Drew Damich (45.93) and sophomore Max Gustafson (46.63). For the women, junior Julia Nilton placed second in 52.82.

The Mountaineer women placed first and second in the 200 backstroke, led by Miranda's 2:03.77. Sophomore Ally VanNetta placed second in 2:05.03. The men followed with their second 1-2-3 finish in as many events, as Russo touched the wall first with a 1:51.56. He was followed by freshman Josh Harlan (1:52.58) and sophomore Philip Kay (1:52.98).

Senior Emma Harris claimed a commanding victory in the women's 200 breaststroke, finishing in 2:19.05 to win by 7.35 seconds. Dixon added a win in the men's event with a 2:02.95, while redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio placed second in 2:03.91.

In the 500 freestyle, Kallay led a 1-2-3 finish for the Mountaineer women with a time of 5:03.19. In a tight race for second place, junior Alex Pampalone (5:11.31) edged sophomore Luisa Winkler (5:11.43).

Junior Trayton Saladin won the men's 500 freestyle, with a 4:39.26. He was followed closely behind by Gustafson, who touched the wall in 4:39.98 for second place.

In the 100 butterfly, Bullock won with a time of 55.58. For the men, Russo won his second event of the day as the Mountaineer men claimed another 1-2 finish. He finished in 50.33, and junior Jack Frazier was second in 50.77.

Bullock picked up her second win in as many events with a 2:04.56 in the 200 individual medley. She won by more than six seconds, while VanNetta placed third in 2:11.13. The Mountaineer men earned a 1-2-3-4 finish, led by Dixon's second win of the day in 1:48.54. Kay placed second (1:53.60), followed by sophomore Ben Brooks (1:55.79) and Harlan (1:55.82).

The meet concluded with the 400 freestyle relay, where both the men and women earned victories. Miranda, Winkler, Nilton and Kallay finished first for the women in 3:30.07, and El Merini, Gustafson, sophomore Christopher O'Shea and Damich led the men in 3:03.47.

This weekend's meet marked the fourth consecutive year the Mountaineers swept the two Big East Conference foes.

Up next, West Virginia returns to the road to take on Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 27. Originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET, the meet will now begin with diving at 9:45 a.m., and swimming events at 11 a.m.

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