Mountaineers Set for Mid-Season Invites
November 14, 2018 01:25 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming and diving teams travel to a pair of meets this weekend, as swimmers head to the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, while divers brace for the Navy Diving Invitational in Annapolis, Maryland, from Nov. 15-17.
Competition at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion begins on Thursday with a preliminary session at 10 a.m. ET, with finals set for 5 p.m. Prelims also will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, with finals scheduled for 5 p.m. both days.
At Navy, competition at Lejeune Hall begins on Thursday at 12 p.m. Friday's action also will begin at 12 p.m., while Saturday's session will begin at 10 a.m.
Live results from the Ohio State Invitational are available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com/livestats. Additionally, a live video stream will be provided by the Big Ten Network, at btn2go.com. Streams will feature men's and women's preliminary sessions, as well as finals sessions on all three days of the meet.
Diving results also will be available throughout the weekend, courtesy of DiveMeets.
"We've been really focusing in on our training the last couple of weeks," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "We've had a good first couple of meets, so the last few weeks we've been focusing on our tempos, stroke rates and pace work to get ready for this weekend. I think the teams are ready to get going."
"It's going to be a great week for the divers," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I can't believe we're already at the mid-season invite. We have been training consistently on springboard and with our tower prep for platform. They are all a bit on edge for tower, but they will do great. This week is all about consistency and confidence. With that, along with a positive attitude, each of the divers will be successful."
This weekend marks the second consecutive season the Mountaineers will compete at the Ohio State Invitational and the third time since 2015-16. The three-day, midseason invitational features ranked opponents on the men's and women's side. West Virginia's men's team will be joined by No. 10 Ohio State, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 25 Pitt, Kentucky, Kenyon, Penn State and Yale, while the women's team will compete against No. 2 Stanford, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 18 Kentucky, Indiana State, Kenyon, Ohio, Penn State, Pitt and Yale.
Thursday's action features the 200 freestyle relay, 500 free, 200 individual medley, 50 free and 400 medley relay. On Friday, swimmers will compete in the 200 medley relay, 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 free relay. Competition concludes on Saturday with the 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay.
Last year, the Mountaineer men took eighth place in Columbus, while the women finished 11th. WVU earned a total of 11 swims in A finals and seven more in B finals throughout the competition.
WVU divers will be joined by George Washington, Navy, Penn State, St. Bonaventure, UMass and Virginia in Annapolis. The team will get a first-look at the site of the 2019 Zone A Diving Championships, which is slated for March 11-13, at Navy.
On Thursday, women will compete on 3-meter, while men participate on 1-meter. Women move to 1-meter on Friday, with men competing on 3-meter, before men and women take to the platform on Saturday.
The Mountaineers last competed at Villanova on Oct. 27, when the men's team (3-0) took down the Wildcats, 236-64, while the women (2-1) fell, 154-146. The dual-meet victory was the 11th consecutive for the WVU men, dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.
The two teams broke nine Villanova Swim Complex records at the meet, including sophomore David Dixon, who broke the 200 fly and 200 IM pool records. Junior Morgan Bullock also secured a pair of pool records in the 100 fly and 200 IM, while redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio (100 breast) and junior Julia Nilton (50 free) also earned facility-best times. WVU also had three relay teams – men's 200 medley and 400 free and women's 200 medley – earn pool-record times against the Wildcats.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Competition at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion begins on Thursday with a preliminary session at 10 a.m. ET, with finals set for 5 p.m. Prelims also will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, with finals scheduled for 5 p.m. both days.
At Navy, competition at Lejeune Hall begins on Thursday at 12 p.m. Friday's action also will begin at 12 p.m., while Saturday's session will begin at 10 a.m.
Live results from the Ohio State Invitational are available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com/livestats. Additionally, a live video stream will be provided by the Big Ten Network, at btn2go.com. Streams will feature men's and women's preliminary sessions, as well as finals sessions on all three days of the meet.
Diving results also will be available throughout the weekend, courtesy of DiveMeets.
"We've been really focusing in on our training the last couple of weeks," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "We've had a good first couple of meets, so the last few weeks we've been focusing on our tempos, stroke rates and pace work to get ready for this weekend. I think the teams are ready to get going."
"It's going to be a great week for the divers," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I can't believe we're already at the mid-season invite. We have been training consistently on springboard and with our tower prep for platform. They are all a bit on edge for tower, but they will do great. This week is all about consistency and confidence. With that, along with a positive attitude, each of the divers will be successful."
This weekend marks the second consecutive season the Mountaineers will compete at the Ohio State Invitational and the third time since 2015-16. The three-day, midseason invitational features ranked opponents on the men's and women's side. West Virginia's men's team will be joined by No. 10 Ohio State, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 25 Pitt, Kentucky, Kenyon, Penn State and Yale, while the women's team will compete against No. 2 Stanford, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 18 Kentucky, Indiana State, Kenyon, Ohio, Penn State, Pitt and Yale.
Thursday's action features the 200 freestyle relay, 500 free, 200 individual medley, 50 free and 400 medley relay. On Friday, swimmers will compete in the 200 medley relay, 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 free relay. Competition concludes on Saturday with the 1,650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay.
Last year, the Mountaineer men took eighth place in Columbus, while the women finished 11th. WVU earned a total of 11 swims in A finals and seven more in B finals throughout the competition.
WVU divers will be joined by George Washington, Navy, Penn State, St. Bonaventure, UMass and Virginia in Annapolis. The team will get a first-look at the site of the 2019 Zone A Diving Championships, which is slated for March 11-13, at Navy.
On Thursday, women will compete on 3-meter, while men participate on 1-meter. Women move to 1-meter on Friday, with men competing on 3-meter, before men and women take to the platform on Saturday.
The Mountaineers last competed at Villanova on Oct. 27, when the men's team (3-0) took down the Wildcats, 236-64, while the women (2-1) fell, 154-146. The dual-meet victory was the 11th consecutive for the WVU men, dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.
The two teams broke nine Villanova Swim Complex records at the meet, including sophomore David Dixon, who broke the 200 fly and 200 IM pool records. Junior Morgan Bullock also secured a pair of pool records in the 100 fly and 200 IM, while redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio (100 breast) and junior Julia Nilton (50 free) also earned facility-best times. WVU also had three relay teams – men's 200 medley and 400 free and women's 200 medley – earn pool-record times against the Wildcats.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Fly/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Fly/Breast
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
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