WVU Natatorium Era Ends with Dominating Wins

Saturday, January 12

Morgantown, W.Va.

11:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

233

TCU

January 12, 2019 03:12 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Complete Results

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In the West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams' final competition at the WVU Natatorium, the Mountaineer combined to win 31 of 32 events to earn a pair of wins over TCU on Saturday.

The meet marked the team's final competition at the WVU Natatorium, the home of the Mountaineers since 1975. Following the victory, alumni joined the current team on the pool deck for a final singing of, 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' circling the competition pool.

Saturday also was Senior Day, where the Mountaineers celebrated the accomplishments of 11 seniors: Jake Armstrong, Marah Bieger, Julia Calcut, Drew Damich, Tristen Di Sibio, Merwane El Merini, Lexi Glassmire, Emma Harris, Averly Hobbs, Jake Preaskorn and Madelyn Woods.

"I think this weekend showed what this program means to a lot of people," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "For me, it was a special weekend, not only to see a lot of the kids that we've been able to coach over the past 11 years, but also to hear all the stories and to see what WVU and what being a Mountaineer means to so many people. It's in your blood, and it's a special thing."

The Mountaineer men won 15 of 16 events to beat the Horned Frogs, 233-64, while the women won all 16 events and claimed a 208-92 victory. The men have won six in a row against TCU, and improved to 4-1 in dual meets on the season, while the women have posted three consecutive against the Horned Frogs and are 3-2 on the year.

Junior Morgan Bullock led the way with three individual wins, including a pool record in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:00.34. Harris, juniors Jack Frazier and Julia Nilton and sophomores Giselle Gursoy and Ally VanNetta all won two individual events for the Mountaineers.

"We talked all this week about trying to find that one thing that each one of them could work on to improve from our performance last week," Riggs added. "I think when you do that and each individual works on that, it improves them collectively and everything comes together. We had a really strong day today."

On springboard, the Mountaineer divers dominated both events, as both the men and women posted 1-2-3 finishes on 1- and 3-meter. Hobbs won both women's events, with a 321.76 on 3-meter and a 267.22 on 1-meter, while freshman Nick Cover won the men's 3-meter with a 315.75 and redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay's 306.22 on 1-meter earned the win.

"Today, we started our team huddle with emphasis on pride, and the divers were a representation of just that," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I couldn't be prouder of them. We had a little bit more encouragement behind them with all the alumni in attendance. It was exactly the motivation we were hoping for. Each of the divers stepped up to the board with confidence and a plan of attack, and they seized the opportunity to compete today. I'm really looking forward to training this week and preparing for Penn State and Iowa State in the next few weeks."

Freshman Camille Burt (271.65 3-meter, 261.82 1-meter) finished second for the women in both events, and Woods (266.10) and freshman Emma Longley (256.95) were third on 3- and 1-meter, respectively. For the men, freshman PJ Lenz placed second in both events (298.28 3-meter, 285.22 1-meter), and Cardinal Tremblay was third on 3-meter (297.00). Sophomore Caleb Keck finished third on 1-meter (259.49).

The Mountaineers opened the meet with a pair of wins in the 400 medley relay, as the women won with a 3:47.52 and the men followed with a 3:21.11.

West Virginia claimed two wins in the 1,000 freestyle, thanks to a pair of freshmen. Lauryn Kallay won the women's event with a 10:30.28, ahead of junior Alex Pampalone's 10:34.87. For the men, Tom Hubbard placed second in 9:50.00.

WVU followed it up with a 1-2-3 finish for both the men and women in the 200 freestyle. Gursoy (1:51.51) paced the women, followed by Kallay (1:53.93) and sophomore Luisa Winkler (1:55.70). In the men's race, Damich won with a 1:41.27, followed by junior Brandon Christian (1:43.00) and sophomore Max Gustafson (1:43.82).

The Mountaineers earned another sweep in the 100 backstroke, as VanNetta won the women's event with a 57.42, and sophomore Angelo Russo earned the win for the men in 49.28. Sophomore Christopher O'Shea added a second-place finish for the WVU men with a time of 50.57.

The men claimed the top four spots in the 100 breaststroke, as Armstrong touched the wall in first in 55.58, just ahead of Di Sibio, in 55.87. Freshman Fausto Huerta followed in third (56.10) and sophomore Ben Brooks was fourth (57.78). The WVU women also won as Harris earned the victory with a 1:05.00.

Bullock's pool-record win in the 200 butterfly followed, while the men earned a 1-2 finish in the event. Frazier's 1:52.00 won, and junior Ryan Kelly was second in 1:54.10.

El Merini won the 50 freestyle in 20.94 to lead a 1-2-3 Mountaineer finish, as junior Sam Neaveill was second (21.07) and Damich was third (21.39). For the women, Nilton earned the win with a 23.35.

Nilton added another win in the next event, as West Virginia recorded a pair of 1-2 finishes in the 100 freestyle. Both the men and women claimed first and second, led by Nilton's 52.57. In a tight race, she beat out Gursoy by 0.08 seconds, who was second in 52.65. In the men's race, O'Shea posted a win in 45.93, ahead of Damich, who was second in 46.23.

The winning ways continued in the 200 backstroke, as WVU again swept both events. VanNetta earned her second win of the day with a 2:05.24, ahead of Pampalone, who was second for the women in 2:06.92. Junior Trayton Saladin picked up the victory for the men, touching the wall with a time of 1:50.14.

Harris added to her win total, and Di Sibio got his first individual win, as West Virginia swept the 200 breaststroke. It was Harris' second individual win of the day, as she led the women with a 2:19.34. Di Sibio won with a 2:05.35, ahead of junior Jack Portmann's 2:07.05.

Gursoy tallied her second win of the meet with a 5:03.70 in the 500 freestyle. She beat Kallay, who was second in 5:04.51. The men also won the 500 freestyle, thanks to Gustafson's 4:40.72. In a tight race, he defeated Christian, who was second in 4:40.92, by 0.20 seconds.

Bullock and Frazier added their second wins of the day in the 100 butterfly. The Mountaineer men recorded a 1-2-3 finish, as Frazier won with a 50.61. Sophomore Denys Kostromin was second (51.16), and Neaveill third (51.31). Bullock touched the wall in 55.57 to win by 3.50 seconds.

The final individual event of the day was the 200 individual medley, where the Mountaineers again claimed the men's and women's events. The men earned another 1-2-3 finish, as sophomore Philip Kay won with a 1:53.94. He was followed by freshman Josh Harlan (1.54.68) and Brooks (1:55.16). Bullock collected her third win of the meet, and second in as many events, with a 2:05.26.

The meet concluded with the 200 freestyle relay. The Mountaineer women won with a 1:37.15, while the men earned the victory with a 1:22.66.

WVU returns to action on Friday, Jan. 18, as the men's team travels to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a dual meet at Penn State. The women's team is set to take on Big 12 Conference foe Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 26, in Ames, Iowa.

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