Men Drop Dual Meet at Penn State

Friday, January 18

University Park, Pa.

4:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

122

173

Penn State

January 18, 2019 06:43 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving

Results

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's swimming and diving team concluded its regular season with a loss to Penn State on Friday afternoon in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The Mountaineers earned five victories on the day, as the Nittany Lions earned a 173-122 victory at McCoy Natatorium. With the defeat, WVU fell to 4-2 in dual meets on the season.

Sophomore Angelo Russo won two events, while senior Jake Armstrong and sophomore Philip Kay each won one. West Virginia also won the 400 freestyle relay.

"Overall, we had a very solid effort today," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "Our relays were strong and there were several individuals who improved their swims from last weekend. Our next step is to continue to improve as we get ready for the Big 12 Championship."

Russo's wins came in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly, and Armstrong's was in the 100 breaststroke as the Mountaineers placed first and second in the event. Kay's victory came in the 200 individual medley. The 400 freestyle relay team's win came thanks to seniors Merwane El Merini and Drew Damich, junior Sam Neaveill and sophomore Christopher O'Shea.

On springboard, West Virginia placed third on both events. Freshman PJ Lenz earned a score of 298.80 on 1-meter, while redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay recorded a 330.00 on 3-meter. Also, on 3-meter, Lenz was fourth with a 318.90.

"The divers did very well today; we definitely made improvements from warmups to the competition," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I always ask them to aim for 6-for-6 on their dives. Tonight, we missed a few opportunities, but we moved on and quickly rebounded on our next dives. As we look ahead to Big 12s, I'm hopeful this will give the divers the right motivation to prepare and to capitalize on training."

The meet began with the 200 medley relay, where the Mountaineers finished second. Russo, Armstrong, Neaveill and El Merini touched the wall with a time of 1:30.02.

In the meet's first individual event, freshman Tom Hubbard placed third in the 1,000 freestyle in 9:51.08. Damich followed with a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle, with a time of 1:40.62.

Then, the Mountaineers earned back-to-back victories, first thanks to Russo's 49.35 in the 100 backstroke, before Armstrong's time of 56.09 paced the 100 breaststroke. O'Shea added a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke (50.07), while senior Tristen Di Sibio finished behind Armstrong in the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall in second place in 56.49.

After junior Jack Frazier notched a fifth-place finish to lead WVU in the 200 butterfly with a 1:53.16, West Virginia followed with a second- and third-place showing in the 50 freestyle. El Merini finished second in 20.59, just ahead of Neaveill's 21.02 to place third.

The next three events saw Damich finish fourth in the 100 freestyle (45.86), freshman Josh Harlan place fourth in the 200 backstroke (1:52.12) and junior Jack Portmann finish fourth in the 200 breaststroke (2:07.42).

Sophomore Max Gustafson then touched the wall in third place in the 500 freestyle, with a time of 4:39.50.

A pair of Mountaineer wins followed, as Russo won the 100 butterfly and Kay registered the victory in the 200 individual medley. Russo's win came by just 0.02 seconds, while Neaveill added a third-place finish with a time of 50.38. Along with Kay in the 200 individual medley, sophomore Ben Brooks was second (1:54.36) and Harlan third (1:55.35).

The meet concluded with West Virginia's victory in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 2:59.88.

Friday's meet was the Mountaineer men's final regular-season competition before the 2019 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, which is set for Feb. 27-March 2, in Austin, Texas. Prior to the conference championship meet, the WVU women's team will take on Big 12 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.