WVU Edged by Cyclones in Regular-Season Finale

Saturday, January 26

Ames, Iowa

12:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

148

152

Iowa State

January 26, 2019 03:30 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

By: Charlie Healy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's swimming and diving team rallied late with five consecutive victories but came up just short in a 152-148 loss at Iowa State on Saturday afternoon, at Beyer Pool, in Ames, Iowa.

In another tightly-contested meet between the Mountaineers and Cyclones, West Virginia won nine of 16 events, including 1-2 finishes in both springboard competitions. Junior Morgan Bullock led the way with three individual victories, while senior Averly Hobbs posted wins on 1- and 3-meter.

"I'm very proud of how the team battled back after the sluggish first session," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "Honestly, the meet could have been over after that session. Our divers did a phenomenal job on 3-meter to get us back into the meet, and we swam much better in the middle session. They fought very hard, we just came up short. We still need to improve on our turns and a few other areas before the Big 12 Championship, but, overall, it was a very strong day for the women."

In its final regular-season meet of the season, WVU fell to 3-3 in dual meets and 1-1 in Big 12 action. ISU improved to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the league. Along with Bullock and Hobbs, senior Emma Harris, junior Julia Nilton, sophomore Giselle Gursoy and freshman Lauryn Kallay also earned wins at ISU.

Bullock's wins came in the 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Her first victory was the first of three in a row for WVU, while her second and third were part of five consecutive Mountaineer wins.

The 200 individual medley win came before the 400 freestyle relay, where Iowa State touched the wall first to win the meet.

Both of West Virginia's win streaks included Hobbs' springboard victories. She won 3-meter with a 306.45 and 1-meter with a 288.90. A pair of fellow seniors finished second on both events, as Madelyn Woods was second on 3-meter with a 287.70, and Julia Calcut second on 1-meter with a 270.90.

"I'm really proud of the divers today, each of them came in and did their job," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I saw a lot of improvement from warmups to competition and the attitude was very positive. I can't thank the senior girls enough for their commitment to the team and the memories we have made through the years. It's been a great ride, and I'm excited for Big 12's and Zones. Today, the entire team did a fantastic job representing themselves. It came down to the wire, which was nothing short of exciting."

Action in the pool began with WVU's second-place finish in the 200 medley relay, as sophomore Ally VanNetta, Harris, Bullock and Nilton finished with a time of 1:45.02.

The first individual event was the 1,000 freestyle, where Kallay placed second in 10:25.75, ahead of junior Alex Pampalone, who was third with a time of 10:40.54.

Gursoy posted the Mountaineers' first win in the 200 freestyle, as she touched the wall in 1:51.55. VanNetta followed in the 100 backstroke, finishing second in 57.63, and Harris then placed third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.36.

Up next was Bullock's first win of the day, thanks to her 2:04.45 in the 200 butterfly. Sophomore Kayla Gagnon added a third-place finish in the event with a 2:07.67.

Nilton made it two wins in a row with a 23.63 in the 50 freestyle, before Hobbs led a 1-2 finish on 3-meter for WVU's third consecutive victory.

Then, the Mountaineers added two runner-up finishes, as Nilton earned a 51.97 in the 100 freestyle and VanNetta touched the wall in 2:05.96 in the 200 backstroke. Pampalone followed with a third-place finish in the 200 backstroke, courtesy of a 2:06.79.

With six events remaining in the meet, the Mountaineers won the next five. First was Harris' 2:20.28 in the 200 breaststroke, followed by Kallay's 5:02.89 in the 500 freestyle.

Bullock's second win of the day, a 56.01 in the 100 butterfly, was followed by Hobbs' and Calcut's 1-2 finish on 1-meter. Bullock's third win, and West Virginia's fifth consecutive, came next in the 200 individual medley with a 2:06.29.

The meet concluded with the 400 freestyle relay, where WVU placed second. Nilton, Kallay, freshman Emma Bliss and Gursoy touched the wall in 3:29.23.

Saturday marked the sixth consecutive year WVU and Iowa State have met in the pool. The meet was the Mountaineers' final regular-season competition before the 2019 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, where the WVU men and women travel to Austin, Texas, from Feb. 27-March 2.

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