Trio Leads Mountaineers at Pitt

Saturday, January 5

Pittsburgh, Pa.

9:30 a.m.

West Virginia University

125

175

Pitt

January 05, 2019 06:01 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

By: Joe Mitchin

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Senior Emma Harris, junior Morgan Bullock and freshman PJ Lenz of the West Virginia University swimming and diving teams each finished with multiple victories against rival Pitt on Saturday afternoon at Joe C. Trees Pool in Pittsburgh.

Bullock won four total events, including three individually, while Harris earned two individual wins and one relay win and Lenz swept the men's 1- and 3-meter dives, as the Mountaineers opened the final month of the regular season with a pair of losses. The WVU men's team fell to the Panthers, 175-125, while the women's team suffered a 197.5-102.5 setback.

The Mountaineer men fell to 3-1 in dual meets this season. The women's team dropped to 2-2.

Saturday's meet marked the Mountaineers' first competition since traveling to the Ohio State Invitational and Navy Diving Invitational on Nov. 15-17.

"First off, I thought our divers got us off to a great start," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "Certainly, we had some bright spots today. We had some obstacles to overcome, and we had some people step up. But we also showed some rust from not racing, so we'll address that this week as we get ready for TCU. Overall, I thought we had some really solid swims, and we were just a couple touches away in some really close races that would have gotten us a little bit closer."

Saturday's meet began on springboard, where Lenz enjoyed a big day. The Prior Lake, Minnesota, native first won on 3-meter, earning a career-best score of 334.20. Redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay placed third in the event with a score of 293.48, while sophomore Caleb Keck (288.30) was fourth.

Later, Lenz won on 1-meter with a score of 305.63, ahead of freshman Nick Cover, who placed second with a 286.65.

On the women's side, senior Averly Hobbs recorded a pair of second-place finishes. She earned a score of 304.43 on 3-meter and 285.60 on 1-meter on the day. Sophomore Callie Smith finished fourth on 3-meter, earning a score of 282.83, and she placed third on 1-meter (262.28).

"I'm very pleased with the divers today," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I think the men had an excellent opportunity to showcase their work from training trip and throughout this week. PJ was on point, and he was very consistent and very poised during both events. I'm impressed with his progress and development.

"The ladies had their work cut out for them today; Pitt has some very good divers. But they came together as a team. Averly was strong on both boards, and I'm excited to see her progress through the semester. I'm also incredibly proud of Callie. She has been training hard, and her efforts show it as she achieved her Zone score on 3-meter."

Swimming events began with the 200 medley relays. The women's team, comprised of sophomore Ally VanNetta, Harris, Bullock and junior Julia Nilton, earned a time of 1:44.24, winning by just .02 seconds. Sophomore Angelo Russo, redshirt senior Tristen Di Sibio, junior Sam Neaveill and senior Merwane El Merini finished second for the men in 1:29.39.

After freshman Lauryn Kallay finished fourth in the women's 1,000 freestyle in 10:35.99, junior Brandon Christian registered a third-place finish in the event in 9:54.45. That led into the 200 freestyles, where senior Drew Damich placed third for the men in 1:39.66, while sophomore Giselle Gursoy finished fifth in the women's heat (1:54.46).

Russo notched a victory in the men's 100 backstroke, touching the wall first in 49.15. WVU earned a 1-2-3 finish in the event, as junior Trayton Saladin (50.21) placed second and sophomore Chris O'Shea (50.58) was third. VanNetta placed fifth for the women.

Harris won her first of two individual events of the day in the women's 100 breaststroke, topping the field in 1:04.52. For the men, Di Sibio also was victorious in a time of 54.87.

From there, Bullock finished first in the women's 200 butterfly, winning the event in 2:00.58, while junior Jack Frazier (1:53.39) finished third for the men. Then, WVU earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 50 freestyles, as Nilton touched the wall in 23.30 for the women, while El Merini earned a time of 20.33 for the men. Neaveill finished third in the men's heat in 20.66.

The 100 freestyles featured two Mountaineers registering third-place finishes. Nilton placed third for the women in 52.49, before Damich also placed third in the men's heat in 45.01. That led into the 200 backstrokes, where Saladin earned a hard-fought, second-place finish in 1:49.56, ahead of Russo and freshman Josh Harlan, who placed third and fourth, respectively. VanNetta touched the wall in fifth for the women in 2:06.17.

Harris recorded another win in the women's 200 breaststroke, showcasing her dominance with a time of 2:18.41, more than five seconds faster than the second-place finisher in the event. Sophomore Ben Brooks finished third on the men's side, going 2:06.62. Di Sibio was fourth in 2:06.75.

Next were the 500 freestyles, where Gursoy (5:04.33) and sophomore Max Gustafson (4:41.62) each placed fourth. Then, Bullock tallied her second individual victory in the women's 100 butterfly. The Zeeland, Michigan, native touched the wall in 55.43 for the win. In the men's heat, Neaveill battled for second place in 49.92.

Bullock capped her day with a win in the women's 200 individual medley, finishing in 2:05.17. Sophomore Philip Kay was fourth in the men's 400 individual medley in 4:03.22.

The meet concluded with the 400 freestyle relays. El Merini, Damich, Neaveill and O'Shea picked up the win in 3:00.51 for the men, after Nilton, Kallay, Gursoy and freshman Reka Kovacs finished third for the women in 3:34.30.

West Virginia and Pitt have met annually in the pool since 1994-95, with the women's team competing against the Panthers every year since the 1987-88 season. Saturday marked the 25th consecutive season in which both teams have competed against each other in the rivalry.

Next up, WVU returns to home on Saturday, Jan. 12, for a Big 12 dual meet against TCU in Morgantown. Prior to the meet, the Mountaineer will honor this year's senior class, and a large contingent of alumni are expected to attend the final meet in WVU Natatorium history.

The action is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET.

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