Women Fall to Penn State in Season-Opener

Saturday, October 12

University Park, Pa.

12:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

115

173

Penn State

October 12, 2019 04:10 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving

Results (PDF)

By: Olivia VanHorn

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's swimming and diving team opened its 2019-20 season with a dual-meet loss to Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions topped the Mountaineers, 115-173, at McCoy Natatorium. WVU captured four total victories on the day, as freshman Emily Haimes led the way with three victories, including two individual wins and one relay win in her first collegiate meet.

Senior Morgan Bullock also collected one individual win, while senior Julia Nilton, sophomore Emma Bliss and junior Giselle Gursoy each grabbed a relay win.

"Overall, today was a good start for the women's team," head coach Vic Riggs said. "Emily's win in the 50 freestyle, along with strong performances by Morgan in the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, led the way today.

"We have some things to improve upon before the West Virginia State Games next month. However, we get a couple of weeks to make corrections, and the atmosphere in the new facility will be electric."

Haimes made her WVU debut Saturday afternoon and captured her first two career victories in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. Bullock's first win of her senior campaign came in the 200-yard individual medley, before Haimes, Nilton, Bliss and Gursoy tallied the win in the 400 free relay.

On springboard, the Mountaineers captured two, top-three spots on 3-meter and 1-meter, as freshman Holly Darling took second place on both events in her Mountaineer debut. Darling tallied scores of 266.93 on 3-meter and 258.60 on 1-meter. She was followed on both events by sophomore Camille Burt in third, who scored a 260.33 on 3-meter and a 243.30 on 1-meter.

"Today was a great start in our first meet for the ladies," diving coach Michael Grapner said. "We had an excellent opportunity to compete today, and they took advantage of it. I told the girls at the beginning of the meet that I wanted them to focus on confident, aggressive diving and to have fun. I think they did just that, and our results show it. I'm really pleased with Holly She was consistent on both boards, securing the second-place spot for 1-meter and 3-meter."

Saturday's meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay. The Mountaineer team comprised of junior Ally VanNetta, freshmen Ginger Hansen and Jacqueline McCutchan and Gursoy took third place with a time of 1:44.96.

The first individual event of the afternoon was the 1,000 free, where senior Alex Pampalone finished in second after touching the wall in 10:30.23. Pampalone was followed by sophomore Lauryn Kallay in third (10:35.89).

Then, Gursoy finished fourth in the 200 free (1:53.91), followed by VanNetta's fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke in 58.06. Next, a pair of freshmen swam their first collegiate individual events, as freshman Tatum Peyerl grabbed a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.28), ahead of freshman Mathilde Kaelbel in fourth (1:07.16).

Bullock competed in her second event of the day in the 200 fly, securing second place after touching the pads in 2:03.18.

Next up, Haimes made her collegiate debut in a big way by capturing WVU's first victory of the afternoon in the 50 free, notching a time of 23.49. She followed her first career victory by adding two second-place finishes in the 100 free (50.61) and the 100 fly (55.30).

Pampalone led the Mountaineers in the 200 back, tallying a fourth-place finish in 2:06.31. Peyerl (2:22.15) and Kaelbel (2:24.68) then went for second and third for the second time Saturday afternoon in the 200 breast, before Gursoy notched another fourth-place finish in the 500 free with a time of 5:12.58.

Haimes then captured her second victory of the day, leading a 1-2-3 WVU finish in the 100 fly. Haimes took first in 55.30, ahead of VanNetta (1:00.62) and freshman Harna Minezawa (1:00.72) in her WVU debut.

WVU's momentum continued as the Mountaineers swept the 200 IM, led by Bullock in first in 2:06.46, the first victory of her senior campaign. Sophomore Reka Kovacs came in second with a 2:14.12, followed by junior Kayla Gagnon in third (2:14.84).

The day concluded with WVU's fourth victory of the afternoon in the 400 free relay. Haimes, Nilton, Bliss and Gursoy took first with a time of 3:29.45.

Saturday's meet marked the second of the two-day competition between WVU and Penn State. On Friday night, the Mountaineer men dropped their season-opening contest, falling to the Nittany Lions, 125-167. WVU captured five victories on the night, led by freshman Hunter Armstrong with two, including one individual and one as a part of a relay.

After a few weeks off, the Mountaineers are set to host the inaugural meet in their new home at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, as the West Virginia State Games come to Morgantown from Nov. 1-2. Swimming and diving teams from across the state will convene for the annual, two-day meet.

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