MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On the first day of competition in the team's first-ever home invitational, the West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams collected three victories to open the WVU Invitational on Thursday night, in Morgantown.
 
The Mountaineers' three victories on the opening night of competition at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park were credited to junior David Dixon, freshman Hunter Armstrong and the men's 400 medley relay team.
 
"Today was a very solid day," WVU coach Vic Riggs said. "I thought we swam very well this morning. Tonight, we had very strong swims from our 500 (freestyle) group, led by Giselle (Gursoy) and Max (Gustafson). Morgan (Bullock) and David (Dixon) led our individual medley group with very good swims. Julia (Nilton) and Hunter (Armstrong) led our sprinters with a pair of great 50 frees, and our relays were very strong to start and finish tonight's session."
 
Thursday's finals session began with the 200 freestyle relays. The women opened the evening, as the team of freshman Emily Haimes, senior Julia Nilton, sophomore Emma Bliss and senior Morgan Bullock finished third after touching the wall in 1:33.41.
 
The men's team of Armstrong and juniors Ryen Van Wyk, Christopher O'Shea and Dixon tacked on another third-place finish in the men's event in 1:20.96.
 
Action in the diving well commenced following the relays, as the men's and women's divers competed on platform. Freshman Holly Darling led the way for the women, tallying a second-place finish with 205.25 points. Sophomore Camille Burt was third (188.10), followed by freshman Marian Tiemeier in fourth (157.40).
 
Sophomore Nick Cover also placed second to pace the men's squad, tallying 288.95 points. Redshirt senior Austin Smith was third (264.15), while redshirt sophomore Jacob Cardinal-Tremblay took fourth (253.90).
 
"Today was a great way for the divers to set a standard for performance on platform this season," diving coach Michael Grapner said. "I'm pleased with the divers, as their energy and competitive intentions were very good. For this being our first big meet, I think we handled the day very well."
 
The individual events in the competition pool began with the 500 free. Sophomore Reka Kovacs represented the Mountaineers in the A final, finishing in seventh with a time of 5:00.92, while junior Giselle Gursoy led the way in the B final, taking first place in 4:54.23.
 
Three Mountaineers appeared in the A final of the men's event, as junior Max Gustafson placed second (4:27.17), freshman Zach Boley took fourth (4:31.20) and senior Trayton Saladin followed in sixth (4:31.94).
 
The women's 200-yard individual medley was next, where Bullock grabbed a third-place finish in the A final after touching the wall in 2:02.37.
 
Junior David Dixon collected WVU's first win of the evening in the men's 200 IM, taking first in the A final in 1:46.21. Juniors Phillip Kay and Ben Brooks joined Dixon in the A final, finishing sixth (1:50.84) and seventh (1:51.60), respectively.
 
Action then continued with the 50-yard freestyle. In the women's event, Nilton was narrowly edged out of first place in the A final, taking second with a time of 23.04. Haimes also competed in the A final, finishing in 23.24, good for fourth place. She was followed by Bliss in eighth (24.09).
 
Excitement ensued in the A final for the men, as Armstrong and William & Mary's Colin Wright were neck-and-neck, but Armstrong ultimately took first after touching the wall in 19.75. Van Wyk and O'Shea finished side-by-side in seventh (20.72) and eighth (20.75), respectively.
 
Thursday's opening night of competition concluded with the 400 medley relays. The women were up first, as the Mountaineer women's team comprised of junior Ally VanNetta, freshman Mathilde Kaelbel, Bullock and Haimes notched a third-place showing with a time of 3:45.41.
 
In the men's 400 medley relay, junior Angelo Russo, sophomore Fausto Huerta, Dixon and Armstrong tallied WVU's third and final win of the night after touching the wall in 3:11.35.
 
Following the first night of competition, the Mountaineers sit in first place with a combined total of 787 points. Separately, the men contributed 466 points, while the women added 321. William & Mary is in second place with 704 combined team points and Kenyon College is third with 690.
 
WVU is joined at this weekend's meet by swimming and diving programs from across the region, including Carnegie Mellon, Kenyon College, Old Dominion, Villanova and William & Mary. Diving teams from James Madison, Massachusetts, Navy and St. Bonaventure also are in attendance.
 
Competition at the Aquatic Center continues Friday and Saturday, with prelim action beginning at 10 a.m. Finals sessions are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Live results from the WVU Invitational are available at WVUsports.com/swim, as well as on the Meet Mobile App. Diving results also will be available throughout the weekend on DiveMeets.com.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.