Duo Paces WVU in Backyard Brawl

Saturday, January 4

Morgantown, W.Va.

11:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

179.5

120.5

Pitt

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

January 04, 2020 03:23 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results (PDF)

By: Olivia VanHorn

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior Morgan Bullock and junior David Dixon of the West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams led the way with multiple victories against rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl on Saturday morning at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown.

Dixon grabbed four total victories on the day, while Bullock collected three. The star duo led the way for their respective teams in the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley. Dixon's fourth win came as a member of the 200-yard medley relay team. In total, the men's team grabbed nine victories on Saturday, while the women collected seven.

The men's team came away victorious after the 2020 edition of the Backyard Brawl, topping the Panthers 179.5 to 120.5 to improve to 1-1 in dual meets. The women's team fell to Pitt by a score of 175-125, dropping to 0-2 in dual meets this season.

"Today's performance was really good for both teams," Mountaineer coach Vic Riggs said. "Our women's team has some challenges ahead of them with some injuries, but for us to score 125 points today was great and more than we scored in this meet last year. For the men, from the beginning to the end, it was a really good meet. Everybody swam very well. The divers came through huge for us on the boards, and it was just a very solid day."

Saturday's action opened with the 200-yard medley relays. The women were up first, and the team of Bullock, senior Julia Nilton, junior Ally VanNetta and freshman Mathilde Kaelbel grabbed second place after touching the wall in 1:45.61. The men followed with WVU's first win of the day, as Dixon, junior Angelo Russo, sophomore Fausto Huerta and freshman Hunter Armstrong combined to finish in 1:28.24.

In the diving well, sophomore PJ Lenz swept the competition, taking first place on 1- and 3-meter. He tallied an NCAA Zones-qualifying and career-best score of 318.82 on 1-meter and a score of 316.72 on 3-meter. Redshirt sophomore Jacob Cardinal Tremblay grabbed third place on 1-meter (297.90) and second place on 3-meter (306.30).

On the women's side, sophomore Camille Burt excelled on 1-meter, taking second place with an NCAA Zones-qualifying and career-best score of 279.37. She also finished third on 3-meter with a score of 274.65. Freshman Holly Darling was third on 1-meter with a score of 268.95, before finishing in second place on 3-meter (276.22).

"I'm really happy with the divers today," WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. "They rallied and represented well as a team. I'm happy with Camille, who qualified for Zones on 1-meter and was very consistent throughout the day. PJ was in the zone all day, taking first in both events. He has been working really hard, and it shows in his results."

Back in the competition pool, WVU tallied a pair of third-place finishes in the 1,000 freestyle, as senior Alex Pampalone paced the women (10:45), and freshman Zach Boley led the men (9:45.03).

Junior Giselle Gursoy and sophomore Emma Bliss then finished side-by-side in the 200 free. Gursoy took third (1:55.10) and Bliss followed in fourth (1:55.31). In the men's event, Armstrong tallied WVU's first individual win of the day after touching the wall in 1:39.83.

Up next was the 100 backstroke, and VanNetta grabbed second for the women in 57.51. Russo recorded his second win of the day in the men's event, touching the wall in 48.31. Huerta then tallied another victory for WVU in the 100 breaststroke (55.56), while Kaelbel finished second on the women's side (1:07.27).

Bullock and Dixon next showed off their power in the 200 butterfly. The duo grabbed a pair of victories in the events, as Bullock touched the wall in 2:01.70 and Dixon finished in 1:46.20.

Freshman Emily Haimes next tallied back-to-back wins in the 50 and 100 freestyle. In the 50, she touched the wall in 23.60, and she finished in 51.39 in the 100 free. On the men's side, junior Ryen Van Wyk took second place in the 50 free in 20.65, while Armstrong also placed second in the 100 free (44.81)

In the women's 200 backstroke, VanNetta finished tied for second after touching the wall in 2:07.81. The men then posted a 1-2-3-4 finish in the men's event, as Russo led the way in first (1:48.69), followed by senior Trayton Saladin (1:48.93), junior Philip Kay (1:51.64) and sophomore Josh Harlan (1:51.80).

In the 200 breast, Kaelbel tallied a win for the women in 2:22.22, and senior Jack Portmann represented the men's team in third place (2:03.38). Just before the second break, sophomore Emma Bliss took third in the 500 free (5:23.13), and junior Max Gustafson grabbed second for the men (4:37.30).

Up next, Bullock and Dixon each tallied back-to-back victories in the 100 fly and 200 individual medley. Bullock recorded times of 55.46 in the 100 fly and 2:06.03 in the 200 IM. As for Dixon, he touched the wall in 47.55 in the 100 fly and 1:48.24 in the 200 IM.

The meet concluded with the 200 freestyle relays, where the women grabbed a victory and the men tied for first with the Panthers. Haimes, Nilton, Bliss and Gursoy touched the wall in 1:35.55 to get the win for the ladies, and Armstrong, junior Christopher O'Shea, senior Sam Neaveill and Van Wyk finished in 1:21.76 for the first-place tie.

Up next, WVU is set to travel to the Lone Star State for a pair of dual meets. On Friday, Jan. 17, the men's team will compete against SMU at 6 p.m. ET, in Dallas. The following day, the men's and women's teams will square off against TCU in a Big 12 dual meet on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 11 a.m. ET, in Fort Worth.

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