WVU Grabs Pair of Wins on Senior Day

Saturday, February 1

Morgantown, W.Va.

11:00 a.m.

West Virginia University

178

118

George Washington

February 01, 2020 03:58 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results (PDF)

By: Olivia VanHorn

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept George Washington in the Mountaineers' final dual meet of the regular season on Saturday, at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown.

The men's team topped George Washington, 178-118, while the women grabbed the dual-meet win by a score of 162-138. In all, WVU tallied 23-of-32 event wins on the afternoon, as 13 different Mountaineers tallied victories in the win.

Junior David Dixon paced West Virginia, posting four event victories, including three solo wins. Dixon's wins came in the 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley and as a member of the 200 medley relay team. Senior Morgan Bullock led the women's team, adding three individual victories in the 100 fly, 200 fly and the 200 IM. Freshman Emily Haimes and junior Giselle Gursoy also contributed three total wins, including two solo victories apiece.

"I'm very proud of the seniors, and it was awesome to share today with all of them," Mountaineer coach Vic Riggs said. "They will be missed, and it was great to send them out with a win. I thought the women's team responded well from Thursday's loss and fought hard for the win, which was great to see. Once again, our divers did a great job to help us secure the wins. The men competed well, and to finish the season with just one loss is great to see,"

In the first event, the 200 medley relay, the women's team of junior Ally VanNetta, freshman Mathilde Kaelbel, Bullock and senior Julia Nilton finished in second with a time of 1:45.52. For the men, junior Angelo Russo, sophomore Fausto Huerta, junior David Dixon and freshman Hunter Armstrong grabbed a win in 1:29.33.

The 1,000 freestyle came next, and senior Alex Pampalone finished third for the women (10:37.92) and freshman Zach Boley and senior Brandon Christian took third (9:53.23) and fourth (10:01.92), respectively, for the men. West Virginia then secured a pair of victories in the 200 free, as junior Giselle Gursoy led the way for the women (1:53.49) and Armstrong paced the men (1:38.54).

Junior Ally VanNetta then grabbed a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke, finishing in 57.32. Russo and senior Austin Hartke finished first (48.75) and second (50.63), respectively, in the men's event. Huerta tacked on another victory for the men in the 100 breaststroke in 55.36, while Kaelbel placed second for the women (1:06.56).

Bullock and Dixon led West Virginia to a pair of wins in the 200 butterfly events. Bullock's win was first, as she finished in 2:02.17, and junior Kayla Gagnon finished in third place (2:08.12). Dixon then led the way in a 1-2 Mountaineer finish, touching the wall in 1:49.14. Senior Jack Frazier followed in second place in 1:51.41.

Two more Mountaineer victories were added just before the first break in the 50 free. Haimes finished first for the women in 23.61, while Nilton finished second (23.79). Armstrong collected the men's event victory in 20.49, and senior Sam Neaveill took second place (21.08).

In the diving well, the Mountaineer divers posted strong performances, winning all four events. The women tallied a 1-2-3-4 finish on 3-meter springboard, led by freshman Holly Darling's 306.83 victory. Sophomore Camille Burt was second (294.68), followed by junior Callie Smith and sophomore Emma Longley in third (293.40) and fourth (248.10), respectively.

For the men, senior Austin Smith led the way in the Mountaineer sweep, posting a mark of 307.35 on 1-meter. Sophomore PJ Lenz finished in second place with a score of 305.55, and classmate Nick Cover followed in third place (289.50).

Darling again led the way on women's 1-meter, tallying a score of 292.13 to take the top spot. Burt followed in second place with a 291.15, and Callie Smith finished in third (268.05). Austin Smith was the lone Mountaineer to place on men's 3-meter, notching a mark of 344.18 to finish in first place.

"Today was a very good day for the divers, and I'm thrilled with the performances by our seniors," diving coach Michael Grapner said. "Senior day is always one of my favorite days, and I'm incredibly proud of Brooke (Zedar) and Austin for their successes during their careers. I sincerely thank them for their contributions to the team."

Following the swimming break, the Mountaineers returned to the competition pool to pick up two more wins in the 100 free. Haimes secured the victory for the women (51.43), while Armstrong grabbed it for the men (44.84). In the 200 back, VanNetta again led the women's team, taking second place with a time of 2:05.61. Russo notched a victory for the men, touching the pad in 1:51.58. Junior Philip Kay was close behind in third place (1:53.79).

Next, Kaelbel and senior Jack Portmann tallied a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 breast, as Kaelbel finished in 2:22.05 for the women and Portmann touched the wall in 2:06.04 for the men. West Virginia's long-distance specialists showed off in the 500 free, adding another pair of wins. Gursoy finished in 5:03.62 for the ladies, and junior Max Gustafson tallied a time of 4:34.25 to take the win for the men.

Bullock and Dixon then swept the next two events, grabbing two wins apiece in the 100 fly and 200 individual medley events. Bullock's victories came in 55.42 in the 100 fly and 2:05.05 in the 200 IM, while Dixon touched the wall in 55.42 in the 100 fly and 1:52.93 in the 200 IM to take the top spots.

The 400 freestyle relay closed the meet, as the women's team of Haimes, Nilton, freshman Harna Minezawa and Gursoy combined to post a time of 3:29.18 for first place. Then, the all-senior team of Neaveill, Hartke, senior Trayton Saladin and Frazier finished in second place with a time of 3:05.89.

Saturday also was Senior Day for the Mountaineers, as the two squads recognized the accomplishments of seniors Morgan Bullock, Miranda Marcucci, Julia Nilton, Alex Pampalone, Brooke Zedar, Brandon Christian, Jack Frazier, Austin Hartke, Ryan Kelly, Matthew Marsh, Sam Neaveill, Jack Portmann, Trayton Saladin, Austin Smith and Jake Williams.

With the victory, the women's team moves to 3-3 in dual meets and 2-0 in the Big 12 to close the regular season. The men enter the postseason with a 5-1 dual-meet record, while they are 1-0 in Big 12 competition.

Next up for the Mountaineers is the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship, held from Feb. 26-29, at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park. West Virginia is set to host the conference meet for the first time in program history.

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