MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams earned wins against Villanova and Duquesne on Saturday, marking head coach Brent MacDonald's first dual meet victories as the head coach at WVU.
 


The men's swimming and diving team (1-3) cruised past Villanova for its dual win of the season, defeating the Wildcats, 247.50-52.50. The women's swimming and diving team (1-4) defeated Duquesne, 169.50-130.50, and lost to Villanova, 160-140.
 
In the diving well, two Mountaineers posted NCAA Zone qualifying scores. Freshman Levi Hellman placed second on the men's 1-meter (308.50) as he qualified for the zone diving championships. He also won the men's 3-meter with 338.90 points.
 
On the women's side, junior Abigail Sullivan won on 3-meter and qualified for zones with 282.20 total points. The victory also marked the first of her career in the event.
 
On the women's 1-meter, redshirt junior Amari Brown-Swint won with 254.45 points, marking her first collegiate victory in any diving event.
 
Senior Conner McBeth had a dominant performance in his final home meet as a Mountaineer, winning two individual events. First, McBeth won the men's 50-yard freestyle (20.23). He followed that victory by placing first in the 100 free (44.59).
 
Senior Justin Heimes was impressive, winning the 100-yard (48.06) and 200-yard (1:48.53) backstroke for WVU. Senior Jake Young won the men's 100-yard breaststroke (54.82) and placed second in the 200 breast (2:02.07).
 
For the women's team, sophomore Maddie Smutny won the 200-yard butterfly (1:59.34) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:52.71).
 
In the women's 1650 freestyle, junior Olivia Busch placed first with a final time of 16:50.08.
 
In just her second meet with WVU, redshirt junior Natasha Whittall placed second in the 100-yard backstroke (55.20).
 
West Virginia will face Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 1, at McCoy Natatorium in University Park, Pennsylvania. The meet is slated to begin at 11 a.m.

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