Hokie ClubCHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams got their season started in fine form on Friday evening, as the men and women combined to go 6-1 against their opponents at the 2013 Virginia Tech Annual Margaret Soulen Gilbert Breast Cancer Awareness Swim/Dive Meet at Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
“It was a great college meet tonight,” Head Coach Ned Skinner said. “All the teams raced hard and it is clear that our programs are training well. I was very proud of our energy on the pool deck tonight.”
The men made history on the evening, defeating UNC (186-167) in a regular-season meet for the first time in program history, while making easy work of VMI (294-51).
Senior Ryan Hawkins earned a pair of golds in diving, taking the top spot in the 1-meter event with a score of 369.10, before winning the 3-meter event with a 404.20.
Freshman Jan Switkowski was dominant in the pool in his first collegiate meet, finishing first in three individual events--200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle and 400 IM--while also helping the 200 Freestyle Relay team take gold in their event.
In all, the men took home 24 medals on the evening, including 11 first-place finishes. In the four relays, the H2Okies earned two golds, two silvers and a bronze.
On the women’s side, Tech earned wins against three of its four opponents, downing Radford (295-57), Liberty (228.5-119.5) and James Madison (259-94), while falling to UNC (120-233).
Junior Kaylea Arnett continued the H2Okies dominance in the diving events, capturing first place in both the 1-meter (335.85) and the 3-meter (344.55) events.
Freshman Maggie Gruber stood out, earning gold in the 50 Backstroke, while earning a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 Freestyle Relay and 200 Medley Relay. Sophomore Weronika Paluszek also took home first place in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:16.71.
The women captured 17 medals total, including five golds.
“Our divers were dominant tonight and the leadership from our upperclassmen is so impressive right now,” Skinner said. “We hope to build on these performances as we move forward.”
The Hokies will be back in action next weekend, as they take on NC State at home on Saturday, October 19. Action will begin at 1 p.m. at the CAC.
Complete Team Results:
Men:
Virginia Tech 294, VMI 51
Virginia Tech 186, UNC 167
UNC 300, VMI 47
Women:
Virginia Tech 295, Radford 57
UNC 233, Virginia Tech 120
UNC 298, Radford 55
Virginia Tech 228.5, Liberty 119.5
Liberty 267, Radford 81
UNC 262, Liberty 87
Virginia Tech 259, James Madison 94
James Madison 279, Radford 74
UNC 272.5, James Madison 80.5
Liberty 191.5, JMU 157.5