Hokie ClubCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams both took home a pair of victories on Friday evening, as both H2Okie squads downed Cleveland State and Denison at Ohio State.
On the men’s side, the No. 14 H2Okies earned blowout victories over Cleveland State (252-48) and Denison (251-49), before falling to No. 11 Ohio State in a hard-fought 156.5-135.5 decision.
Jan Switkowski paced the swimmers on the day, taking home four medals on the day. The freshman earned the gold in the 200 Free (1:37.63) and 200 IM (1:50.86), while also swimming the anchor leg in the gold medal-winning 400 Freestyle Relay (2:58.83).
Junior Morgan Latimer also earned a trio of gold medals, swimming the second leg of the 400 Freestyle Relay, while also winning the 100 Butterfly (48.43) and 200 Butterfly (1:46.55).
The H2Okie divers were dominant in the 1-meter event, sweeping all three medals. Senior Ryan Hawkins took home the top spot with a score of 332.20, while freshman TJ Shinholser (320.55) and junior Jared Butts (316.70) completed the sweep in second and third.
In all, the men took home 24 medals, including six golds.
“Our men competed very well against the 11th-ranked Buckeyes,” Head Coach Ned Skinner said. “Jan Switkowski is becoming a real player for us and Morgan Latimer had a great meet. Our last relay was a lot of fun and we plan to keep racing hard.”
The H2Okies on the women’s side also downed Cleveland State (248-52) and Denison (239-61) before falling to the Buckeyes (191-109).
Sophomore Weronika Paluszek earned a pair of first-place finishes, taking the gold medal in the 100 Breaststroke (1:03.26) and 200 Breaststroke (2:15.47).
On the diving side, the women continued their season-long dominance, sweeping both the 1-meter and 3-meter events for the third consecutive meet. Junior Kaylea Arnett earned the gold in both events, scoring 337.20 in the 3-meter and 304.45 in the 1-meter.
Junior Kelli Stockton and freshman Ashley Buchter took second and third, respectively, in both events.
The women ended the evening with 19 medals, including four golds.
“The women did a great job throughout the meet,” Skinner said. “Our divers continue to dominate, while Weronika Paluszek was dominant and Maggie Gruber is emerging as a future superstar for us. We are learning each meet and plan to keep improving.”
The H2Okies are back in action tomorrow afternoon, when they face their first dual meet away from home this season. Tech travels to Cincinnati for a dual against the Bearcats, with action beginning at 11 a.m. with diving events. Swimming events will commence at 1 p.m.