BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams wrapped up the second day of the H2Okie Fall Invitational Friday evening still in control on both the men’s and women’s sides. The women dominated on Day 2 with 10 top-three finishes.
“The energy was even higher today than yesterday, which makes me feel good in light of the fact that I can just tell we are getting tired,” said Tech head coach Ned Skinner. “We are really proud that our kids are out there giving it 100 percent. That includes our divers, they really had a great day today and we really fed off that men’s final. I also thought the women’s 800 free relay was outstanding. It was a strong day for the Hokies.”
The men are ahead of the pack with 860 points. Alabama sits in second (761), followed by South Carolina (523), William & Mary (250) and Villanova (147).
The women nearly doubled the score of their next competitor with 922 points. Alabama sits in second with 501 points and South Carolina rounds out the top three teams with 433 points. Villanova is in fourth (292), William & Mary in fifth (259), Ohio in sixth (224) and Liberty in seventh (93).
Women’s Competition
The H2Okies got the evening out to a great start, claiming second and third in the 200 medley relay. In the next event, Fiona Donnelly kept it going for Tech with a second-place finish in the 400 IM (4:14.46).
The H2Okies’ first win of the day came from a 1-2 finish in the 100 butterfly. Maggie Gruber took the event with a time of 53.91, and Klaudia Nazieblo was right behind her, finishing in 54.44.
The women continued to roll as Gabrielle Bishop led four top-eight Tech finishers with a second-place finish in the 200 free (1:48.24). Holly Harper also tacked on another second-place finish with a time of 54.22 in the 100 backstroke before the H2Okies claimed the 2-4 spots in the 100 breaststroke, led by Weronika Paluszek (1:01.00).
The women capped off the day with an 800 free relay win as the team of Donnelly, Bishop, Jessica Hespeler and Emily Ryczek finished in 7:14.70.
In the 1-meter diving event, the H2Okie divers grabbed 18 team points after finishing in the top four positions. Kaylea Arnett picked up the win after posting a score of 302.75. Less than two points behind her, Kelli Stockton finished second with a score of 300.70. Neck and neck with both of them, Ashley Buchter finished third with a score of 298.25. Emma Villarreal took the fourth spot, scoring 263.00.
Men’s Competition
The H2Okies saw three teams earn points in their first event of the evening, the 200 medley relay, and were led by a second-place finish from Morgan Latimer, Brandon Fiala, Drake Becksted and C.J. Fiala with a time of 1:27.49.
Robert Owen tacked on another second-place finish in the following event, finishing the 400 IM in 3:52.78. Latimer was able to break up an Alabama sweep in the 100 fly as he finished in 48.13, good for third place.
The H2Okies racked up points in the 200 free as Owen Burns led the 3-6 Tech finishers with a time of 1:37.88.
The men claimed the 3-meter event with ease as Mauro Castro-Silva took first with a score of 407.80 and Kyle Butts, T.J. Shinholser and Logan Stevens took 3-5, respectively.
Following a diving win, Tech added second and fourth-place finishes in the 800 free relay to end the day and seal the victory.
The fall invitational event will conclude tomorrow, with preliminaries beginning at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 6 p.m. Live results will be available online.