Hokie ClubCHRISTIANSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech swimming and diving team turned in some strong swims in their return to duals format where both the men and women H2Okies lead Georgia Tech but trail Kentucky after day one of their tri-meet held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
The Tech women lead the Yellow Jackets, 95-36, and trail the 18th-ranked Wildcats, 72-59. The men’s squad for the H2Okies are behind the Wildcats, 75-56, but are ahead of No. 25 Georgia Tech, 92-39.
PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
- Senior Robert Owen ran away with the 200 back, swimming a B cut time of 1:44.82 that was faster than the second-place finisher by almost three whole seconds.
- As was the case in the women’s 200 fly where senior Klaudia Nazieblo swam 1:58.14 to take first. Kentucky’s Haley McInerny finished second with a time of 2:03.37.
- Sophomore Ben Schiesl and junior Thomas Shinholser started the day off strong for the men as Schiesl took first in the one meter with a score of 343.05 while Shinholser placed third with a 335.55.
- Senior Jessica Hespeler, freshman Grace Kowal and freshman Jenna Beattie, who had a standout first half for the H2Okies, finished first, second and third, respectively, in the 1650 freestyle.
- Hespeler teamed with Adriana Grabski, Fiona Donnelly and Klaudia Nazieblo to take first in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:23.82.
NOTABLE SWIMS
- Ashlynn Peters led the charge in the women’s three meter by earning four points and placing second with a 307.25.
- Despite barely swimming over two minutes in the 200 breast, senior Brandon Fiala finished first anyway with a 2:00.04. Justin Edwards followed him with a time of 2:01.38.
- Laura Schwartz matched her seed time of 2:18.46 and finished third in the women’s 200 breast.
- Junior Adriana Grabski (51.47) and sophomore Danielle Griggs (51.68) placed third and fourth respectively in the 100 free.
- Sophomore Norbert Szabo narrowly missed first in the 200 fly by a few tenths of a second after swimming a 1:46.31.
Day two of the tri-meet is set to start tomorrow at 9 a.m. The diving portion is scheduled to begin at noon. With flurries in the forecast, times are subject to change. Please follow @VT_SwimDive for updates.