GREENSBORO, N.C. – Freshman Noah Zawadzki and sophomore Joelle Vereb reached the championship finals of their respective events during the final day of competition at the 2019 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
"As I said the first day, we will get better every session and we did," said head coach Sergio Lopez Miro. "I think the team really got more confident as we got into the meet. We had many performances in the Virginia Tech top-5 times and overall, I'm very happy. It's a good starting point for a young team and in my first year as coach."
Vereb continued to have a solid week for Tech as she placed fourth in the 100 freestyle with an NCAA B mark of 48.50. Her time moves her into second place on Tech's all-time list, just behind Sara Smith's 48.10 set in 2009. Abigail Andrusin picked up points for the Hokies as well in the 100 free, taking 23rd in a time of 49.67.
Zawadzki finished fifth in the men's platform diving event. He qualified in sixth during the afternoon with a score of 314.85. In the finals, Zawadzki upped his tally to turn in a score of 340.05 as the only freshman in the finals field.
"I am extremely proud of Noah as a freshman to make it into that extremely difficult men's platform final," said diving coach Ron Piemonte. "Once he got into the final it was great to see him really step up and get noticed and for people to realize he's going to be a future force in the ACC."
Freshman Loulou Vos got the Hokies off to a strong start in the evening session as she finished ninth in the 1650 freestyle. She turned in a time of 16:29.32 (fifth fastest in Tech history), shaving 12.67 seconds off her seed time to hit an NCAA B cut mark. Jenna Beattie and Eleanor Matheson also scored for the Hokies in the event, placing 20th (16:52.68) and 23rd (16:58.91), respectively.
In the 200 back, Reka Gyorgy placed 14th overall with a B cut time of 1:55.37. Emily Meilus qualified for the C final during the morning, but cut 1.29 off her time to win the heat and finish 17th overall with a B cut time of 1:54.89, improving on her Tech top-5 time of 1:54.95 she set in 2018.
In the 200 fly, Leah Rogers score for the Hokies, placing 24th in the event with a time of 2:03.78.
The Hokies wrapped the championships with a seventh-place finish in the 400 free relay as Vereb, Andrusin, Kayla Purcell and Gyorgy teamed up to swim a 3:17.29. The mark is the third fastest in program history.
Tech also claimed points on the boards on the women's side from Ashlynn Peters (15th) and Teagan Moravek (17th) in the 10-meter event. Ben Schiesl placed 17th on the men's platform to score for the Hokies heading into next week's men's championships.
Virginia Tech finished eighth overall with a score of 477.5, ahead of Georgia Tech, Pitt, Miami and Boston College. NC State claimed the women's title with 1353 points while UVA finished second with 1282 and Louisville was third with 1146.
The Hokies will be back in Greensboro Feb. 27-March 2 for the ACC Men's Swimming Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Coach Lopez Miro on the Meet/Season:
"There are many things that we can do better going forward. For everyone, swimmers, coaches, staff it's been a learning experience. I believe all the coaches are happy with the season. I told them at the beginning to make sure the seniors have a good experience and can walk away with no regrets. I think we've been conscious all season to be aware that they are student-athletes balancing class and practice, and to put them in a position to move on after Tech. Of the kids returning, they will understand the system better and be ready to step into it. With any place you go, it usually takes three to four years to establish a thought process, and I think with this women's team, we have done a good job to set the foundation."
