Virginia Leads Pitt and LSU in Opening Day
Oct. 20, 2017
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Pittsburgh, Pa.- The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams paced the first day of competition against Pitt and LSU at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, Pa. Additionally, the Cavaliers opened the competition with 10 first-place finishes.
At the conclusion of day one, the No. 13 Virginia women’s team led Pitt, 121-46, and LSU, 133-34, while the No. 22 Cavalier men led Pitt, 98-69, and LSU, 97-70.
“It has really been a team effort so far in this two-day competition with Pitt and LSU,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “The one thing I am really proud of and was really excited to see was the energy from our team. It was all day, every event. It was just loud, boisterous, having fun, smiling and cheering and supporting their teammates. That was one of the things that we are focusing on, working hard and supporting each other. It showed today.
“Our women are winning by a pretty good margin. They won quite a few of the events today. They are swimming great and building off of the competition against Penn State last week. The men are winning both meets as well. It has been an overall team effort where every point is counting. Our second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishes are crucial. For the men, one of the most exciting races was the final individual race of the evening, the 1,000 (freestyle). Sam Magnan had a good battle with one of the Pittsburgh guys and pulled it through in the end. It provided a lot of excitement and energy for the team. We are looking forward to carrying that into tomorrow. Both teams have learned a lot from racing last week. They are incorporating the training from this week and are taking it into the competition with Pitt and LSU. I am pleased with where we are sitting heading into tomorrow. We will need to come back with the same energy. It is an early morning start, but we are used to early mornings, so we should be able to come in with some fire and put together a good finish to the competition.
Cavaliers opened the swimming competition with a win in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay. Freshman Anna Pang (Singapore), senior Laine Reed (Austin, Texas), senior Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.) and senior Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.), respectively, swam a time of 1:32.85.
In the individual events, junior Rachel Politi (Bexley, Ohio) finished first in the 400-yard individual medley (4:21.16), while Marrkand placed first in the 100-yard butterfly (54.69). Freshman Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) captured the top time in the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.45). Junior Vivian Tafuto (Hummelstown, Pa.) placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.56) and sophomore Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) placed first in the 100-yard freestyle (50.13).
Juniors Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) and Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) led the men’s team. Keblish recorded first place in the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 49.20, while Magnan captured first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:10.59.
The Cavaliers concluded the night sweeping the 400-yard medley relay. Freshman Marcella Maguire (Ridgefield, Conn.), Tafuto, Marrkand and Reed, respectively, recorded a time of 3:42.47, while sophomore Joe Clark (Worcester Park, Great Britain), freshman Joseph Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), Keblish and freshman Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.), respectively, recorded a time of 3:17.35.
The Cavaliers will compete in the second day of competition tomorrow with diving events beginning at 10 a.m. and swimming events beginning at 11 a.m.