Virginia Splits with NC State at Home
Jan. 19, 2018
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- The No. 8 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team defeated No. 15 NC State, 178-117, while the No. 23 Cavalier men fell to the No. 6 Wolfpack, 193-100, on Friday (Jan. 19) at the Aquatic and Fitness Center in Charlottesville, Va.
“It was a great meet today,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “The teams were pretty excited. After last year, NC State came in and took down the Virginia women at the dual meet and again at the conference championships, ending a pretty long streak from our program. So, the women were out for a little bit of revenge. They really stepped up to the challenge. NC State is a phenomenal team. I know that they will be good at the end of the year at the conference championships and we will have to battle with them again. We are really proud of our women. They swam really well. Jenn Marrkand again leading the way. She set a pool record in the 200-yard butterfly, winning two individual events. The most exciting race of the day was probably the first race, the 200 medley relay. It came down to the wire. We were fortunate to get our hand on the wall first and gain some momentum. I am really happy with how they performed today, but we’re putting it behind us as we have the Tar Heels coming to town tomorrow and they are going to provide us another great challenge.
“The men are obviously a much different story. NC State is arguably one of the best programs in the country, on the men’s side. That is where our men are heading. We look forward to getting to that level and challenging them really soon. It is great to have them (NC State) come to town and to compete with them. Our men stepped up and raced really well. They did not back down from a very good caliber swim team. We are happy with how that went. Just like the women, we have to move on from today and get ready for North Carolina tomorrow. Overall, I am very pleased with tonight.”
The Cavaliers set three AFC pool records during the meet. The women’s 200-yard medley relay team of freshman Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.), junior Vivian Tafuto (Hummelstown, Pa.), freshman Anna Pang (SINGAPORE) and senior Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.), respectively, recorded a time of 1:39.31. Sophomore Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) set a new pool record in the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:44.81, while senior Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.) set a pool record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:54.43.
Additionally, the women’s team recorded two first-place finishes from Cooper, who topped the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.24 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.36. Marrkand captured her second first-place finish in the women’s 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:59.25, while Pang finished first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.47 and the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.19.
Freshman Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) finished first in the women’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:56.56.
The Cavaliers swept the 200-yard breaststroke with sophomore Mary Claire Tansill (Bristow, Va.) winning the women’s side with a time of 2:14.02 and freshman Matthew Otto (Newark, Del.) winning the men’s side with a time of 1:58.68.
In diving, sophomore Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) finished first in the women’s 1-meter dive with a score of 293.70, while junior Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) finished first in the women’s 3-meter dive with a score of 347.10.
The Cavaliers will host North Carolina tomorrow for the team’s final home meet of the year. Diving will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the swim meet at 1:30 p.m. Virginia will recognize nine seniors prior to the start of the swim meet.