Pitt Invitational Starts Friday
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
| Pitt Invitational | |||
| Date | Friday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. (ET) & Saturday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m (ET) | ||
| Location | Trees Pool / Pittsburgh, Pa. | ||
| Television | N/A | ||
| Radio | N/A | ||
| Online | Live Video vs. (Friday) Live Video (Saturday) Live Video (Sunday) | ||
| Game Notes / Stats | 2014-15 Top Times | 2014-15 Factbook | School Records | ||
| Promotions | N/A | ||
| Social Media | @PittSwimAndDive - Twitter / Facebook / Instagram | ||
PITTSBURGH - Taking a break from dual meets, the Pitt swimming and diving teams participate in its first invitational of the season with the Panthers host the annual Pitt Invite, which this year features a total of nine teams, from Friday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 23.
This will be the first time Pitt is in a championship-like event, with prelims taking place each morning and three different finals swims at night. Friday's festivities begin at 10 a.m. and the finals start at 6 p.m. Saturday's schedule is the same at Friday's, while Sunday's swims will be at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Joining the Panthers at the Pitt Invitational is a number of regionally local teams. In addition to Pitt, eight of the nine teams hail from Pennsylvania or West Virginia. They are California (Pa.), Drexel, Fairmont State, IUP, Lock Haven, West Chester and West Virginia Wesleyan. Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson is also in the mix.
LAST TIME OUT
Pitt struggled to get things going in a double dual meet against Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, as both the men and the women were handed two losses a piece. The Panthers women fell to Notre Dame 230-140 and to Virginia Tech 252.5-117.5. The Pitt men were outscored by the host Irish 286-84 and fell by a similar margin to the Hokies, 287-83. Both teams are currently ranked in the CSCAA top-25, with Virginia Tech at 17th and Notre Dame at 25th.
B CUT FOR CICHOWSKA AND RICHEY
Sophomore Kinga Cichowska and freshman Amanda Richey became the first Pitt swimmers this season to hit an NCAA "B" cut time.
Cichowska was the first with her performance in the 100-yd breast on Oct. 24 against St. Bonaventure. Her time of 1:02.48 puts her 27th in the nation and seventh in the ACC. Cichowska also has a solid time in the 200 breast of 2:16.81, ranking her eighth in the conference.
Racing in the 1,650 freestyle for the first time this season, Richey notched a "B" cut time in the longest distance race with a time of 16:30.13. That performance is the third fastest time in the country and fastest in the ACC.
RICHEY REGISTERS FRESHMAN RECORD
Freshman Amanda Richey continues to lower the freshman standard in the 1,000 free, setting the freshman three times in just five races already. Most recently, Richey swam the race in 9:51.92 on Oct. 25 against Bucknell, which gives her the fastest time in the ACC and 15th fastest time in Division I. That time also makes Richey the third fastest freshmen in the country and is just 1.92 seconds away from the Pitt school record.
Richey initially established the freshman record in the 1,000-yd freestyle in the Blue-Gold meet with a time of 9:58.78, lowering the standard by nearly three seconds. Against Duke, Richey took down her own time, swimming the 1,000 in 9:54.46.
Overall, Richey is undefeated in eight races of at least 500 yards and has won 10 of her 15 individual competitions. She has won all four of her 500-yd free races, all three of her 1,000 free races and her only 1,650 free race. Richey's time of 4:51.50 in the 500 ranks both 37th nationally and fifth in the ACC.
SWIMMERS RANK AMONG NATION'S BEST
Through a month and a half of competition, five Pitt swimmers own top-50 times nationally in their respective races with two holding top-25 times in the country.
In addition to Richey and Cichowska, junior Kaleigh Ritter also represents the women's team while sophomore Zach Lierley and senior Kourosh Ahani make an appearance for the men.
Ritter was right behind Richey in the only 1,650 race of the season, with a time of 16:49.01. That time puts her 11th in the nation and third in the conference.
Having raced in the 400 IM just twice this season, Lierley swam the 33th fastest time of 3:57.58 in the event and also ranks fifth in the ACC. Competing in the fly, Ahani ranks 44th nationally and with a time of 48.89 seconds at the 100-yd distance.
DIVERS RACKING UP POINTS
Senior Harris Bergman and freshman Meme Sharp have established themselves as the top divers on Pitt's squad with some high-scoring performances last time at home.
Bergman won all four diving events with NCAA zone qualifying scores in the sweep of St. Bonaventure and Bucknell. He won three of his dives by at least 20 points, including the 3-meter dive versus Bucknell by a whopping 66 points, running away with the title with a season-best 377.78 points. That score was the best dive by a Pitt student-athlete since November of 2008 when Alex Volecetski scored 392.55.
Sharp showed similar success to Bergman, winning three of four events during the two-day span and scoring NCAA zone qualifying standards all four times. Sharp's season-best performance of 298.12 points on the 3-meter dive against Bucknell was the highest by a Pitt female diver since January 2011.
NOSBISCH AND LIERLEY SET EYES ON OLYMPICS
Qualifying times for the 2016 Olympic Trials were recently released, and two Pitt swimmers already made the cut with their performances at the 2014 Phillips 66 National Championships, held back in August.
Senior Luke Nosbisch, who previously swam at the 2012 Olympic Trials, qualified in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:15.89 - a full 2.5 seconds faster than the cut time. Following in the footsteps of his older brother Jon, who is a senior at Pitt this year and qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials, Zach Lierley will participate at the next Olympic Trials in the 200-meter backstroke. His time of 2:03.14 was 0.65 faster than the qualifying standard.
UP NEXT
A handful of Panthers swimmers will take part in the three-day AT&T Winter Nationals which runs from Dec. 4 to Dec. 6 in Greensboro, N.C.
Players Mentioned
