Pitt
Notre Dame & Virginia Tech
Pitt Closes ACC Tri-Meet with Impressive Showing
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Complete Results
PITTSBURGH - Four individual champions highlighted the final day of the University of Pittsburgh men's and women's swim and dive teams' tri-meet with ACC foes Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, Saturday afternoon from Trees Pool.
The men fell to Virginia Tech by a score of 261.00 to 92.00 and dropped the decision with Notre Dame by a score of 238.00 to 115.00. The women also fell in both duals, losing to Virginia Tech by a score of 231.00 to 121.50 and Notre Dame by a score of 244.00 to 109.00.
"I think the team battled well, they're racing their guts out and they're training their guts out, and we're trying to squeeze everything out of them that we can," said head coach John Hargis. "I think this weekend we did alright. We had a couple of opportunities here and there but I think overall the team dove very well. I think the team swam very well and raced very well and we competed hard and that's what we want to continue to do moving forward."
Reigning national champion Dominic Giordano extended his unbeaten streak, earning his sixth straight title on the season with a 393.30 final on the 3M. The senior started off with an impressive 75.95 dive to set the tone early on, besting Virginia Tech's Thomas Schiesl by nearly 50 points after six dives.
"He's amazing," said Hargis. "As a swim coach, just to be able to watch someone who has perfected his art like Dom has done, it is amazing to watch every single day. The guy is a competitor and just being able to watch him compete against some of the best divers in the country, like Notre Dame and Virginia Tech have, and be able to miss a dive here or there and still win the way he does is amazing."
Fellow champion diver Meme Sharp also earned a top finish on the afternoon in a close competition on the 1M. Virginia Tech's Ashlynn Peters would take an early lead but consistent dives from Sharp gave the reigning ACC champion the advantage, and she would hold on to edge Peters by just .05 points, winning the title with a 277.50 six-dive score.
In addition to Sharp, freshman Krista Jones placed fifth on the 1M with a six-dive score of 249.30.
Along with the continued success on the diving boards, the Panthers claimed a total of 12 top-five finishes in the pool on the afternoon, including six from the women and six on the men's side.
Redshirt senior Henrique Machado was the story of the afternoon for the men, as he grabbed two top-five finishes, including an individual title in the 100 back. In a thrilling race, Machado touched the wall with a time of 48.81 to edge the second place finisher from Notre Dame by 0.10 seconds. Machado also earned a fourth-place mark in the 50 free with a time of 20.77.
"Henrique is a special swimmer," Hargis added. "He is a great talent and the more he perfects that talent, the better he is going to be, and we've seen that as the season has gone on. It will be fun to watch him at the end of the year because he will rest very well as he is extremely tired right now, like a lot of these guys are. To see what he is going to be able to do in February and March is going to be special."
Also on the men's side, Zach Lierley took fourth in the 200 IM with a time of 1:51.78, while Brian Lovasik placed third in the 200 free with a time of 1:39.99 and Spencer Gray earned fifth in the 500 free, touching with a time of 4:33.21.
The men's relay team of Machado, Lovasik, Haden Calegan and Jake Tovey touched with a time of 3:04.83 in the 400 free relay to place fifth.
Kinga Cichowska led the way for the women, earning an individual title in the 200 breast with a time of 2:14.87. Amanda Richey posted a second-place finish in the 500 free, touching with a time of 4:55.56, while fellow NCAA qualifier Emily Murphy placed third in the 50 free (23.56) and freshman Valerie Daigneault took fourth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.57.
"Kinga has just been training at a different level for her and I think she has gone faster and faster at every meet," added Hargis. "It is fun to work with an individual like Kinga who, every day comes in and gets the job done and you see it in her racing. To race at the level she's racing right now, she has never done. So, the excitement on her after every swim is always fun and to see her win the 200 was great, there's still some changes she can make and we talked about those a little bit, but I think, moving forward, she is going to have an excellent year."
The women's relay squad of Daigneault, Cichowska, Murphy and Rachel Brown placed third in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:45.51. In the 400 free relay, the quad of Murphy, Brown, Madelyn Shaffer and Lina Rathsack took fourth with a time of 3:28.30.
Pitt will resume action in two weeks, traveling to the Ohio State Invitational Nov. 18-20 in Columbus, Ohio. The Panthers will not return to Trees Pool until the Christmas Meet Dec. 15-18.
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