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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams posted solid finishes in their season opening meet on Saturday at Maurice J. Koury Natatorium, as the H2Okie men and women defeated South Carolina, 202-98 and 210.50-89.50, respectively. Both teams also put forth a strong effort against ACC foe North Carolina but came up short, as the men fell 172-128, and the women fell 182-118.
The H2Okies captured a total of 11 first-place finishes (seven for the men, four for the women) and earned nine second-place spots en route to a pair of victories over SEC opponent, South Carolina.
“Today was a great start to our season,” said Tech’s head swimming and diving coach Ned Skinner. “Both teams competed well against some very tough competition. Our leadership did a fantastic job at keeping everyone focused and keeping our energy level high. I’m very proud of both team’s performances.”
In the opening events, the H2Okie men and women set the tone with a first- and second-place finish, respectively, in the 200 medley relay. The men’s combination of Charlie Higgins, Jonathan Huss, Karl Botha and Richard Ulatowski squeaked out a finish ahead of UNC in 1:31.46. The Tech women’s squad of Sara Shapiro, Jessica Earl, Abby Barney and Kaleigh Gomes finished runner-up to the Tar Heel women with a time of 1:45.00.
Sophomore Erika Hajnal had a near-perfect day with titles in the 1000 freestyle (9:57.51) and 200 butterfly (2:01.60) events. Hajnal’s time in the 1000 free was more than three seconds quicker than the runner-up and her time of 2:01.60 in the 200 fly marked a career-best. Hajnal also finished second in the 500 freestyle (4:53.25). Lauren Ritter added third-place finishes in the 500 free (4:56.56) and 1000 free (10:02.31), marking a new career-best.
Kelly deMarrais also had a day for herself, posting a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:49.85), and claiming second in the 200 backstroke (2:02.67).
Freshman Keri Sink earned her first collegiate points in three events throughout the day, finishing runner-up in the 200 IM (2:06.35) and posting two third-place showings in the 100 (1:05.29) and 200 (2:21.11) breaststroke events.
The men and women dominated the 100 backstroke events, as the men claimed the top three spots while the women also saw a 2-3 finish. Stephen Hawkins, Charlie Higgins and Ryne Francis took first, second and third, respectively, all finishing within four-tenths of a second from another. Hawkins’ recorded the winning time in 50.36, marking a career-best for the junior. In the women’s 100 back, school-record holder Steffi Drechsel claimed the second-place spot (56.68) and Shapiro took third (57.00). Drechsel would also take second in the 100 freestyle (51.55).
In the men’s action, upperclassmen Jonathan Huss and Ryne Francis led the H2Okies with wins in the 100 breaststroke and 200 backstroke, respectively. Huss finished with a time of 56.17, while Francis saw victory in 1:50.07. Karl Botha, who helped the men to the top finish in the 200 medley relay, supplemented that performance and added another victory in the 100 butterfly (49.51), and a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle (21.13). Freshman Gregory Mahon took third in the 100 fly (50.50).
In diving events, All-American Mikey McDonald continued his dominance on the board, earning titles in the 1-meter (354.50) and 3-meter (397.50) events. Highly-touted freshman Logan Shinholser took second in the 1-meter in his first collegiate appearance, scoring 335.90 points, while Daniel Martin notched fourth and fifth-place showings, respectively, in the 3-meter and 1-meter events. In women’s action, Natalie West finished third in the 3-meter (296.40) and freshman Sara Mokhtari paced Tech with a fifth-place finish in the 1-meter event (256.45). McDonald, Martin, Shinholser and West all hit NCAA Zone qualifying scores.
“Overall, I was very pleased with our results for the first meet of the season,” said head diving coach Ron Piemonte. “Having four athletes hit NCAA Zone qualifying scores in our first meet of the season is very encouraging. Mikey is diving as well right now as he was at the end of last season. I was also very impressed with our freshmen, Logan and Sara, who both performed very well on the boards today.”
To close out the day, both H2Okies squads added another strong relay performance in the 400 free relay. The women’s team of Drechsel, Emily Ferguson, Gomes and deMarrais took first (3:25.77) by nearly two seconds, while Chip Hughes, Botha, Hawkins and Uncur led the men to a second-place finish (3:06.60).
“It was nice to see the newcomers race and perform as well as they did in their first meet,” said associate head coach Braden Holloway. “Today was a great starting point for the season. From here, we’ll learn from this experience and try to improve upon our execution.”
The H2Okies will host their first home meet of the season at War Memorial Pool on Wednesday, Oct. 21, hosting in-state foe, Virginia, for a 5 p.m. dual-meet.
For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).
