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BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams will begin their 2013-14 campaign in earnest on Friday evening, as the H₂Okies play host to five other schools at the Virginia Tech Annual Margaret Soulen Gilbert Breast Cancer Awareness Swim/Dive Meet.

Friday’s meet will be the H₂Okies’ first of the year, as Tech welcomes competitors from James Madison, Liberty, North Carolina, Radford and VMI to the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. The H₂Okies will be wearing pink shirts and caps to remember Margaret, along with all the others who are fighting against breast cancer.

Last season saw the H₂Okies achieve their highest level of success since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. Both the men and women notched program-best second-place finishes in the ACC and both sides sent their biggest contingent ever to the NCAA Championships.

In all, the H₂Okies combined for a total of 78 points at NCAAs, their second-highest total ever, while ten of Tech’s competitors took home a total of 22 All-American honors.

Junior Kaylea Arnett, the two-time selection for ACC Most Valuable Diver, made history this past summer, pairing with Deirdre Freeman to capture the national title in the women's synchronized 3-meter event at the AT&T National Diving Championships.

Sophomore Weronika Paluszek returns to the pool as the defending ACC champion in the 200 breaststroke. Paluszek was also a member of the 400 medley relay team that was crowned ACC champion last season, a team that also included senior Katarina Filova.

On the men’s side, three-time All-American Ryan Hawkins returns for his senior year after leading the H₂Okies with 27 points at last year’s NCAA Championships. Hawkins was named an All-American in the platform and 3-meter event.

Junior Morgan Latimer also returns after tallying 29 points in last season’s ACC Championships, the first of his career. Latimer earned the silver medal in the 200 butterfly at that event, clocking a new school record time of 1:43.85.

Diving events will lead off Friday’s schedule, as the women’s 1-meter event will begin at 3:45 p.m. The swimming events will start at 5 p.m. and a complete order of events can be found below.

Admission to all events is free to the public.

Schedule of Events:
400 Medley Relay
1000 Freestyle
50 Freestyle
200 Freestyle
50 Backstroke
50 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
200 Freestyle Relay
--15 Min. Break--
200 Medley Relay
500 Freestyle
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
200 Breaststroke
100 IM
--15 Min. Break--
50 Butterfly
400 IM
400 Freestyle Relay

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).