January 11, 2014
H2Okies wrap up action against Tennessee and Missouri
Men earn 175-125 win over No. 7 Tigers
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(2) North Carolina 4
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Miami 7
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(4) Clemson 8
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The men’s 175-125 victory over No. 7 Missouri highlighted the day for the Virginia Tech swimming and diving teams on Saturday, as the men and women of the H2Okies combined to win seven events over the Tigers and Tennessee.

Junior Morgan Latimer and sophomore Michal Szuba led the way for the men en route to the upset victory over Missouri.

Latimer, who was in four events for the H2Okies, took home a win in the 200 Butterfly (1:48.18), before placing second in the 100 Butterfly (48.23) and third in the 100 Backstroke (49.04).

The junior also swam the opening leg of the 200 Medley Relay for Tech, which also took home a second place finish with a time of 1:29.15.

Szuba proved to be a dominant force in the freestyle events with a pair of first place finishes. After starting the day with a victory in the 1000 Freestyle with a time of 9:18.51, the sophomore completed the sweep with a winning time of 4:30.57 in the 500 Freestyle.

“This was a very solid performance from our men today,” Head Coach Ned Skinner said. “They picked up a hard-fought win over Missouri and they battled Tennessee down to the end. They stayed determined throughout the meet and I was pleased with their desire to race.

In addition to their win over the seventh-ranked Tigers, the men of the No. 15 H2Okies dropped a tough 169-131 decision to Tennessee.

On the women’s side, freshman Jessica Hespeler took home the win in the 1000 Freestyle, clocking a 10:14.99. Hespeler also took fourth in the 500 Freestyle and swam the first leg of the 400 Freestyle Relay, which earned a victory with a time of 3:26.76.

Sophomore Weronika Paluszek took top honors in the 200 Breaststroke in 2:13.62, winning by almost four seconds. She also finished third in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:02.52.

Despite the standout performances, the women dropped a pair of decisions to their nationally-ranked opponents: 192-108 to host No. 15 Tennessee and a hard-fought 163-137 contest to No. 21 Missouri.

We had quite a few women step up and race hard for us,” Skinner said. “Jessica Hespeler is emerging as a real threat, as is Ashley Bochter on the boards. Now, we need to fight off our fatigue and reset for a big three-session meet next Friday and Saturday.”

The H2Okies will be back in action next weekend, when they host Virginia, Wisconsin, Miami and Harvard at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center on Jan. 17-18. There will be a small ceremony prior the evening session on Saturday at which Tech will recognize its seniors.

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