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ATLANTA - The Virginia Tech women’s swimming & diving team finished the first day of the ACC Women’s Championships in first place after three events at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Kaylea Arnett won her second-straight gold medal in the 3-meter diving event and Kyle Butts took fourth in the 1-meter diving event to highlight the H₂Okie success.

Tech currently has 178 team points, ahead of second-place North Carolina by 20 points (158). Miami is in third with 150 and Virginia is in fourth with 144.

“Very strong start for the Hokies,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “Kaylea Arnett remains one of the toughest competitors this conference has ever seen. All of our divers are very impressive and are led by one of the best in the business. Our relays raced very well and we are excited about our positioning for tomorrow’s events.”

Arnett, the reigning three-time ACC Most Valuable Diver, led the way for the H₂Okies in the first day of competition, capturing the gold in the 3-meter after posting a final’s score of 369.45. It is Arnett’s third career medal in the 3-meter event, after she won gold last year and silver in 2013.

Kelli Stockton finished the morning preliminary competition in sixth place after posting a score of 301.80. In the finals competition, however, she finished in fifth with a score of 333.30. Last year, Stockton also took fifth in this event.

Ashley Buchter was the third H₂Okie in the finals, the most from any school. She earned a seventh-place finish after notching a score of 301.35.

“To have three girls in the top eight was incredible,’ head diving coach Ron Piemonte said. “Ashley Buchter and Kelli Stockton did an amazing job to get in there. Kaylea Arnett obviously had a great day, culminating in her fifth ACC title.”

In the first swimming relay of the championships, Klaudia Nazieblo, Alyssa Bodin, Maggie Gruber and Margaret Parcell earned Tech a sixth-place finish in the 200 medley relay, clocking an NCAA B-cut time of 1:38.35.

Then, in the other swimming event of the day, Fiona Donnelly, Jessica Hespeler, Gabrielle Bishop and Nazieblo took fifth in the 800 free relay with an NCAA B-cut time of 7:09.53.

In the final event of the evening, the H₂Okie men’s divers gave Tech some early points. Butts finished fourth in the 1-meter diving competition, posting a score of 366.55. Thomas Shinholser finished behind him in eighth with a score of 308.35.

“Neither Kyle Butts nor Thomas Shinholser competed in the 1-meter finals last year,” coach Piemonte commented. “So for Kyle to get fourth and Thomas to get eighth is really an amazing accomplishment. We also had Logan Stevens and Mauro Castro-Silva earn us some points. I think we’re off to a great start with a good, solid first day.”

Logan Stevens finished 14th in the event with a score of 296.20 and Mauro Castro-Silva finished 18th with a score of 287.65.

The diving portion of men’s championships are held a week prior to the swimming portion, so final team scores won’t be decided until the conclusion of the swimming championship on Saturday, February 28.

Action continues tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. with the prelims for the 500 free, the 200 IM, the 50 free and the women’s 1-meter diving event. Live results will be available here. The finals will begin at 6 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN3.

There is no charge for admission to the 2015 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Parking is available for $10 for a single day or for $36 for a four-day pass. Details on parking can be found here.

Please visit the official championship website for all championship information including a full event schedule and live results.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_SwimDive