Tech men and women take H2Okie Fall Invitational

H2Okies wrap up successful first half of the season in convincing fashion

November 19, 2016

Final Results

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech swimming and diving team wrapped up the first half of the 2016-17 season with wins on both the men’s and women’s sides at the H₂Okie Fall Invitational.

The Tech men took first over second-place Purdue, 1,287-659.5, while the women placed first over the Boilermakers, 1,121-943.

Multiple swimmers and divers laid the foundation to perform their best at the ACC Championship and NCAA Championship in the early half of the season. Led by senior leaders Jessica Hespeler, Fiona Donnelly, Brandon Fiala and Robert Owen, the H₂Okies will take an extended break before returning to dual meet action against Buffalo on Jan. 2.

“We had a really nice weekend here as we came home titles on both the men’s and women’s sides,” said swimming and diving head coach Ned Skinner. “The camaraderie was great, the racing was really strong and there were a lot of outstanding performances. The depth of our team has taken over and we’re really excited about our momentum moving forward into 2017.”

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY

• Going head-to-head with Purdue’s Kaersten Meitz for the third-straight day in the freestyle events, Hespeler posted a first place B cut time of 16:09.56 in the mile free. The stellar sets the table for a possible A cut time heading into 2017.
• Tech also saw a freshman in Jenna Beattie take bronze in the 1650 free with a 16:37.48.
• While performing well for the H₂Okies in its A relay unit, junior Kelly Henry set a new personal record on Saturday in the 200 breast where she swam a B cut time of 2:14.47.
• The Tech men’s divers continued their dominance as TJ Shinholser finished the day with the top score in the platform, the first the H₂Okies have competed in the event this season, with a 339.65.
• Freshman Hassler Carroll, who was expected to compete for starting spots immediately, has lived up to the hype thus far as he took first in the 200 fly C final with a 1:49.65.

NOTABLE SWIMS

• Klaudia Nazieblo shaved three seconds off her prelim time in the 200 back to register a 1:54.56 in the 200 back.
• The 400 free relay A unit continues to make strides as they took first with a 3:19.31.
• Sophomore Nortbert Szabo continued his consistent swims with a 1:45.51 first place B cut time in the 200 fly.

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