H2Okies third after day two of Purdue Invite

Men's and women's teams both in third heading into final day

November 17, 2017

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Virginia Tech men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams sit in third place after the second day of competition at the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana.

After day two of competition the H₂Okies women’s team moved up one spot to third after a strong day of competition. The current standings are as follows: Indiana – 597; Florida – 459; Virginia Tech – 377; Purdue – 368; FIU – 218; Missouri State – 144; SIU – 90; UNC (divers) – 54. On the men’s side: Florida – 667; Indiana – 562; Virginia Tech – 384; Purdue – 243; Missouri State – 217; SIU – 112; UNC (divers) – 88; Navy – 84.

“I thought we had a very good day today,” said head coach Ned Skinner. “I am proud of the women for fighting back and getting in position against Purdue. Our men divers were outstanding and we need to come out strong in the morning and load-up on swims in scoring position.”

Reka Gyorgy’s top finish in the 400 IM led the Hokies on Friday as she secured an NCAA B time of 4:07.45. Grace Kowal took ninth overall, finishing on top of the B heat with an NCAA time of 4:17.30.

The Hokies opened the evening with a time of 1:38.86 as Klaudia Nazieblo, Joelle Vereb, Maggie Gruber and Adriana Grabski secured second place for Tech in the 200 medley relay.

Gruber led Tech in the 100 fly as four Hokies recorded NCAA B times. Gruber placed second in 52.70 followed in fourth by Nazieblo with a time of 53.24. Vereb finished ninth in 54.12 and Leah Rogers came in 10th (54.34).

Vereb added another B time to her resume later in the evening, finishing fifth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.90.

Gruber completed another strong race as she led another quartet of Hokies with B standards, this time in the 100 back. Gruber placed fourth (53.47) with Nazieblo in sixth (53.98). Emily Meilus was eighth (54.95) while Chloe Hicks finished in ninth, winning the B heat with a time of 53.26.

The Hokies closed out the evening with another second place finish in a relay as Gyorgy, Grabski, Nazieblo and Hicks had a time of 7:12.42 in the 800 free.

Ashlynn Peters placed second on the diving side with a score of 296.25 in the 1-meter.

The men’s diving team dominated the 3-meter event with Thomas Shinholser leading the charge, fishing second with a score of 388.95. Ben Schiesl finished in fourth (365.95) while Jack Gigliotti rounded out the top-five with a score of 352.80. Mauro Castro-Silva finished just behind in sixth (344.65).

In the pool, the men opened the evening with a fourth place finish as Jake Lamparella, Norbert Szabo, Harrison Pierce and Ian Ho had a time of 1:27.63.

Lamparella led a trio of Hokies in the top-10 of the 100 back as he claimed fourth with a B standard time of 48.21. Samuel Tornqvist took eighth in 49.09 while Sean Workman won the second heat, finishing ninth overall in 48.91.

Michael Craddock placed 12th in the 400 IM, but swam a B time of 3:53.91. Harrison Pierce followed up with a seventh place finish in the 100 fly in a time of 48.23 for a B standard. Lane Stone also recorded a B time in the 200 free, finishing 10th in 1:37.13.

Szabo and Justin Edwards added B standards of their own in the 100 breaststroke, placing 11th (54.78) and 16th (55.32), respectively.

Szabo, Stone, Pierce and Hassler Carroll wrapped up the evening for the Hokies with a third place finish time of 6:33.27 in the 800 free relay.

Tech will wrap up the Purdue Invitational on Saturday with the final round of prelims beginning at 10 a.m. The finals will begin at 6 p.m.

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