Hokie ClubATLANTA, Ga. – The Virginia Tech swimming and diving program concluded the Yellow Jacket Invitational with a first and third-place finish Sunday at the Campus Recreation Center hosted by Georgia Tech. The No. 22 Tech men’s team took home first recording 1319 overall points, while the women claimed third place with 874.5 points.
The men beat a pool of eight teams overall, while 10 women’s teams competed. The University of Florida notched first place for the women, while Florida State claimed second place.
“We had an excellent weekend all around,” commented head coach Ned Skinner. “We were pleased with the energy on the pool deck and our swimmers and divers competed hard. We had a great Fall and look forward to building momentum from here.”
The men took home one more individual title today as they collected six throughout the weekend. They also notched 20 top-10 finishes, including eight top-five showings. The women took home four overall titles, including one today, while also recording 11 top-10 performances, including six top-five outings.
In the first event for the men, Jake Ores placed sixth setting a career-best 15:39.41 in the 1650 freestyle as he was the only top-10 finisher.
The Tech men dominated in the 200 backstroke as Zach McGinnis recorded the only title for the men on the day. McGinnis touched the wall at the 1:44.21 mark, setting a new career best and qualifying for the NCAA B standards.
Tom Sheranek followed McGinnis in the 200 back, placing third with a time of 1:47.65. Collin Higgins and Alex Lutterbein rounded out the top-10 placing fourth (1:48.63) and ninth (1:50.79), respectively.
The 200 butterfly was the top race for the men. Five H2Okies placed in the top-10, including Gregory Mahon placing third with a time of 1:48.11. James Crabb, Matt Baumler and Morgan Latimer placed sixth through eighth, respectively, while Karl Botha placed 10th. Crabbs time of 1:49.52 was good for a new career best.
In the final race of the day, the men closed the invitational out with a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Greg Morgan, Kevin Hunt, Bryan Uncur and McGinnis swam a season-best 3:01.39.
For the women, senior Erika Hajnal collected the first-place finish in the first event of the day coming in at 16:13.37 in the 1650 freestyle. Her time qualified her for the NCAA B standards, which was the fastest she has swam all season. Laura Simon followed Hajnal, placing fifth with a time of 16:44.69.
Brittany Boone notched a top-five finish in the 200 backstroke setting a new career best. She touched the wall fourth with a time of 1:58.82, also qualifying her for the NCAA B standards. Sabrina Benson placed 10th with a time of 2:04.01.
Heather Savage was the lone H2Okie woman to place in the top-10 in the 100 freestyle, recording a season-best 51.52. In the 200 breaststroke, Keri Sink touched the wall seventh with a time of 2:17.98, while Hajnal placed eighth in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:02.38.
The quartet of Benson, Rachel Sepanski, Jace Howanitz and Savage posted a fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:26.99, which is three seconds faster than their season best.
In diving competition, the H2Okie divers closed the invitational with the platform event. This is the first time the Tech divers have participated in the platform this season and will not dive in the event until the ACC Championships in February.
Freshman Kelli Stockton set a new school record for Tech with a fourth-place score of 265.30 and also qualified for the NCAA Zone Championships. Also qualifying for Zones was Logan Kline, who placed fifth with a score of 261.45, and Kaylea Arnett, who came in seventh with a score of 249.50.
Ryan Hawkins and Logan Shinholser qualified for the NCAA Zone Championships for the men with top-five finishes. Hawkins placed second with a score of 375.80, while Shinholser followed in at fifth with a score of 336.10.
The H2Okies will enjoy a long break, jumping in the water next on Jan. 4, 2012 to take on Buffalo in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.