Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech swimming & diving teams finished first in the H2Okie Fall Invitational on Saturday night, concluding three days of dominating swimming and diving competition. The 17th-ranked H2Okie men edged past No. 15 Alabama by 102 points and the H2Okie women won big over all their competition, scoring 512 more than second-place finisher No. 24 Alabama.
“I am very proud of our H2Okies,” head coach Ned Skinner said. “This was an outstanding team effort all the way down to our family, friends and support personnel. It is a lot of fun watching swimmers and divers take full ownership in their performances. It starts with our outstanding senior leadership. They have brought the way we handle ourselves to another level.”
Klaudia Nazieblo led the H2Okie women, breaking two school records and securing a win for Tech. The final standings for the women’s meet were as follows:
1. Virginia Tech - 1333
2. No. 24 Alabama - 821
3. South Carolina - 611.5
4. Villanova - 407
5. William & Mary - 348.5
6. Ohio - 270
7. Liberty - 133
Collin Higgins and Morgan Latimer each broke pool records to lead the H2Okies. The final scores on the men’s side were as follows:
1. No. 17 Virginia Tech - 1255
2. No. 15 Alabama - 1153
3. South Carolina - 743
4. William & Mary - 353
5. Villanova - 187
Women’s Competition
The H2Okie women’s squad entered the final day of the meet with a sizable lead and it didn’t take long for them to add to that lead. Jessica Hespeler won the 1650 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 16:30.50.
In the next event, the 200 back, Tech finished in second, third and fourth, earning the H2Okies numerous team points. Nazieblo finished second and broke the Virginia Tech record with a B-cut time of 1:55.23.
In the 200 breast event, Weronika Paluszek picked up the win after touching the wall in an NCAA invited time of 2:10.24.
In the 200 fly event, Nazieblo broke another Virginia Tech record and set a new pool record after swimming an NCAA invited time of 1:55.90.
In the final swimming event, Tech’s relay teams took second, third and fifth in the 400 free relay.
In Friday night’s 1-meter diving event, the H2Okie divers grabbed 18 team points after finishing in the top four positions. Kaylea Arnett picked up the win after posting a score of 302.75. Less than two points behind her, Kelli Stockton finished second with a score of 300.70. Neck and neck with both of them, Ashley Buchter finished third with a score of 298.25. Emma Villarreal took the fourth spot, scoring 263.00.
In tonight’s event from the platform, Tech swept the competition, taking the top six spots. Kelli Stockton earned the win with a score of 306.35.
Men’s Competition
Michal Szuba got Saturday’s finals started on a high note for the H2Okies, winning the 1650 free after touching the wall in an NCAA B-cut time of 15:11.30. Jake Ores was right behind him, swimming another B-cut time of 15:11.33.
Higgins set a new pool record in the 200 back, clocking in with an NCAA invited time of 1:42.69. In the same race, Robert Owen took third. Another pool record was broken in the 200 fly event when Latimer swam with a B-cut time of 1:44.30.
To close out the evening, Tech’s relay teams took second and fourth in the 400 free relay.
In the platform diving event, Mauro Castro-Silva scored big for the H2Okies, winning the event after posting a score of 365.50. Right behind him, Thomas Shinholser took second with a score of 361.15. Logan Stevens took third to give Tech the one, two, three finish.
With this event, Tech has concluded their fall swimming schedule. Their next event is on January 4, 2015 against Buffalo in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The divers have one more event for the fall season: the University of Georgia Invitational on Dec. 5-7 in Athens, Georgia.