Virginia Tech men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams fell to in-state rival No. 11/16 Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virgina.
Tech’s men faltered against the 16th-ranked ‘Hoos, 159-140 while the women fell 171-115 to 11th-ranked UVA.
The Virginia Tech men turned in top finishes in seven events against the ‘Hoos beginning with Lane Stone in the 200 freestyle as he turned in a time of 1:37.36. Teammate Norbert Szabo added a third place finish in the event, finishing just over a second behind at 1:38.53.
The Hokies followed up with second place finishes as Jake Lamparella turned in a time of 48.75 in the 100 backstroke and newcomer Antani Ivanov added a 1:45.98 in the 200 butterfly. Keith Myburgh also had a second-place finish with 9:16.07 in the 1000 freestyle.
Tech and UVA kept it close on the men’s side throughout the meet and the Hokies added more points with a one, two finish in the 50 freestyle led by Ian Ho’s 20.21. David Herbert placed just behind with 20.46.
Lamparella added another top-three finish as he took third in the 100 freestyle with a time 44.83. The Hokies clinched another win off Sam Tornqvist’s 1:45.61 in the 200 back; he outpaced the field by more than three seconds. Stone gave Tech a second-place finish in the 500 free with a time of 4:24.36.
Virginia exhibitioned the 100 butterfly, but the Hokies were led by Ivanov with a time of 48.41. Tech followed up with Szabo’s top finish in the 200 IM, turning in a time of 1:48.37. He was followed in second place by Tornqvist’s 1:50.03.
The Hokies wrapped up the meet with a win in the 400 free relay as Lamparella, Ho, Thomas Hallock and Stone had a time of 2:56.70.
On the boards, Ben Schiesl gave a pair of first place performances, winning both the 1-meter (344.40) and the 3-meter (396.30). Freshman Noah Zawadzki added third place finishes in both events, turning in scores of 320.63 and 367.50, respectively.
Reka Gyorgy got the Hokies off to a good start as she placed third in the 1000 freestyle with a 10:10.98. Joelle Vereb added a second-place time of 1:02.93 in the 100 breaststroke for the Hokies.
In the 200 butterfly, Tech turned in a pair of top-three times as Leah Rogers was second in a time of 2:04.20. Molly Sheffield finished just back with a time of 2:04.63. Anna Landon followed up with a 23.51 second place finish in the 50 freestyle.
The Hokies failed to place in the top three in the next couple of events as Virginia began to pull away. UVA exhibitioned the final four events of the meet, beginning with the 500 freestyle.
Gyorgy led the Hokies in two of the final events, she had a time of 4:57.88 in the 500 freestyle and turned in a 2:05.92 in the 200 IM. Vereb led Tech in the 100 fly with a time of 54.88.
Ashlynn Peters was the top finisher on the boards for Tech. She placed second in the 1-meter with a score of 303.30 and turned in a 323.63 on the 3-meter for third.
Virginia Tech will be back in the pool on Jan. 19 when the Hokies host James Madison, George Washington and Cincinnati on Saturday, Jan. 19. It will also be Senior Day at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center with Tech recognizing its 12 graduates prior to the start of the meet.
–VT Athletics
