By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam
Virginia Tech v. University of Virginia
- Saturday, January 15, 2021
- Christiansburg Aquatic Center, Christiansburg, VA
- SCY
- Dual meet format
- Results available on Meet Mobile as “VT vs UVA 2022”
- Scores
- Women: UVA 193, Virginia Tech 107
- Men: Virginia Tech 187, UVA 113
The Virginia Cavaliers traveled down I-81 to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies at Virginia Tech Friday in a battle of intrastate and ACC rivals. The #1 Cavalier women easily handled the Hokies , while the #17 Virginia Tech men defeated the #10 Virginia men by a 74-point margin.
Women’s Recap
The Cavalier women nearly swept the Hokies, winning by a 86-point margin as freshman Gretchen Walsh won three events.
That point was highlighted right off the bat, as UVA won the opening event, the 200 medley relay, with an atypical lineup consisting of Kate Douglass (24.30), Ella Nelson (28.45), Abby Harter (24.89), and Alex Walsh (21.82). That ‘A’ team won with a 1:39.46, while the ‘B’ team of Lexi Cuomo (26.01), Alexis Wenger (28.09), Gretchen Walsh (22.91) and Reilly Tiltmann (23.10) finished not too far behind at 1:40.10.
From there, UVA rattled off another four straight wins. Maddie Donohoe won the 1000 free with a 10:00.69; Donohoe would later win the 500 free in 4:52.54.
In the 200 free, Emma Weyant held off teammate Reilly Tiltmann, 1:48.87 to 1:48.93. Alex Walsh took the 100 back in a solid 52.68, then Kate Douglass won the 100 breast with a 1:00.01.
Reka Gyorgy snapped the Cavaliers’ win streak with a 2:01.07, but UVA freshman Gretchen Walsh countered with a 22.18 win in the 50 free heading into the break.
After the break, UVA’s Kate Douglass won the 100 free, an event in which she was last year’s NCAA runner-up, with a 48.11, over two seconds ahead of second place Sarah Shackelford of Virginia Tech (50.17). Next, Gretchen Walsh earned her second individual win with a 1:54.67 in the 200 back.
Alexis Wenger (2:14.08) and Anna Keating (2:14.65) went 1-2 in the 200 breast, then Alex Walsh won the 100 fly by nearly two seconds with a 52.74. In the last individual event of the day, the 200 IM, Gretchen Walsh completed the triple with a 2:01.24 win in the 200 IM.
UVA closed things out with a win in the 400 free relay. The ‘B’ relay of Ella Nelson (51.10),Ella Bathurst (50.35), Reilly Tiltmann (50.11), and Alex Walsh (48.54) went 3:20.10, good for a two second win. Teagan Moravek swept the diving events for the Hokies, helping to blunt the Cavaliers margin of victory.
Men’s Recap
The Hokie men beat the Cavaliers for only the seventh time in program history, and the second time under head coach Sergio Lopez, led by pair of triples from Antani Ivanov and Youssef Ramadan. Virginia Tech captured the momentum early with four-straight wins to open the meet.
Samuel Tornqvist (22.32), Carles Coll Marti (23.86), Blake Manoff (20.99), Tommy Hallock (19.48) combined for a 1:26.65 victory in the 200 medley relay. UVA’s team of Matt Brownstead (22.27), Noah Nichols (24.12), Max Edwards (21.19) and Matt King (19.37) touched 2nd in 1:26.95.
Hokie Antani Ivanov, who’s primarily a butterflier, but has scored in the 500 free at ACCs, extended his distance range a bit today with a win in the 1000 free. His time of 9:19.40 earned him the win by over 13 seconds.
Blake Manoff followed with a 1:37.55 win in the 200 free, then Youssef Ramadan, like Ivanov primarily a fly guy, won the 100 back with a 47.56.
UVA breaststroker Noah Nichols snapped the Hokies’ win streak with a 53.92 victory in the 100 breast, beating VT’s Coll Marti by exactly .20s. Ivanov responded with his second win of the morning, a 3.5s victory in the 200 fly (1:45.12).
UVA then went 1-2 in the 50 free, as sprinters Matt King and Matt Brownstead touched nearly simultaneously, with King getting the edge, 20.05 to 20.06. Heading into the break, VT led 71-60. After the break, Ramadan picked up his second win of the day, winning the 100 free with a 43.23, fairly well ahead of King’s 43.98.
The 200 back turned into one of the closer races of the day. UVA’s Justin Grender held off Virginia Tech’s Samuel Tornqvist down the final lap, winning 1:44.71 to 1:45.08. VT came right back, though, as Carles Coll Marti (1:56.80) and AJ Pouch (1:57.44) went 1-2 in the 200 breast.
Next, Ivanov led a Hokie 1-3 sweep of the 500 free, winning his third individual event with a 4:25.97, nearly five seconds ahead of the rest of the field. His teammate Ramadan then also tripled, taking the 100 fly in 46.84.
The Hokie men put a bow on their day with a 2:54.94 win in the 400 free relay. Ramadan led off in 43.41, followed by Ivanov (43.60), Luis Dominguez (44.11), and Tommy Hallock (43.82). UVA took 2nd in 2:55.74, despite a 42.65 anchor leg by Matt King. Virginia Tech also got a pair of diving wins from Noah Zawadzki.
University of Virginia Release
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The Virginia swimming & diving teams split in its dual at Virginia Tech on Saturday morning at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
The UVA women won 193-107, while the men fell 113-187. The Cavaliers won 16 events overall in the meet.
“It’s always a tough trip heading down to Virginia Tech coming off our block of winter training and we like to use this as a gauge and steppingstone for the back half of the season,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “The men and women executed races really well, which is what is most important in mid-January. I expect both the men and women to continue to improve as the winter progresses towards championship season. Our divers, especially the women, had a great day on the boards. Quite a few season and personal bests, so I’m excited to see them improving significantly. Overall, a quick day trip for some good racing to kick off the semester. Hats off to VT for some great competition as always. Looking forward to next weekend to compete at home and honor our fourth years in their last home dual meets.”
No. 1 Virginia women at Virginia Tech
- UVA won all but three events in the dual and swept the top three finishes in two events.
- Freshman Gretchen Walsh led the Cavaliers with three individual wins. She placed first in the 50-yard freestyle (22.18), 200-yard backstroke (1:54.67) and 200-yard IM (2:01.24).
- Junior Kate Douglass won two events, taking the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.01) and 100-yard freestyle (48.11).
- Junior Maddie Donohoe swept the distance free events with wins in the 500-yard freestyle (4:52.54) and 1000-yard (10.00.69) freestyle.
- Sophomore Alex Walsh picked up wins in the 100-yard backstroke (52.68) and 100-yard butterfly (52.74).
- Freshman Emma Weyant won the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.87) and senior Alexis Wenger finished first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:14.08).
- UVA took the top two spots in the 200-yard medley relay. Kate Douglass, Ella Nelson, Abby Harter and Alex Walsh, respectively, took first in 1:39.46.
- The Cavaliers won the 400-yard freestyle relay to close out the meet. Ella Nelson, Ella Bathurst, Reilly Tiltmann and Alex Walsh, respectively, finished first in 3:20.10.
- In diving, Lizzy Kaye finished second on both the 1-meter (305.10) and 3-meter (305.63) boards, scoring career-highs in both events. Junior Charlotte Bowen was fourth on the 1-meter and junior Jennifer Bell was fourth on the 3-meter.
No. 17 Virginia men at No. 16 Virginia Tech
- The Cavalier men picked up three event wins against the Hokies.
- Sophomore Noah Nichols won the 100-yard breaststroke (53.92), sophomore Matt King was first in the 50-yard freestyle (20.05) and senior Justin Grender won the 200-yard backstroke (1:44.71).
- UVA took the top two spots in the 50-yard freestyle, with sophomore Matt Brownstead finishing second in 20.06, just behind King.
- Grender also finished second in the 100-yard backstroke (48.47).
- King added a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (43.98).
- Sophomore Tanner Hering (9:33.05) and freshman Peter Thompson (9:40.67) were two-three in the 1000-yard freestyle.
- Sophomore Jack Wright finished second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:38.61).
- Junior Josh Fong (1:48.64) and senior Casey Storch (1:48.84) finished second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard butterfly.
- Storch was second in the 200-yard IM (1:49.19).
- In diving, senior Walker Creedon finished third on both the 1-meter and 3-meter and freshman Nicholas Sanders took fourth in both events.
UP NEXT
Virginia closes the dual meet season next weekend at home, hosting North Carolina on Friday, January 21 and NC State on Saturday, January 22. Saturday’s meet will be Senior Day.
Virginia Tech Release
BLACKSBURG, VA – The Hokies came out strong against the Cavaliers on Saturday, as the Virginia Tech men topped Virginia, 187-113. This marks the seventh time in program history the Virginia Tech men’s team has beaten UVA and the second win under Coach Sergio. The women fell just short, 107-193, putting up a strong fight until the finish. Mid-season additions Luana Alonso, Nico Garcia Saiz, and Mario Molla Yanes experienced their first dual meet as Hokies, earning strong finishes.
HEAD COACH SERGIO LOPEZ MIRO
“We did awesome. Our women’s team did an amazing job competing, and had some very good swims. Our men’s team did amazing, as well, to beat UVA. It’s a very positive thing to beat them. Today was a very good opportunity