CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—Three student-athletes of the Virginia swimming and diving program are set to begin action at the 2015 World University Games, to be held July 3-14 in Gwangju, South Korea. In addition, UVa head coach Augie Busch is on the United States’ coaching staff as a women’s swimming assistant coach.
Graduated senior JB Kolod (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and rising junior Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) are set to represent the United States, while rising junior Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany) will compete for her native Germany.
Kolod will compete in the men’s 3-meter diving competition, which is set to begin July 3. Kolod was a four-time All-American diver at UVa and posted the highest diving finish in program history, placing seventh on 3-meter at the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Smith will be competing in the 200-meter free and 400-meter free individual events. The 400m free is scheduled for July 7, while the 200m free begins on July 8. Smith captured NCAA titles in the 500-yard free and 1,650-yard free events at the 2015 NCAA Championships, becoming the first Cavalier woman to win two NCAA titles in the same season. She was part of the United States’ gold medal-winning 800-meter freestyle relay at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in Australia.
Simon will compete in the 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter breaststroke. The 100m breast is set to begin July 5 and the 50m breast is set to start on July 9. Simon was the NCAA runner-up and ACC Champion in the 200-yard breaststroke and was part of the 400-yard medley relay that also placed second at the NCAA Championships.
All finals sessions are set to broadcast live on ESPN3.
Swimming news courtesy of Virginia Swimming & Diving.