Meet Facts
- Meet Results
- Hosted by: Marshall University
- October 7-8, 2016
- 25 yards
- Men: West Virginia 1696.5, West Virginia Tech, 480, Wheeling Jesuit University 392.5, Fairmont State University 369, Davis & Elkins College 251, West Virginia Wesleyan College 236, Alderson Broaddus University 142, Salem International University, 18
- Women: Marshall 1660, West Virginia 986, West Virginia Wesleyan College 219, Davis & Elkins College 214, West Virginia Tech 161, Fairmont State University 157, Alderson Broaddus University 141, Wheeling Jesuit University 141, Salem International University 14
West Virginia University Press Release
The West Virginia University men’s swimming and diving team opened the 2016-17 season in dominating fashion, with a victory against seven in-state foes at the West Virginia State Games on Saturday in Huntington, while the women notched a second-place finish.
The WVU men won 19 of 20 events over the course of two days to claim its fifth consecutive West Virginia State Games title. WVU won with a total of 1,696.50 points, ahead of West Virginia Tech in second place, with 480 points.
The Mountaineer women won six events, including four on Saturday, to place second overall with 986 points. Marshall won with 1,660 points.
Sophomore Merwane El Merini led the way with two individual wins and two relay wins on Saturday. Freshmen Gabe Swardson and Jack Portmann and junior James Koval all notched two individual wins, with Swardson also contributing to a relay victory. Additionally, freshman Ryan Kelly had one win and two relay victories to highlight a strong showing for the West Virginia men.
For the women, junior Amelie Currat, sophomores Julia Calcut and Morgan Carr and freshman Alex Pampalone all notched wins on Saturday.
“Today was a good day,” WVU coach Vic Riggs said. “We made some improvements from yesterday and thought our racing was good today. Like yesterday, we had some impressive swims from our freshmen and had several season-best times. We’ll use this weekend to build on for next week.”
Saturday’s action began with the 200 medley relay. The women notched a third-place finish, while the men won with a 1:35.99. El Merini, sophomore Jake Armstrong, Swardson and sophomore Drew Damich led WVU to its first victory.
In the 400 individual medley, the Mountaineer men added to their total thanks to Koval, who won with a 4:10.06. Freshman Robert Wylie was second (4:11.46) as WVU swept the top six finishes. For the women, Pampalone placed second overall with a 4:30.59 and freshman Morgan Bullock was third with a 4:30.76.
Next up was the 100 butterfly, where Swardson earned the win with a 51.76. Bullock placed second in the women’s race with a 56.87.
The WVU men kept its winning ways going in the 200 freestyle, as Kelly won his first individual race with a 1:43.91. He finished ahead of junior Chris McMahon in second, as the Mountaineers claimed the top-five finishes. Currat led the way for the women with a fourth-place finish in 1:56.12.
In the 100 breaststroke, Portmann led the WVU men with a second-place finish in 59.58, while sophomore Marah Bieger was sixth in the women’s race with a 1:10.01.
El Merini added to his winning totals with a 50.89 to win the 100 backstroke as WVU grabbed the top-five finishes. Freshman Trayton Saladin’s 52.91 was good for second place. For the women, freshman Julia Miranda recorded a second-place finish with a 57.93.
Like yesterday’s competition, the Mountaineers swept the competition on springboard. Calcut notched the win on 1-meter with a 288.15, ahead of sophomore teammate Madelyn Woods, who scored a 231.15. For the men on 3-meter, junior Alex Obendorf led a 1-2-3 WVU finish with a 329.55.
Saturday’s morning session concluded with the 800 freestyle relay. McMahon, seniorNathan Howells, freshman Sam Neaveill and Kelly won with a 7:04.26. Currat, Pampalone, senior Mackenzie Braden and sophomore Georgia Baldus notched a 7:49.35 to finish second for the women.
The afternoon session began with the 1,650 freestyle, where West Virginia notched a pair of wins. Pampalone swam a 17:20.07 to earn the victory by more than 30 seconds for the WVU women, while Koval claimed the win in the men’s race with a 16:26.18 as the Mountaineers finished 1-2-3.
The Mountaineer women won their second consecutive race with a victory by Currat in the 200 backstroke thanks to a 2:06.20 for a 0.65-second win over Carr. On the men’s side, freshman Luke Hene’s 1:56.46 was good for the win, ahead of Saladin’s 1:56.54 to place second.
El Merini posted another win in the 100 freestyle with a 46.84, ahead of McMahon for a 1-2 WVU finish. Bullock’s 53.14 was good for third place for the women.
Portmann earned his second win in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:11.04. Junior Drew Riebelwas closely behind with a 2:11.28. Junior Loren Williams led the WVU women with a third-place finish thanks to a 2:28.63.
The final individual event of the day was the 200 butterfly, where West Virginia notched a sweep of the event. Carr won the women’s race with a 2:04.51, while Swardson’s 1:55.12 led a 1-2-3 finish for the men.
The final event of the West Virginia State Games was the 400 freestyle relay. The men finished as they had nearly every other race, with a victory. El Merini, Kelly, Neaveill and Howells touched the wall in 3:09.94 for the final men’s win of the day. Bullock, Currat, sophomore Maggie Miller and junior Celia Martinez placed second with a 3:36.10.
West Virginia returns home to the WVU Natatorium to host the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend on Friday, October 14, at 6 p.m., and Saturday, October 15, at 10 a.m. The Mountaineer men and women will compete against Seton Hall and Xavier, while the women will also face Butler.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Marshall University Press Release
Marshall swimming and diving won its first West Virginia State Games title on Saturday afternoon at the Fedrerick A. Fitch Natatorium inside the Cam Henderson Center by winning 14 of 20 events held in the two-day meet.
The Thundering Herd set a new school record in points for a single meet and most points ever at the WV State Games by finishing with 1,660 points. The previous record for points at the games was 1562.5, set by West Virginia last season. This year’s results are a 559.5 point improvement over last year’s team that finished with 1,100.5 points.
WVU came second with 986, while West Virginia Wesleyan finished third with 219 points. Rounding out the field was Davis & Elkins College with 214, WVU Tech with 161, Fairmont State with 157, Alderson Broaddus and Wheeling Jesuit with 141 and Salem International with 14 points.
Marshall began the second day of events with a dominating performance in the 200 medley relay. The Herd’s two teams finished first and second, with the winning team consisting of Sirena Rowe,Catherine Bendziewicz, Chloe Parsemain and Gloriya Mavrova.
The relay win set the tone for the day as MU went on to win nine more events. Bendziewicz paced the Herd with four wins in the 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle and 200 breaststroke. Caroline Wanner took first place in the 400 IM and Parsemain won the 100 butterfly. Rowe claimed victory in the 100 backstroke.
Marshall won the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay to cap the day off. In the 800 free, the Thundering Herd’s winning team featured Angelica di Marzio, Maggie Stovall, Anna Lynch and Bendziewicz. The team of Rowe, Benziewicz, Stovall and Mavrova took first place in the 400 free.
COACH’S CORNER
Quotes by head coach Bill Tramel
On winning the West Virginia State Games:
“We are very proud of our team today. This win is the culmination of 4 years of hard work. When I took the Head job at Marshall, a friend of mine told me we could never beat WVU. That we couldn’t run with a Power 5 school. That we couldn’t win at Marshall. All I can say is, I’m looking forward to placing a phone call to my friend later tonight.”
On it being a team effort:
“Our swimmers & divers really surprised me this weekend. We not only won, we dominated. I thought we had a good chance to win last week, but I could never have imagined winning by almost 700 points. It’s cliché saying it was a team effort, but in this case, it was because everyone put points on the board.”
On battling through adversity:
“The most surprising, maybe I should say the most satisfying takeaway is the adversity we battled through. The air quality was challenging as it usually is in these large meets. And just the drag of the meet, competing in 20 events over a 24 hour period is very difficult. It was a grind, but we fought through it. And we did the little things right. We did many of these details without the coaching staff mentioning them. When a team gets to a point to where the coaches are managing the system instead of managing the athletes, things can really get going. I’m not sure we are completely there, but I have never felt we are closer with a Marshall team than I feel now.”
Looking ahead:
“We can check this goal off our list and we can feel great about what we did this weekend. But we need to get back to work on Monday because this is just one step in everything we want to accomplish this season. We have another big challenge coming up in 2 weeks, and that’s what matters now.”
Quote by Senior Chloe Parsemain:
“It was an awesome meet. It was very special to win this seeing how far we’ve come from my freshman year. The mood was set in the very first relay when we went 1-2. Then we just never slowed down. Everyone believed we could do it and we did it. Our freshmen were terrific. We see it every day in practice, but watching them perform like they did, in such a rivalry meet is cool. I am very proud of our team.”
UP NEXT
Marshall takes a week off before jumping back into the pool at a dual-meet in Champaign, Ill. against Illinois and Michigan State on Friday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. The Herd will also compete against Saint Louis, Arkansas-Little Rock and McKendree University on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 9 a.m.