Kinga Cichowska Sets Two Pool Records, Pittsburgh Dominates Denison

Knoxville, TN - December 7, 2013: University of Pittsburgh Swimmerduring the 2013 AT&T Swimming Winter National Championships on December 7, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center. Photo By Matthew DeMaria/Tennessee Athletics

Photo Courtesy: Matthew DeMaria/Tennessee Athletics

GRANVILLE – Kinga Cichowska won three individual events and set two pool records in the 100 and 200 breast to lead the Pittsburgh swimming and diving teams to dominant wins over host Denison on Saturday afternoon. Pitt’s Amanda Richey (1650 free), Mack Rice (200 fly) and Dominic Giordano (3-meter diving) also established new pool records in a strong outing for the Panthers.

Pittsburgh Press Release

For the second straight outing Pitt coasted by the competition, this time sweeping Division III power Denison at Trumbull Aquatic Center on Saturday, Jan. 17.

Both the men and women are now on a two-meet win streak, with the women improving to 6-3 following their 201-96 victory against the Big Red, while the men are now 5-3 thanks to a 178-120 win.

“We did a nice job today, the kids were really good,” said head coach Chuck Knoles. “We’re excited about the results. They’re swimming fast tired and we’re looking forward to a weekend off. Then we have our senior rec meet at Pitt, our swan song for the seniors for their last home meet. Then we’re off to Villanova for our last dual meet of the season. ACC Championships are just down the road and I think we’re in a great place to have a great end-of-the-season meet at ACC Championships.”

In 10 of 16 events, the women took at least the top two spots, including the top three finishers in four of them. Pitt had the first five finishers in the 100-yd backstroke, the first four finishers in the 200-yd freestyle and the first three in both the 200-yd back and 200-yd IM.

Individually, two women were responsible for three pool records and a pair of NCAA “B” cut times.

Sophomore Kinga Cichowska, senior Dani des Tombe and juniors Blair Wegescheide and Leticia Lelli competed on the 400 medley relay, opening up the day with a first place finish in the 400 medley relay and setting the tone in the process.

Cichowska led the way once again with three individual wins and. She posted pool records in the 100-yd breaststroke (1:02.19) and 200-yd breast (2:16.02) and also won the 200 IM in 2:06.98. Her time in the 100 breast was good for an NCAA “B” cut.

Freshman Amanda Richey was the other swimmer on the women’s team to record a pool and NCAA “B” cut time when she completed the 1,650 free in 16:28.02. Richey also won the 500 free (4:58.57) and placed second in the 200 free (1:52.50).

Lelli was also right behind Cichowska in terms of individual wins with two. In addition to swimming on the 400 medley relay, Lelli won both the 100 back (57.76) and 100 fly (57.04).

The remaining members of the 400 medley relay team, Wegescheide and des Tombe, both had a handful of top-two finishes as well. Wegescheide was the runner-up in both the 100 back (58.15) and 200 back (1:03.02), while des Tombe won the 200 free (1:53.05) and was second in the 100 free (52.54).

Senior Tatyanna Sarjeant and freshman Emily Murphy rounded out the wins for the Pitt women swimmers. Sarjeant was first in the 200 back (2:05.25) and Murphy took the 50 free in 23.94. Both swimmers also added a top-three finish to their names, Sarjeant with her second place finish in the 200 IM (2:09.48) and Murphy with third in the 100 free (52.72).

Freshman Katie Fernander also had a strong day, finishing runner-up in both breaststrokes. She had times of 1:05.39 in 100 breast and 2:23.27 in the 200 breast.

In diving, freshman Meme Sharp swept both events and sophomore Rachel Saunders was second to Sharp each time. Sharp had a Pitt season-best score of 292.73 in from 1-meter and won 3-meter with a score of 297.30. Sharp’s performance in the 1-meter was Pitt’s highest score from that height since Mallory Mullady tallied 306.15 points on Jan. 29, 2011.

The men’s meet was a little closer as Denison has won two of the last three national championships at the Division III level. However, the Panthers men still won 11 events and had at least the top two finishers on five occasions.

In just his second meet with Pitt, sophomore diver Dominic Giordano continues to make a splash. Fresh off his ECAC Division I South Men’s Diver of the Week award, Giordano turned in Pitt’s best showing from 3-meters in nearly seven years. Setting a pool record in the process, Giordano scored 395.55 points, which is the highest score by a Pitt diver from that height since Jeremy Stultz set the school record with 409.73 points on Jan. 27, 2008. Giordano took the sweep in the diving competition by winning from 1-meter as well with a Panthers season-best 351.60.

Junior Mack Rice, one of just two Pitt men’s swimmers to win multiple events on the day, also set a pool record with his time of 1:49.15 in the 200-yd butterfly. He also won the 200 IM in 1:52.54. Junior David Sweeney was the only other male swimmer to win two races, sweeping the 100 free (45.20) and 200 free (1:42.04).

Overall, it was a balanced showing for the men at Pitt with eight different student-athletes taking first in at least one event.

Giving Pitt a sweep of first in the 1650 free was sophomore Scott Simmer with his time of 15:57.56. He also was third in the 500 free (4:39.45). Seniors Kourosh Ahani and Luke Nosbisch teamed up to take first in the 100 fly (49.72) and 200 breast, (1:01.61), respectively.

Both sophomore Zach Lierley and junior Avery Warrington had one first place finish and added a third place result as well. Lierley won the 200 back (54.05) and was third in the 200 IM (1:55.42). Warrington touched the wall first in the 50 free (21.10) and placed third in the 100 free (46.16).

Other strong showings for the men were junior Martin Vogel, who was second in both the 100 fly (50.62) and 200 free (1:42.32), and junior Matt Tankle, who had a pair of top three finishes in both the 100 back and 200 back.

Next weekend the Panthers are off, before they return to the Pool on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31 for the home finale at the Senior Recognition Meet.

Denison Men’s Press Release

The Denison men’s swimming & diving team wrapped up its home dual meet schedule on Saturday against the Division I University of Pittsburgh. Despite suffering a 178-120 loss to the Panthers, the Big Red did log five victories on the day. This marked Denison’s second dual meet in 24 hours against a Division I opponent. The Big Red fell to No. 9 Ohio State on Friday night, 189-111.

Sophomore Jack Lindell paced Denison with two victories and a pair of runner-up finishes. Lindell’s individual event win came in the 100 backstroke where he touched in 51.79. First-year Jason Wesseling would place fourth in the event in 53.66. The team of Lindell, Al Nennig, Kevin Brinegar and Conrad Wuorinen kicked off the meet with a win in the 400 medley relay. That foursome combined for a winning time of 3:23.87.

Lindell’s second place finishes would come in the 200 back (1:51.94) and the 200 individual medley (1:53.00). In the 200 back, Alec Carlson would log a fourth place finish in 1:57.38 and in the 200 IM, Andrew Rich also touched fourth in 1:57.82.

Senior Damon Rosenburg was the winner of the 100 breaststroke after a time of 57.20. Nennig would tie for third in 57.97. Rosenburg would also post a fourth place finish in the 100 freestyle after a time of 46.78. His teammate, Ryan Fleming, took second in the event in 45.73.

Fleming, Rosenburg, Brendan Howley and Wuorinen would cap off the dual meet with a victory in the 200 free relay after a time of 1:23.59.

Rookie Stuart Hohm continued to impress in the distance freestyle events for the Big Red. Hohm would place third in the rarely contested 1650 freestyle in 16:14.49 while teammate Ben Burdick landed in fifth in 16:28.96. Hohm would return an hour later to win the 500 freestyle in 4:37.80. Also scoring in the 500 free for the Big Red was first-year Aaron Saccurato who took fourth in 4:40.53.

Earlier in the meet, Saccurato would touch third in the 200 butterfly in 1:54.93. A third-place finish would also be turned in by Gus Evans in the 200 breaststroke after a time of 2:09.67.

On the boards, senior Connor Dignan led DU with a second-place finish in the 1-meter competition. Dignan posted a 6-dive score of 326.70 on the one-meter and would place sixth on the 3-meter with a score of 292.95. Sophomore Max Levy logged a pair of fourth-place finishes on both boards. In the 1-meter, Levy posted a score of 298.73 and on the 3-meter he led a DU divers with a score of 299.03. Senior Connor Dorff would place fifth on the 3-meter with 296.70, while Ben Lewis (283.58) and Brian Allen (275.63) rounded out the DU scoring with fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively, in the 1-meter event.

Denison’s top swimming performances were rounded in the 200 free, 50 free and the 100 fly. In the 200 free, Brinegar and Max Howes went 3-4 in the standings after times of 1:43.97 and 1:44.25, respectively.

Fleming (21.12) and Wuorinen (21.19) finished second and third, respectively in the 50 free and Rich and Wuorinen ended up in third and fifth place in the 100 fly. Rich covered the distance in 50.72 while Wuorinen hit the wall in 51.93.

Prior to the meet, Denison honored its six senior members, Connor Dignan, Connor Dorff, Dan Hellman, Robert Lawley, Damon Rosenburg and Ben Snader. This group has won three consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference Championships along with one national championship and two national runner-up finishes.

Denison will return to action next Saturday (Jan. 24) when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for a dual meet against Carnegie Mellon at 1 p.m.

Denison Women’s Press Release

The Denison women’s swimming & diving team returned to action on Saturday, marking their fifth dual meet of the season against a Division I opponent. This time it was the University of Pittsburgh who made the drive to the Trumbull Aquatics Center. Despite Denison’s three wins, the Panthers would prevail 201-96.

The Big Red’s first win of the afternoon would come from first-year standout Halli Garza who touched first in the 200 butterfly after a time of 2:05.45. Junior Krysta Garbarino would turn in a fourth place finish in the 200 fly after a time of 2:0872.

Two events later, Mary Van Leuven posted a win and a season-best time of 52.53 in the 100 freestyle, besting teammate Ashley Yearwood who came in fourth in 52.86.

Van Leuven and Yearwood would also swim on the winning 200 freestyle relay team along with Rima Jurjus and Carolyn Kane. That team capped off the day with a time of 1:36.37.

Senior Michelle Howell logged three top-6 performances against Pitt. Her top finish came 200 IM where she placed fourth in 2:11.16. In the 200 breaststroke, Marissa Bednarek came in third with a time of 2:24.34 while Howell followed in sixth in 2:30.13. Bednarek would also touch third in the 100 breast in 1:06.29 while Howell came in fifth in 1:07.84.

Denison would record runner-up finishes in the 500 free, the 100 fly and the 50 free. In the 500, Campbell Costley edged teammate Taylor Johns for second place. Costley covered the 20 lengths in 5:01.38 while Johns came in third in 5:04.00.

In the 100 fly, Garbarino (58.03) out-touched Carolyn Kane (58.23) at the wall, but in the 50 free it would be Kane who led the way with a runner-up time of 24.00. Yearwood cracked the top six with a time of 24.37.

Senior Molly Willingham and junior Libby Dalziel went 4-5 in the 200 backstroke after times of 2:11.46 and 2:11.68, respectively.

The second event of the meet was the grueling 1650 freestyle and Johns would lead Denison with a third-place finish and a time of 17:12.09. Costley followed in fourth in 17:15.75.

At the diving well, Denison’s Sarah Lopez would lead the team with a pair of third-place finishes on both boards. Her top score of 214.65 would come on the 1-meter. Carrie Bookheimer (185.48) and Sterling Keiser (178.73) would follow in positions 4-5. On the 3-meter, Lopez would tally a score of 212.18 while Bookheimer came in fourth in 182.85.

The first swimming event of the day was the 400 medley relay and the team of Willingham, Bednarek, Carolyn Kane and Van Leuven would take third in 3:56.62. Van Leuven returned two events later for a fifth-place finish in the 200 free (1:56.37). DU’s top finishers were rounded out by Keely Lovern who would log a sixth place finish in the 100 back in 1:00.88.

Prior to the meet Denison recognized its seven senior members who were competing in their final dual meet this afternoon. The class which consists of Meghan Bagley, Elizabeth Flaherty, Michelle Howell, Rima Jurjus, Sterling Keiser, Janet Watson and Molly Willingham has won three consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference championships and has placed third (twice) and fourth at the NCAA Division III Championships.

Denison will return to action next Saturday (Jan. 24) when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for a dual meet against Carnegie Mellon at 1 p.m.

Results: Pittsburgh vs. Denison

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