Pittsburgh Takes Down Denison

Coach John Hargis guided his Panthers past the Big Red.

The Pitt Panthers faced a tough challenge in the visiting Division III powerhouse Denison Big Red on Friday. However, the home team prevailed in both male and female competitions, taking every single event title – 32 in total.

RESULTS

Pitt Press Release

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh swimming & diving program opened its 2020 home schedule – and three consecutive weekends of meets at Trees Pool – with a resounding display against Denison, winning all 32 events in a Frididay matchup against the NCAA Division III powerhouse.

With the Panthers and Big Red competing against each other for the seventh straight year, Pitt dominated the action throughout the day, winning 28 swimming races and all four diving events.

“We had some impressive performances tonight in front of our crowd at Trees Pool,” Pitt head coach John Hargis said after the meet. “We enjoy this annual sprint meet matchup with Denison, who are very well coached and always contend for championships. It allowed our athletes to compete in some different events and different distances, which was a good experience for everyone.”

John Hargis Pitt Swimming

Opening the afternoon’s action was the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving competition, which saw sophomore Amy Read and freshman Dylan Reed both record a pair of individual victories.

Read won with scores of 294.98 on 1-meter and 308.25 on 3-meter, while Reed continued his emergence as a talented rookie diver for the Panthers by posting winning totals of 327.83 on 1-meter and 355.05 on 3-meter.

The loudest cheer of the afternoon by the Pitt divers came for sophomore Josh Parquet, who posted a career-best score on 1-meter springboard of 312.60, which was good enough to give him a qualifying score for this year’s NCAA Zone Diving Meet in Morgantown, W.Va.

“The credit goes to the athletes, who have been training extremely hard,” Pitt diving coach Katie Hazelton said. “We showed some improvement today, which was a nice step forward as we aim to be at our best for the ACC Championships and NCAA Zone Diving Meet in a few weeks.”

After a mid-day break, swimming started at 4 p.m. and saw the Panthers just keep winning and winning.

By the end of the action, seven Pitt swimmers had won multiple events: Kayla Graham (50 Back, 50 Fly, 100 IM), Valerie Daigneault (200 Free, 100 Fly), Kate Fuhrmann (50 Breast, 100 Breast), Serhii Ahadzhanian (50 Fly, 100 Fly), Cooper van der Laan (50 Breast, 100 Breast), Blaise Vera (50 Free, 100 Free) and Eben Vorster (500 Free, 100 IM).

Pitt Swimming

Also winning single races for the Panthers were Madelyn Shaffer (500 Free), Armin Remenyi (200 Free), Stephen Hopta (50 Back), Kailyn Swantek (50 Free), Madison Nalls(100 Free), Shahar Menahem (100 Back), Luke Smutny (100 Back), Dakota Elliott (300 Free) and Ryan Schonbachler (300 Free).

Pitt also swept the relay events, winning the men’s and women’s 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay by comfortable margins.

The Panthers return home for a two-day meet next weekend when they host the annual Western Pennsylvania Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Trees Pool. Saturday’s showcase will include a ceremony to honor the Pitt swimming and diving seniors, who have made such a tremendous impact on the program during Coach Hargis’ first four years.

Admission will once again be FREE to all fans for the Western Pennsylvania Invitational as Pitt welcomes local rivals Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, California (PA), Clarion and St. Francis (PA) to Trees Pool.

Denison Press Release – Men

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Finishing the night with nine finishes in the top-four, Denison men’s swimming and diving opened the new year with a dual meet at the University of Pittsburgh on Friday night at Trees Pool.

Leading the Big Red with three finishes in the top-four, sophomore Richie Kurlich claimed his best finish of the night in the 50 breaststroke where he placed second overall with a final time of 26.07. He was followed by Piotr Kurleto in fifth place (27.88) and Aidan Lane in sixth (29.07). In the 100 breast, Kurlich posted a third-place finish after clocking in at 56.64 while Noah Houskeeper took fifth place at 59.28 and Kurleto finished in sixth (1:01.15).

Kurlich also joined Liam Picozzi, Kymani Senior, and Trey Ike in the 200 medley relay where they placed fourth overall at 1:33.60. Ike added a fourth-place finish for DU in the 50 backstroke where he checked in at 24.12. PJ Desmet followed in sixth place at 24.69 and Sam Jo took seventh overall at 24.75. Ike also competed in the 50 free where he placed fifth overall in 21.12. Chase Fisher took sixth place in 21.61 and Kyle Verstandig logged a seventh-place finish at 21.83.

In the 500 free, James Baker touched the wall in 4:45.07 to take fourth overall while Lukas Gately clocked in at 4:48.94 to finish in fifth and Patrick Madden took sixth (4:54.03). In the 100 and 200 free, Drake Horton led the Big Red with a pair of fifth-place finishes. In the 100 free, Horton finished in 47.46 with Matt McHugh following in 47.73 in sixth place and Eric Gerlach earning a seventh-place finish at 48.10. Horton also took fifth place in the 200 free with a final time of 1:43.12. Gerlach took sixth overall (1:46.05) and senior Bebe Wang followed in seventh (1:46.67).

Sophomore Michael Arpasi finished fourth overall in the 50 butterfly at 23.21 while Senior placed sixth overall at 23.30 and Andrew Kurlichclocked in at 24.51 to finish in seventh place.

In the final event of the night, Picozzi, Senior, Ike, and Horton teamed up to compete in the 200 free relay where they placed third overall at 1:25.92.

In the diving events, sophomore Liam Simmons led DU in the one-meter dive with a provisional qualifying score of 283.13 to finish in fourth place. He also took fourth overall in the three-meter dive with a six-dive score of 216.75.

Denison will continue their two-day trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday, January 18 when they travel to Carnegie Mellon University to take on the Tartans and Calvin College at 1 p.m.

Denison Press Release – Women

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Denison women’s swimming & diving claimed eight different top-three finishers on Friday evening as the Big Red matched up with the University of Pittsburgh at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh.

Senior KT Kustritz led DU with four finishes in the top-three, including three, second-place finishes in the 50 and 100 breaststroke and the 100 IM. In the 50 breast, Kustritz finished second overall with a final time of 29.08. Kate Mesaros followed in fourth place at 30.40 and Olivia Lantry logged a final time of 32.22 in sixth place. Kustritz’ clocked in at 1:05.06 in the 100 breast to finish in second while Mesaros claimed fourth place once again in 1:06.27. Lantry took seventh at 1:11.28.

Kustritz’ final second-place finish came in the 100 IM where she touched the wall in 58.40. Senior Michaela Morrison took sixth place in 1:02.41 and fellow senior Natalie Zaravella clocked in at 1:03.46 for seventh place. Kustritz also teamed up with Angela Le, Maddie Hopkins, and Gabriella Nutter in the 200 medley relay and took third place with a ‘B’ cut time of 1:44.93.

Nutter also added a pair of third-place finishes in the 50 and 100 free. In the 50, Nutter checked in at 24.18. Senior Haley Gullquist trailed in fifth place at 25.50 and Eili Wright took sixth in 25.56. Nutter’s third-place finish in the 100 free came in 53.16 while Morrison took sixth (55.53) and Mia Chiappe finished in seventh place (55.63).

In the 200 free, freshman Tara Culibrk finished fifth overall in 1:53.81. Chiappe followed in sixth place at 1:59.17 while Hannah Rusinko took seventh in 1:59.47. Culibrk also led the Big Red in the 300 free in third place when she clocked in at 2:57.83. Caroline Colville took fifth overall in 3:01.80 and Rusinko followed in sixth at 3:08.34.

Le added the last top-three finish for Denison in the 50 backstroke where she placed third overall with a season-best time of 26.75. Laine Newman finished in sixth place at 29.22 and Devin Javens trailed in seventh in 29.37. Le also took fourth place in the 100 backstroke with a final time of 58.54.

In the final event of the night, the quartet of Nutter, Hopkins, Le, and Casey Kirby took fifth overall in the 200 free relay after touching the wall in 1:37.68.

In the diving events, senior Naomi Clayton headlined DU’s efforts in the one-meter dive in fifth place with a six-dive score of 239.25. Ally Peterson followed in eighth place at 221.40 and Mattie Stauss rounded out in 10^th place at 205.35. In the three-meter dive, Stauss took sixth overall with a score of 220.13. Peterson landed in ninth place at 213.00 and Clayton took 10^th overall at 201.83.

The Big Red will continue their two-day trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday, January 18 when they travel to Carnegie Mellon University to take on the Tartans and Calvin College at 1 p.m.

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