Virginia Tech Hokies Host Sizable Crowd at Semester-Ending Fall Invite

Virginia Tech Swimming & Diving vs. Duke, WVU and W&M

Photo Courtesy: Dave Knachel

Virginia Tech will cap off a busy fall of racing when 10 programs bring athletes to town for the Fall Invitational at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.

The Hokies have already competed at the Florida Gulf Coast Swimming Classic, in a dual meet against Penn State, in a triple-dual with ACC rival Duke along with West Virginia and William & Mary and at Pittsbugh in a triple dual with the Panthers and the Notre Dame fighting Irish. The invite will mark a fourth competition in a seven-week span.

Through all of those meets. Virginia Tech’s men’s team is undefeated and ranked no. 12 in the latest CSCAA poll. Seniors Robert Owen and Brandon Fiala, both individual ACC champions a season ago, have been the catalysts behind the stretch. Owen has carried momentum from making finals in the 200 back at Olympic Trials and has twice won ACC Swimmer of the Week honors for his IM and backstroke efforts, while Fiala has been quick in the breaststrokes.

Sophomores Norbert Szabo and Ian Ho have been the breakout performers thus far as Szabo has won events ranging from fly to distance free to IM in dual meet competition, while Ho has been almost unstoppable in the 50 free.

For the women, seniors Jessica Hespeler, Fiona Donnelly and Klaudia Nazieblo have all piled up dual meet wins and figure to post some impressive marks this weekend as the invite will likely be the last chance at a taper meet prior to the ACC championships in February.

The only other power-five swim team in action in Christiansburg will be Purdue (swimmers only). Four Boilermakers (Kaersten Meitz, Emmy Rawson, Malat Amaltdinov and Adam Nones) represented the Big Ten at the USA College Challenge this past weekend, while Purdue most recently competed as a team Nov. 4 in Iowa City, where they won three of four against Iowa and Missouri State, losing only a tight 151-149 decision to the Hawkeye men.

William & Mary will be back in Christiansburg less than a month after previously sweeping West Virginia while getting swept by both Virginia Tech and Duke. Villanova, swept by their inter-Philadelphia rival Penn last Saturday will be in town, as will Big East rival UConn.

Old Dominion, which just swept Georgetown Saturday afternoon, will travel across the state to swim in the invitational. The Yale men, who edged Columnia 152-148 Saturday, and the Navy men, won duals against American, Bucknell and Lafayette at home Nov. 5, will round out the list of swimming programs competing. The women’s divers from both schools will join the full men’s swimming and diving team.

The women’s diving teams from Rutgers, James Madison and Clemson will also be in action.

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Swimmom

7 years ago

U Conn is not in the Big East.