Results

Men - 120, UNCW - 101; Women - 138, UNCW - 93

 

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Virginia Tech men and women combined to win the first 16 events as they cruised past UNC Wilmington in swimming and diving action Saturday at the Seahawk Natatorium. The men earned a 120-101 win while the 22^nd-ranked women won 138-93.

The Hokies improved to 7-3 on the men's side while the women, who were ranked 22^nd in the latest Collegeswimming.com poll, improved to 9-2. The Seahawk men dropped their third straight outing and dipped to 1-6 while the women moved to 3-7.

"Today was a real nice day for the H₂Okies to get back into the swing of things on our way home from our two very strong weeks of training in South Florida," head coach Ned Skinner said. "Getting strong competition under our belt was a good way to get the spring semester started."

The women's 400 medley relay set the pace for the meet with a winning time of 3:57.80. Junior Megan Newell (Ashburn, Va.) swam the third leg of the relay and later added a win in the 100 freestyle. Joining Newell on the relay and winning events later in the meet were sophomore Jessica Earl (Marietta, Ga.) and senior Courtney Walsh (Yardley, Pa.). Earl won the 200 breaststroke and Walsh swam on the winning 400 freestyle relay. Julie Sablik (Roanoke, Va.) and Jordan McHorney (Virginia Beach, Va.) added wins in the 200 butterfly and 50 freestyle, respectively.

The Hokies also opened the men's meet with a win in the 400 medley relay. Sophomore Scott Harkins (Williamsburg, Va.) swam the second leg of the relay and added a win in the 200 breaststroke. Freshman Richard Ulatowski (Hamden, Conn.), who swam the anchor leg of the 400 medley, also swam on the winning 400 freestyle relay in the final event. Carter Moore (Richmond, Va.) and Marc Greenberg (Charlotte, N.C.) added wins in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM, respectively.

Junior Danielle Mortensen paced the Lady Seahawks winning the 500 freestyle while adding a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle. Sophomore Laura Chinni added a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke.

Aiding the Hokie effort were divers Mikey McDonald (Annandale, Va.) and Sarah Milton (Plano, Texas). McDonald claimed both the 1 and 3-meter, respectively, while Milton won both events on the women's side.

UNCW freshman diver Kobi Salinas finished second in the 3m dive, and senior Matt Layne added a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke.

"All in all, we are real excited about our day, and it will be a good way to help us as we gear up for ACC foe Georgia Tech at the site of the ACC Championships next week in Atlanta," Skinner said.

The H₂Okies and Yellow Jackets square off next Saturday at noon. Last year, Virginia Tech earned the sweep in Blacksburg.