The University of Pittsburgh swimming & diving team begins a new era on Saturday when the Panthers open the 2016-17 season under first-year head coach John Hargis with a meet against Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Boston College and Georgia Tech in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Hargis and his coaching staff have been working diligently with the Panthers to prepare for this campaign with the long-term goal of competing at their best in the postseason. Saturday afternoon’s meet provides an early test for Pitt against two programs that it will challenge for positioning in the ACC when the conference championships come up in late February.
“We are all excited to get the season started and see where we stand at this early stage,” Hargis said. “The entire team has been working extremely hard during practice, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the new training techniques we’ve implemented for our student-athletes translates into competition against two very good ACC programs in Georgia Tech and Boston College.”
The Panthers return two title-winning divers this season in senior Dominic Giordano, winner of the NCAA individual championship on 3M last season, and junior Meme Sharp, who earned an ACC crown in the same event in 2015-16.
In swimming, Pitt will be led by some highly regarded returners as well as select talented transfers.
For the men, Zach Lierley, Spencer Gray, Gabe Larson and Aaron Sett are all back after competing at the ACC Championships last season, whileKinga Cichowska, Katherine Fernander, Emily Murphy and Amanda Richey look to pace the way for the Pitt women.
UNLV transfers Henrique Machado and Lina Rathsack, both previous NCAA qualifiers, joined new Pitt assistant coach Bobby Folan in making the switch from Las Vegas to Pittsburgh to compete in the ACC. Both are set to debut as Panthers Saturday.
Since joining the ACC in 2013, Pitt owns a 2-0 record against Georgia Tech in swimming & diving dual meets on the women’s side, while the Yellow Jackets have a 2-0 advantage in the men’s competition. The Panthers will meet Boston College for the first time since both have been members of the ACC.
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Courtesy of Pitt Athletics
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