Kt Kustritz Tops D3 Rankings in the 50 breast as Pitt Beats Denison

Pitt vs Denison

• Friday, January 19th
• Joe C. Trees Pool, Pittsburgh, PA
• Short course yards
• Results

Team Scores

Women

• Pitt – 204
• Denison – 94

Men 

• Pitt – 192
• Denison – 101

Pitt came away with a pair of wins in a sprint-event dual meet against Division 3 powerhouse Denison. The meet featured the 50, 100, 200, 300, and 500 free, as well as the 50 and 100 of the strokes, and 100 IM. The Big Red only came away with 4 event wins, 1 in the women’s meet and 3 in the men’s.

Kt Kustritz provided the lone win for Denison, which came in the 50 breast. Her time of 28.11 stands as the fastest 50 breast in the D3 rankings this season by 2 seconds. Her time is actually the fastest 50 breast in all the divisions based on the available data, although it is hard to say for sure since the 50 breast is not a typical NCAA event. Based on what we were able to find, there are 4 NCAA swimmers who have gone faster than 28.11 taking out the 100 breast this season. Those swimmers are Riley Scott (27.53), Lilly King (27.78), Lina Rathsack (27.91), and Miranda Tucker (28.01). Kustritz happened to be racing Lina Rathsack, who swims for Pitt, in the 50 breast at this meet, and beat her 28.11 to 29.61.

Denison’s Zach Wagner won the 50 free (20.87) by .25 seconds over Pitt’s Armin Remenyi, who got his revenge in the 100 free (45.63), beating Wagner by nearly a second (46.44). Wagner’s time in the 50 was just half a second off his season best of 20.33, which is tied for 6th in the Division 3 rankings.

The Denison men’s 200 free relay took 1st with a 1:23.19, which sits less than 2 seconds off their season best time of 1:21.33. Their season best ranks 3rd nationally in Division 3 teams.

Amanda Richey (Pitt) put up a pair of freestyle wins in the 200 and 300. Richey’s time in the 200 (1:50.86) is her best time in a dual meet, and was only about a second and a half off her personal best time of 1:49.22. Her time in the 300 (2:52.89) is hard to compare to a race like the 200 or 500, but that time is about 57.6 pace, which translates into a 4:48 in the 500.

Bence Szucsik (Pitt) went a speedy 22.59 in the 50 fly, which was only .01 seconds slower than he split on the medley relay. Szucsik swam the back leg on Pitt’s season best 200 medley relay, where he split 22.73.

Event Winners

WOMEN

• 200 medley Relay: Pitt (Hochkeppel, Rathsack, Howe, Daigneault) – 1:43.85
• 500 free: Sarah Giamber (Pitt) – 4:59.30
• 200 free: Amanda Richey (Pitt) – 1:50.86
• 50 back: Shannon Hochkeppel (Pitt) – 26.66
• 50 breast: Kt Kustritz (Denison) – 28.11
• 100 fly: Sam Howe (Pitt) – 55.93
• 50 free: Rachel Brown (Pitt) – 23.85
• 100 free: Valerie Daigneault (Pitt) – 51.24
• 100 back: Shannon Hochkeppel (Pitt) – 56.72
• 100 breast: Lina Rathsack (Pitt) – 1:04.08
• 300 free: Amanda Richey (Pitt) – 2:52.89
• 50 fly: Sam Howe (Pitt) – 25.11
• 100 IM: Valerie Daigneault (Pitt) – 57.60
• 200 free relay: Pitt (Daigneault, Rathsack, Howe, Menahem) – 1:35.82
• 1 meter diving: Meme Sharp (Pitt) – 308.70
• 3 meter diving: Meme Sharp (Pitt) – 300.45

MEN

• 200 medley Relay: Pitt (Smutney, Young, Szucsik, Lovasik) – 1:31.29
• 500 free: Samy Helmbacher (Pitt) – 4:29.59
• 200 free: Brian Lovasik (Pitt) – 1:40.42
• 50 back: Carson Clear (Denison) – 23.53
• 50 breast: Jason Young (Pitt) – 25.63
• 100 fly: Luke Smutny (Pitt) – 50.31
• 50 free: Zach Wagner (Denison) – 20.87
• 100 free: Armin Remenyi (Pitt) – 45.63
• 100 back: Artur Polyak (Pitt) – 52.00
• 100 breast: Brian Ramsey (Pitt) – 56.05
• 300 free: Aaron Sett (Pitt) – 2:38.34
• 50 fly: Bence Szucsik (Pitt) – 22.59
• 100 IM: Samy Helmbacher (Pitt) – 51.01
• 200 free relay: Denison (Senior, Fox, McHugh, Wagner) – 1:23.19
• 1 meter diving: Noah Marble (Pitt) – 297.38
• 3 meter diving: Noah Marble (Pitt) – 336.15

Press Release – Pitt:

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams both picked up decisive dual victories over Division III power Denison on Friday night at Trees Pool.

The Panthers impressed during their first home meet of the 2018 calendar year, with the Pitt women (10-2) earning a 204-94 win while the Pitt men (6-3) triumphed by a 192-101 decision.

On a busy weekend of dual meets for both teams, the Panthers and Big Red agreed to a special sprint meet event, which cut the distance in half for many of Friday’s swimming races.

“Tonight was fun for our team,” Pitt head coach John Hargis said. “The athletes enjoyed competing in some different events. It’s a tough time of year because we’re training really hard before we begin tapering ahead of the ACC Championships, so it was nice to have this type of meet while picking up solid team wins.”

Several Panthers flourished in their sprints as Pitt won 28 of the 32 overall events Friday.

Sophomores Valerie Daigneault, Samy Helmbacher and Shan Hochkeppel each won multiple individual events. Daigneault triumphed in the 100 free (51.24) and 100 IM (57.60), Helmbacher took top spot in the 500 free (4:29.59) and 100 IM (51.01) and Hochkeppel swept the 50 back (26.66) and 100 back (56.72). Senior distance freestyle swimmer Amanda Richey showcased her ability to compete with the sprinters as well, winning the 200 free (1:50.86) and 300 free (2:52.89), while freshman Sam Howe dominated the 50 fly (25.11) and 100 fly (55.93).

Numerous other Panthers earned event victories in the swimming events as the Pitt coaching staff mixed and matched its lineup on Friday evening.

In diving, Pitt senior Meme Sharp and freshman Noah Marble each took individual titles in both of their respective events. Sharp triumphed in the women’s springboard, winning the 3-meter competition with 300.45 points and cruising to victory on 1-meter with 308.70 points. Marble earned his triumphs on 1-meter with 297.38 points and 3-meter with a personal-best total of 336.15 points.

Sophomore Sam Jenkins also produced a career night for the Panthers, finishing second in both men’s diving events with personal-best marks of 243.38 on 1-meter and 245.85 on 3-meter.

“Meme and Noah really stood out tonight and produced some very impressive dives,” Pitt diving coach Katie Hazelton said. “Overall, I’m pleased with where we stand, and I’m looking forward to seeing our divers improve their consistency over the next couple of weeks as we continue to prepare with the goal of peaking at the ACC Championships.”

The Panthers will return to action next weekend for their final home meet of the season. Pitt swimming & diving hosts the Western Pennsylvania Invitational at Trees Pool as several local teams come to Pittsburgh for the annual meet.

The 2018 Western PA Invite will begin with diving on Friday at 1 p.m. before swimming events are held at Trees Pool Saturday starting at 11 a.m.

Press Release – Denison Men:

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Despite six top-two finishes, Denison men’s swimming and diving, ranked No.1 nationally in the latest TYR/CSCAA Top 25 Division III Polls, fell to the University of Pittsburgh on Friday evening by a score of 192-101 at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh.

Zach Wagner led the Big Red with two first-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (20.87) and as a member of the 200 freestyle relay team with Kymani Senior, Kenny Fox and Matt McHugh who touched the wall first in 1:23.19. Wagner also finished second in the 200 medley relay (1:32.02) with Fox, Tiernan Foster-Smith, and Carson Clear, and landed in fifth place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.44.

Clear added DU’s third first-place finish of the night when he clocked in at 23.53 in the 50 backstroke, and then tied for fourth with McHugh in the 50 butterfly with a time of 23.30. Fox checked in two spots faster than the pair, earning a second place finish with a 22.78, while Liam Marsden-Readford landed .19 seconds behind him with a 22.97 in third. Fox also logged a 50.90 in the 100 butterfly, well enough for third-place.

One of Denison’s three second-place marks belonged to Foster-Smith, who finished the 100 breaststroke in 56.54 while taking fourth place in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 26.21. Stuart Hohm took home a pair of top-three finishes, landing in third in both the 300 freestyle (2:40.62) and 200 freestyle (1:41.80), with Mitch Williams adding a 54.13 in the 100 IM to also land in third.

Williams earned two more spots in the top-five after he finished in fifth place in the 500 freestyle with a 4:41.10 and the 300 freestyle, clocking in at 2:43.20. Sophomore Matt Hedman finished one spot ahead of Williams in both events, finishing both in fourth place with a 2:40.62 in the 300 free, and a 4:36.26 in the 500 free, while Bebe Wang landed just behind Williams in the 100 IM with a 54.19 in fourth. Wang also took third in the 100 backstroke with a 52.74 and finished just behind Jason Wesseling who touched the wall in 52.39 to place second.

In the diving competition, Liam McCullogh placed third in the one and three-meter dives, scoring 146.18 in the one-meter, and then 178.95 in the three-meter.

The Big Red will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 20 when they stay in Pittsburgh, Pa. to face off against Johns Hopkins University and host Carnegie Mellon University at 1 p.m.

Press Release – Denison Women:

PITTSBURGH—  Denison women’s swimming & diving returned to intercollegiate competition with a 20-494 loss to Division I Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon at the Joe C. Trees Pool.

Denison’s lone victory came from sophomore KT Kustritz in the 50-yard breaststroke.  Kustrutz hit the wall in 28.11. Her teammate, Kate Mesaros placed third in 30.09.

Mesaros logged three top-three finishes against the Panthers.  In addition to her showing in the 50 breast, she also took second in the 100 breast (1:05.18) and was second in the 100 IM (1:00.51).

In the 50 fly, Maddie Hopkins placed second with a time of 25.87. Angela Le followed in third place with a time of 26.42.

Hopkins also swam on the runner-up 200 medley relay squad with Casey Kirby, Kustritz and Gabriella Nutter.  They combined for a time of 1:45.18.

Nutter followed with a pair of third place finishes in the 100 free (53.07) and the 50 free (24.50).

In the 50 backstroke, Angela Le took second in 26.81 and Kirby placed fourth in 27.04.

Erica Hsu locked up a third-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:55.97 and took fourth in the 100 back by touching in 59.31.

In the 500 freestyle, Natalie Zaravella and Logan Wickman went 4-5 after times of 5:08.07 and 5:15.01, respectively.

Zoe Whelan placed third in the 100 fly in 57.26 and the team of Nutter, Kustritz, Mia Chiappe and Kirby posted a time of 1:37.33 to place second in the 200 free relay.

In diving, Allison Fitzgerald led Denison with third-place showings on both boards. On the 3-meter, Fitzgerald posted a six-dive score of 275.40.  Emma Weber followed in sixth place (231.38) and Naomi Clayton took seventh in 187.65.

On the 1-meter board, Fitzgerald’s score of 228.38 landed her in third.  Clayton placed fourth with a score of 217.28 and Weber placed seventh (194.63).

Denison will be back in the pool on Saturday (Jan. 20) when they take on Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon in a tri-meet from the Carnegie Mellon campus at 1 p.m.