Pitt Sweeps WVU In Backyard Brawl

Pitt vs West Virginia

• January 13, 2024
• Morgantown, W. Va.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: Pitt Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Pitt women’s swimming and diving team dominated the pool during the Backyard Brawl as the Panthers compiled five 1-2 finishes in 11 events to defeat West Virginia 196-104 at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers won five of the first seven events, including three 1-2 finishes in the 200 Medley Relay, 1000 Free and the 100 Back. Tess Mock (10:29.23) and Emily Bucaro (10:31.34) finished first and second in the 1000 Free while freshman Parker Del Balso (56.24) won the 100 Back and Claire Jansen (56.47) finished in second place. Freshman Avery Kudlac (1:52.53) also won the 200 Free while fellow classmate Sydney Gring (2:01.35) won the 200 Fly.

The 200 Medley Relay teams kicked off the meet by taking first and second place. The team of Claire Jansen, Jessica Strong, Sophie Yendell, and Sydney Gring finished first with a time of 1:41.26 while the team of Parker Del Balso, Angelina Messina, Avery Kudlac, and Tara Culibrk finished second with a time of 1:44.97.

Pitt compiled four more first-place finishes with Del Balso (2:02.64) and Jansen (2:03.90) taking first and second place in the 200 Back. Kudlac (51.65) won the 100 Free, Yendell (54.93) won the 100 Fly and Gring (2:03.08) won the 200 IM.

The Panthers secured the Backyard Brawl win with the 200 Free Relay team of Kudlac, Yendell, Jansen, and Culibrk taking first with a time of 1:34.04.

On the diving side, Megan Iannon (278.63) and Rachel Dickerson (271.50) finished in first and second place, respectively, on the 3-meter. The Panthers also finished 1-2-3 on the 1-meter as Dickerson took first (287.78), newcomer Mariana Osorio Mendoza (287.03) came in second and Maggie Foley took third (277.20)

UP NEXT
The Panthers return to Trees Pool to host Minnesota Jan. 19-20 for their Senior Meet. Friday’s competition begins with diving at 11:45 a.m., followed by swimming events beginning at 2:15 p.m. Saturday’s competition will be in long-course meters, starting at 10 a.m.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Pitt men’s swimming and diving team dominated the pool during the Backyard Brawl, as the Panthers compiled six 1-2 finishes in 10 event wins to defeat West Virginia 165-135 at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers won four of the first seven events, including two 1-2 finishes in the 100 Back and 200 Medley Relay. Krzysztof Radziszewski (48.55) and Stepan Goncharov (48.60) finished first and second in the 100 Back. The 200 Medley Relay teams kicked off the meet by also taking first and second place. The team of Radziszewski, Jerry Chen, Marcin Goraj, and Dominic Toledo finished first with a time of 1:28.82 while the team of Goncharov, Max Matteazzi, Drew Jalbert, and Guy Frimis finished second with a time of 1:30.35.

Pitt swept the top three spots in three different events. Dylan Reed (396.38), Daley Fraser (357.30) and Cameron Cash (342.75) went 1-2-3 on the 1-meter and also swept the 3-meter. In the 3-meter, Reed (412.13) took first, Cash came in second (407.78) and Fraser finished in third (387.00). Pitt also swept the 100 Fly with Goraj (48.58) coming in first as Mahler (49.64) came in second and Drew Jalbert (50.76) finished third.

Pitt picked up four more event wins with Chen (55.31) in the 100 Breast, Adam Mahler (1:48.62) in the 200 Fly, Goraj (1:47.86) in the 200 Back, and Goncharov (44.58) in the 100 Free.

The Panthers won 10 of 16 events, finishing in second in five events they did not win: Goraj (200 Free, 1:37.75), Toledo (50 Free – 20.66), Chen (200 Breast – 1:59.95), Matteazzi (200 IM – 1:50.21), and the 200 Free Relay (1:21.34).

UP NEXT
The Panthers return to Trees Pool to host Minnesota Jan. 19-20 for their Senior Meet. Friday’s competition begins with diving at 11:45 a.m., followed by swimming events beginning at 2:15 p.m. Saturday’s competition will be in long-course meters, starting at 10 a.m.

Courtesy: WVU Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams lost to Pitt in the latest edition of the Backyard Brawl on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown.

“I thought we had some really good races today,” head coach Vic Riggs said. “Both teams seemed a little flat from not racing, but overall, a real good effort. We have two weeks to get ready for Villanova and Iowa State.”

The men’s swimming and diving team (1-2, 1-0 Big 12) was defeated, 165-135. The women’s swimming and diving team (0-3, 0-1 Big 12) lost, 196-104.

In his first meet as a Mountaineer, senior Ivan Puskovitch won two events. Puskovitch finished with a 9:20.20 in the 1,000-yard freestyle and a 4:33.52 in the 500-yard freestyle to win both events.

West Virginia had the top three swimmers in the men’s 1,000-yard freestyle as senior William Mullen placed second (9:21.99) behind Puskovitch while freshman Trevor Hudson finished third (9:39.87).

Senior Danny Berlitz continued his dominant season with three individual victories against Pitt. Berlitz won the 200-yard freestyle (1:37.53), the 200-yard breaststroke (1:59.58) and the 200-yard individual medley (1:48.09).

Along with Berlitz, senior Roanoke Shirk and juniors Conner McBeth and Braden Osborn won the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:21.33).

McBeth also won the 50-yard freestyle event, finishing with a 20.46. McBeth placed second in the 100-yard freestyle (45.32).

Sophomore Mia Cheatwood had a strong performance, winning two individual events. Cheatwood won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.92) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:19.00). She also placed second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.01).

Freshman Maddie Smutny also won the 500-yard freestyle event (5:05.93).

In the diving well, junior Abigail Sullivan placed fourth on the women’s 1-meter (271.43) and third on the women’s 3-meter (266.78) to lead the women’s diving team.

Freshman Owen Recker led the way for the men’s diving team on the 1-meter, placing fourth (340.58). Junior Glenn Eloriaga placed fifth on the 3-meter (322.43).

The Mountaineers will play host to Villanova and Iowa State (women’s team only) on Jan. 27, for Senior Day. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.