Virginia Tech Men Win All Events Against Duke; Blue Devil Women Beat Hokies

Virginia Tech vs. Duke

• Friday, October 22, 2021
• Christiansburg Aquatic Center, Christiansburg, VA
• Dual Meet Format
• SCY
• Full Results
• Scores:
  • Women: Duke 170, Virginia Tech 130
  • Men: Virginia Tech 209, Duke 88

The Duke Blue Devils headed north Friday to take on ACC rivals Virginia Tech Hokies in dual meet action. The Duke women, unranked in our first round of power rankings, defeated the #21 Virginia Tech women 170-130. On the men’s side, Virginia Tech, #10 in our first round of power rankings, beat Duke 209-88, winning every single event.

Women’s Recap

Duke came out swinging as the Blue Devils took the top two spots in the 200 medley relay. The ‘A’ team of Emma Shuppert (24.91), Sarah Foley (28.21), Kyanh Truong (23.12), and Shayna Hollander (23.16) set the tone early with a 1:40.40, and Duke’s ‘B’ relay took 2nd in 1:42.31.

Freshman Yi Xuan Chang kept the ball rolling for the Blue Devils with a 10:00.57 win in the 100 free. Chang, who’s lived and trained in Connecticut, but swims for China internationally, made the most of her first collegiate meet, garnering three individual victories. In addition to her win in the 1000, she also took the 200 free in 1:48.77 and the 500 free in 4:53.48.

Sarah Foley was Duke’s only other multiple-event winner. She swept the breaststrokes, winning the 100 with a 1:02.73 and the 200 with a 2:16.16. Duke swept the top three spots in both breaststroke events. Foley was Duke’s top individual scorer at last year’s ACC Championships, earning a total of 56 points across the 200 IM and the two breaststrokes.

Virginia Tech was led by junior Sarah Shackelford, who grabbed two individual wins and took part in a relay victory. She didn’t swim the medley relay, instead waiting until the 50 free to make her first appearance of the day. But, she made the most of that wait, taking the 50 free in 23.06, then returning shortly after to win the 100 free in 50.45. She also led off the Hokies’ 400 free relay in 50.51, joining with Emma Atkinson (51.20), Caroline Bentz (51.67), and Rose Pouch (51.74) to win in 3:25.12, over two seconds ahead of Duke’s ‘A’ team.

Shackelford was Virginia Tech’s only swimmer to win two individual events, but Reka Gyorgy, the Hokies’ leading scorer at the 2021 ACC Championships, came close. The fifth year swimmer won the 200 fly in 2:01.06, took 2nd to Chang in the 500 free with a 4:58.07, then took 3rd in the 200 IM with a 2:04.26.

Men’s Recap

Virginia Tech dominated the men’s competition from beginning to end, winning every single event. The Hokies got going quickly, as Blake Manoff (22.15), Carles Coll Marti (23.85), Youssef Ramadan (20.47), and Tommy Hallock (19.83), combined for a 1:26.30 in the 200 medley relay, beating Duke’s ‘A’ squad by almost two seconds.

A quartet of men won two individual events for the Hokies. Antani Ivanov won the first individual event of the day, the 1000 free, with a 9:14.69. He later came back to win the 200 fly, his signature event, in 1:45.83, leading a 1-3 Virginia Tech sweep in that event.

Youssef Ramadan, 2021 ACC champion in the 100 fly, and one of the fastest men ever, won that event with a 47.30 after his 43.87 victory in the 100 free. The Hokies began exhibitioning some swimmers towards the end of the meet, but ignoring that, Ramadan led a 1-3 sweep in the 100 fly, with Ivanov unofficially finishing 2nd in 47.52. Ramadan and Ivanov were the Hokies’ leading ACC scorers last season, earning 84 and 81 individual points respectively, as Virginia Tech head coach Sergio Lopez has assembled a very strong butterfly crew in Blacksburg.

AJ Pouch swept the breaststroke events with times of 54.44 and 1:58.53, while diver Noah Zawadzki swept the diving events with scores of 388.73 (1m) and 386.25 (3m).

The Hokies are unique in that they have a little more overlap in their medley and free relays than you usually see, and at the end session, the same four men who won the medley relay swam again to win the 400 free relay. Coll Marti led off in 43.80, which actually would’ve won the individual 100 free, then Ramadan (44.27), Hallock (44.53), and Manoff (45.18) combined for a total time of 2:57.78.

Cole Reznick was Duke’s top-scoring swimmer last at the 2021 ACCs, and the senior led the Blue Devils in scoring for this meet as well. He came the closest to breaking the Hokies’ stranglehold on the top of the podium with a trio of 2nd-place finishes. He took 2nd to Pouch in the 100 breast (54.98) and the 200 breast (2:02.37) and also finished 2nd in the 200 IM (1:50.67).

Duke Release

Courtesy of Duke Athletics 

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Duke swimming and diving team split meets with Virginia Tech on Friday at Christiansburg Natatorium to open the 2021-22 season. The 24th-ranked Duke women topped No. 18 Virginia Tech, 170-130, while the men lost to the 12th-ranked Hokies 209-88.

“I’m really proud of how we raced today in our season opener,” head coach Dan Colella said. “There were a lot of highlights, but I have to say that Yixuan Chang had a great first collegiate meet. There are always things to build on as a team, but it was a great way to head into the coming weeks of competition.”

Chang started strong in her first collegiate meet as she took first in a trio of races, the 200 (1:48.77), 500 (4:53.48) and 1,000 freestyle (10:00.57). Her time in the 1,000 freestyle placed seventh in program history while her mark in the 200 freestyle missed the top-10 times by one hundredth of a second.

A trio of Blue Devils were dominant in the breaststroke events. Duke swept the top three spots in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke as sophomore Sarah Foley, junior Kayle Park and sophomore Catherine Belyakov placed first, second and third in both events.

On the boards, freshman Margo O’Meara won the three-meter competition with a score of 371.48. Junior Ali Watson was not far behind, recording a 307.05 for second. O’Meara also placed second in the one-meter competition, scoring 316.35.

Junior Emma Shuppert took first in the 100 backstroke for the Blue Devils, clocking 54.78. Rookie KyAnh Truong placed second in the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly with times of 23.63 and 56.34, respectively.

Duke opened the meet strong as the women took first and second in the 200 medley relay. Shuppert, Foley, Truong and Hollander placed first in the event with a time of 1:40.40. Sophomore Emily Lenihan, Park, sophomore Aleyna Ozkan and freshman McKenna Smith followed closely, placed second in 1:42.41.

On the men’s side, senior Cole Reznick led the way for Duke, securing 12 points. He placed second in the 100 breaststroke (54.98), 200 breaststroke (2:02.37) and 200 individual medley (1:50.67).

Junior Brendan Driscoll notched two second-place races. He was second in the 500 and 1,000 freestyle events, touching in 4:38.88 and 9:32.10, respectively. Classmate Coleman Kredichfinished second in the 100 freestyle (45.07) and third in the 50 freestyle (20.68).

The Duke swimming & diving team returns to action on Friday, Oct. 29 as it hosts Boston College and UNC Wilmington for a tri-meet. Diving is slated to being at 1 p.m. on Friday while swimming will start at 5 p.m. The meet will continue on Saturday, as diving begins the action at 9:30 a.m., followed by the conclusion of swimming at 11 a.m.

Team Scores:
#24 Duke women 170, #18 Virginia Tech women 130
#12 Virginia Tech men 209, Duke men 88

Top Duke Finishers by Event:
Women’s One-Meter: Margo O’Meara (2nd), 316.35
Men’s One-Meter: Seamus Harding Jr. (3rd), 338.18
Women’s Three-Meter: Margo O’Meara (1st), 371.48
Men’s Three-Meter: Harel Anolick (3rd), 331.05
Women’s 200-Yard Medley Relay: Emma Shuppert, Sarah Foley, KyAnh Truong, Shayna Hollander(1st), 1:40.40
Men’s 200-Yard Medley Relay: David Chang, Cole Reznick, Charlie Gingrich, Matthew Whelan (2nd), 1:28.23
Women’s, 1000-Yard Freestyle: Yixuan Chang (2nd), 10:00.57
Men’s 1000-Yard Freestyle: Brendan Driscoll (2nd), 9:32.10
Women’s 200-Yard Freestyle: Yixuan Chang (1st), 1:48.77
Men’s 200-Yard Freestyle: David Hallaron (4th), 1:39.76
Women’s 100-Yard Backstroke: Emma Shuppert (1st), 54.78
Men’s 100-Yard Backstroke: David Chang (4th), 49.48
Women’s 100-Yard Breaststroke: Sarah Foley (1st), 1:02.73
Men’s 100-Yard Breaststroke: Cole Reznick (2nd), 54.98
Women’s 200-Yard Butterfly: Cabell Whitlow (2nd), 2:01.35
Men’s 200-Yard Butterfly: Nick Talati (4th), 1:52.11
Women’s 50-Yard Freestyle: KyAnh Truong (2nd), 23.63
Men’s 50-Yard Freestyle: Coleman Kredich (3rd), 20.68
Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle:  Shayna Hollander (2nd), 51.74
Men’s 100-Yard Freestyle: Coleman Kredich (2nd), 45.07
Women’s 200-Yard Backstroke: Emily Lenihan (2nd), 2:02.29
Men’s 200-Yard Backstroke: David Hallaron (5th), 1:50.34
Women’s 200-Yard Breaststroke: Sarah Foley (1st), 2:16.16
Men’s 200-Yard Breaststroke: Cole Reznick (2nd), 2:02.37
Women’s 500-Yard Freestyle: Yixuan Chang (1st), 4:53.48
Men’s 500-Yard Freestyle: Brendan Driscoll (2nd), 4:38.88
Women’s 100-Yard Butterfly: KyAnh Truong (2nd), 54.63
Men’s 100-Yard Butterfly: Charlie Gingrich (2nd), 48.97
Women’s 200-Yard Individual Medley: Catherine Belyakov (2nd), 2:03.76
Men’s 200-Yard Individual Medley: Cole Reznick (2nd), 1:50.67
Women’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Yixuan Chang, Alicia Harrison, Nat Ong, Shayna Hollander(2nd), 3:27.36
Men’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Coleman Kredich, Charlie Gingrich, Brad Sanford, Zach McIntyre (2nd), 3:00.61

#GoDuke

Virginia Tech Release

Courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletics

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech Swim and Dive hosted its first in-conference meet of the season against Duke on Friday. The Tech men dominated the Blue Devils winning 209-88. The Hokie men’s team won every event from beginning to end, including the two diving events. Noah Zawadzki and Taj Cole had a strong hold on first and second during the 1M and 3M events. The Hokie women fell just shy, losing 130-170.

HEAD COACH SERGIO LOPEZ MIRO
“It was very exciting, as always, racing Duke. They do a really good job. I’m very happy with the results. We won on the guys side but lost the on the girls, but I think what is most important is to understand is what we’ve done and where we are with training. It has been a pretty good period of training and we still have a couple more weeks before the invitational, so we are going to keep going hard. Next week we are going to compete against Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana so it’s going to be very interesting. Today was a very good warm up for our men’s and women’s teams. We’ll just keep working.”

HEAD DIVING COACH RIO RAMIREZ 
“The divers were incredible for this time in the season. A lot of great things came through that we have been practicing. They competed on their next level, achieving great things. Freshmen are stepping up and upperclassmen are showing the way and leading. We have great leadership in the group and I’m really excited. I’m looking forward to keep training hard, competing, and giving them the chance to get to know me as we make progress. It’s been great.”

TECH WOMEN
Emma Atkinson had a strong swim in the 200 backstroke earning a time of 1:58.10 which puts her in the Top 25 for college swimming. She also contributed to a relay win in the 400 freestyle relay as the second leg. She was accompanied by teammates Sarah Shackelford, Caroline Bentz, and Rose Pouch finishing with a time of 3:25.12.

Sarah Shackelford had a strong performance in the freestyle events. She started the afternoon with a first place finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 23.06. After the break, she was right back in the water for the 100 freestyle where she earned another first place finish (50.45). To close out the day, Shackelford contributed to a relay win in the 400 freestyle relay as the lead-off.

Caroline Bentz showed endurance late in the meet. After winning the 200 individual medley (2:02.39), she quickly turned around to help her team win the 400 freestyle relay as the third leg. Earlier in the day, she came in second place for the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.36.

TECH MEN 
Antani Ivanov dominated in the water. Not only did he win both of his events, but he broke into the Top 25, twice. To start out the afternoon he swam in the 1,000 freestyle, finishing with a time of 9:14.69. Ivanov’s second event was the 200 butterfly, where he finished with a time of 1:45.83. AJ Pouch earned his spot in the nation’s best after his performance in the 200 breaststroke. He finished with a time of 1:58.53 putting him 22^nd. 

Carles Coll Marti and Youssef Ramadan also broke into the Top 25, multiple times. Coll Marti finished second in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:37.03. He earned his second Top 25 spot after winning the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.02. In the final event of the night, Coll Marti’s lead off leg of the 400 freestyle relay (43.80) earned him a spot in the Top 5. Ramadan earned his first Top 25 spot in the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.30. In the 100 freestyle, he earned Top 5 with a time of 43.87.

Blake Manoff had an excellent showing, as well. He helped both of his relays finish first. He started out the day in the 200 medley relay as the first leg followed by Carles Coll Marti, Youssef Ramadan, and Thomas Hallock (1:26.30). His other relay was the 400 freestyle relay where he served as the last leg with Carles Coll Marti, Youssef Ramadan, and Thomas Hallock (2:57.78). He placed second in the 200 back (1:46.97) behind teammate, Sam Tornqvist. In his 200 freestyle, Manoff broke into the Top 25 with a time of 1:36.15. In addition, Manoff takes the ninth-place position in Virginia Tech’s Top 10.

The Hokies men’s relays both placed in the Top 25 of the nation. At the beginning of the competition, the 200 medley relay with Manoff, Coll Marti, Ramadan, and Thomas Hallock secured sixth in the country. The 400 freestyle relay with the same swimmers, Coll Marti, Ramadan, Hallock, and Manoff, earned 13^th in the nation.

REPEAT WINNERS
Double Winners
Women

• Emma Atkinson – 1 individual, 1 relay
• Caroline Bentz – 1 individual, 1 relay

Men

• Noah Zawadzki – 1M, 3M
• Thomas Hallock – 2 relays
• Antani Ivanov – 2 individuals
• AJ Pouch – 2 individuals

Triple Winners
Women

• Sarah Shackelford – 2 individuals, 1 relay

Men

• Blake Manoff – 1 individual, 2 relays
• Carles Coll Marti – 1 individual, 2 relays

Quadruple Winners
Men

• Youssef Ramadan – 2 individuals, 2 relays

RESULTS – SWIMMING
200 Medley Relay
W: 3^rd – Emma Atkinson, Allison Henry, Karisa Franz, and Anna Landon – 1:42.68
4^th – Caroline Bentz, Charlotte Rigg, Julia Bruneau, and Abby Larson – 1:44.15

M:
1^st – Blake Manoff, Carles Coll Marti, Youssef Ramadan, and Thomas Hallock – 1:26.30
3^rd – Sam Tornqvist, Cobi Lopez Miro, Dylan Eichberg, and Henry Claesson – 1:28.23

1,000 Freestyle
W: 2^nd – Chase Travis – 10:09.55
3^rd – Sophia Ryan – 10:33.12
5^th – Emma Inch – 10:47.56

M: 1^st – Antani Ivanov – 9:14.69
3^rd – Nikolas Lee-Bishop – 9:34.44
5^th – Filippo Dal Maso – 9:41.92

200 Freestyle
W: 3^rd – Megan Judge – 1:52.73
4^th – Rose Pouch – 1:52.77
7^th – Loulou Vos – 1:55.86

M: 1^st – Blake Manoff – 1:36.15 (Top 25) (Hokie Top 10)
2^nd – Carles Coll Marti – 1:37.03 (Top 25)
3^rd – Noah Desman – 1:39.28

100 Backstroke
W: 2^nd – Caroline Bentz – 55.36
6^th – Anna Summers – 58.23
7^th – Janika Perezous – 59.75

M: 1^st – Forest Webb – 48.94
2^nd – Will Koeppen – 49.06
3^rd – Sam Tornqvist – 49.38

100 Breaststroke
W: 4^th – Allison Henry – 1:05.12
5^th – Charlotte Rigg – 1:05.95
6^th – Julia Nappi – 1:07.03

M:1^st – AJ Pouch – 54.44
3^rd – Cobi Lopez Miro – 56.67
6^th – Joseph Hong – 57.41

200 Butterfly
W: 1^st – Reka Gyorgy – 2:01.06
5^th – Karisa Franz – 2:03.21
6^th – Morgan Miller – 2:05.19

M: 1^st – Antani Ivanov – 1:45.83
2^nd – Dylan Eichberg – 1:50.37
3^rd – Keith Myburgh – 1:51.43

50 Freestyle
W: 1^st – Sarah Shackelford – 23.06
3^rd – Anna Landon – 23.66
5^th – Abby Larson – 23.99

M: 1^st – Carles Coll Marti – 20.02 (Top 25)
2^nd – Thomas Hallock – 20.55
6^th – Henry Claesson – 21.06

100 Freestyle
W: 1^st – Sarah Shackelford – 50.45
5^th – Rose Pouch – 52.46
6^th – Megan Judge – 52.58

M:1^st – Youssef Ramadan – 43.87 (Top 5)
3^rd – Thomas Hallock – 45.47
4^th – Luis Dominguez – 45.74

200 Backstroke
W: 1^st – Emma Atkinson – 1:58.10 (Top 25)
3^rd – Anna Summers – 2:05.01
7^th – Sophia Ryan – 2:06.91

M: 1^st – Sam Tornqvist – 1:46.79
2^nd – Blake Manoff – 1:46.97
3^rd – Forest Webb – 1:48.41

200 Breaststroke
W: 4^th – Allison Henry – 2:20.75
5^th – Charlotte Rigg – 2:21.46
6^th – Julia Nappi – 2:24.42

M: 1^st – AJ Pouch – 1:58.53 (Top 25)
3^rd – Keith Myburgh – 2:03.37
4^th – Joseph Hong – 2:06.18

500 Freestyle
W: 2^nd – Reka Gyrogy – 4:58.07
3^rd – Chase Travis – 4:59.00
5^th – Loulou Vos – 5:05.48

M: 1^st – Luis Dominguez – 4:32.77
2^nd – Filippo Dal Maso – 4:32.97
4^th – Nikolas Lee-Bishop – 4:39.63

100 Butterfly
W: 1^st – Karisa Franz – 54.63
6^th – Morgan Miller – 57.79
7^th – Julia Bruneau – 1:00.82

M: 1^st – Youssef Ramadan – 47.30 (Top 25)
2^nd – Antani Ivanov – 47.52 (Top 25)
3^rd – Dylan Eichberg – 48.93

200 Individual Medley
W: 1^st – Caroline Bentz – 2:02.39
3^rd – Reka Gyorgy – 2:04.26
7^th – Allison Henry – 2:08.19

M:1^st – Filippo Dal Maso – 1:50.26
2^nd – Sam Tornqvist – 1:50.41
4^th – Keith Myburgh – 1:52.79

400 Freestyle Relay
W: 1^st – Sarah Shackelford, Emma Atkinson, Caroline Bentz, and Rose Pouch – 3:25.12
4^th – Megan Judge, Abby Larson, Anna Landon, and Julia Bruneau – 3:30.86

M: 1^st – Carles Coll Marti, Youssef Ramadan, Thomas Hallock, and Blake Manoff – 2:57.78
3^rd – Noah Desman, Dylan Eichberg, Hunter Cassady, and Luis Dominguez – 3:02.20

RESULTS – DIVING
1M – Women
2^nd – Teagan Moravek – 328.58
4^th – Izzi Mroz – 305.33
7^th – Miah Fisher – 224.85

1M – Men
1^st – Noah Zawadzki – 386.25
2^nd – Taj Cole – 365.03
7^th – Daniel Valmassei – 314.03

3M – Women
1^st – Teagan Moravek – 323.55
4^th – Izzi Mroz – 279.15
5^th – Miah Fisher – 255.90

3M – Men
1^st – Noah Zawadzki – 388.73
2^nd – Taj Cole – 346.28
7^th – Daniel Valmassei – 286.80

The Hokies will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana on October 29^th.