Paige Madden, Nick Albiero Impress as Virginia and Louisville Split (WITH RACE VIDEOS)

Photo Courtesy: University of Virginia Athletics

Virginia Press Release

LOUISVILLE, Ky.- The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded a two-day dual meet against Louisville on Saturday (Nov. 3), splitting the result with the Cardinals. The No. 7 Virginia women’s team topped No. 8 Louisville, 214-137, while the No. 16 Cavalier men fell to the No. 13 Cardinals, 214-139.

“We came out of this dual meet in Louisville with plenty of the season-best swims, the women topping Louisville, the men with the loss but most impressively was the hype our team brought to the deck,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “This is a great indicator for the ACCs. The Cavaliers aren’t swimming scared and won’t back down from any battle. Today alone, our women won nine out of 10 events, which was extremely impressive. Our men put up a good fight and we feel our depth will be a huge factor come February. Proud to leave Louisville with these results, but now we go back to work as usual.”

The Cavalier women controlled the day’s performance, recording a first-place finish in all but one race. Additionally, the team captured the top three times in two different individual events, the 400-yard individual medley led by senior Rachel Politi (Bexley, Ohio) with a time of 4:19.34 and the 200-yard breaststroke led by freshman Kaki Christensen (Darien, Conn.) with a time of 2:14.43.

Junior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.) recorded the nation’s ninth-fastest time this season in the 100-yard butterfly, reaching the wall for first place with a time of 53.33. A few events later, she swam a time of 22.88 for first place in the 50-yard freestyle.

Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) placed first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.87 as sophomore Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) finished first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.49.

Continuing her dominance on the 3m board, junior Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) recorded a career-best score of 342.30 for her fourth consecutive win this season in the event.

The women’s team swept today’s relay events with sophomore Caroline Gmelich (Rumson, N.J.), freshman Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.), sophomore Anna Pang (London) and senior Eryn Eddy (Loveland, Colo.) winning the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:39.83 and the team of Hill, Pang, sophomore Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) and Eddy winning the 400-yard freestyle with a time of 3:19.21.

Louisville Press Release

“It was an exciting weekend of racing, a lot of racing in a 24-hour period,” said Louisville head coach Arthur Albiero. “We got a lot of the things done that we were trying to do at this stage of the season. I’m proud of the way both teams swam. I think our men really stepped up in a lot of areas and ultimately that was the difference in the score. Our ladies, a couple things didn’t break our way, but I liked the way the team kept great energy, kept fighting all the way through. Credit to the opponent today, but I liked what I saw today. I’m proud of the effort as a team.”

In the 200 medley relay, the Virginia women edged UofL with a time of 1:39.83. The Cardinal foursome of Alina Kendzior (25.18), Mariia Astashkina (28.76), Grace Oglesby (24.04) and Mallory Comerford (21.94) put together a 1:39.42 for second. The Cardinal men won with a 1:27.21 put up by Nicolas Albiero (22.27), Evgenii Somov (24.71), Zach Harting (21.05), and Andrej Barna (19.18).

In the 100 fly, Morgan Hill won in 53.33 for the Cavaliers with Grace Oglesby touching second in 43.57 for an NCAA B-cut. UofL’s Alena Kraus (55.65) was fifth and Nastja Govejsek (55.72) was sixth to round out the Cardinal field. For the men, Zach Harting took the win with a time of 47.44 ahead of UVA’s Bryce Keblish’s 47.41. Nikos Sofianidis was fourth in 48.73 and Mitchell Whyte turned in a 49.86 for sixth. Tanner Cummings went 51.38 for the balance of the Cardinals racers.

In the 400-IM, Virginia’s Rachel Politi won with a time of 4:19.34. Sophie Cattermole was the top Cardinal finisher with a 4:21.73 for fourth and Maggie Jahns was fifth in 4:27.53. Daniel Sos won the 400-IM with a time of 3:50.91 which was an NCAA B-cut. Jarrett Jones was sixth with a 3:59.36 ahead of teammate Keegan Foulke’s 4:04.84.

In the 200-free, Virginia’s Paige Madden was into the wall first with a time of 1:46.87 in a wild finish that saw Mallory Comerford dueling down the stretch for a 1:46.89 and an NCAA B-cut. Arina Openysheva was third in 1:48.13. Katie Schorr was sixth in 1:53.24 just ahead of Gracie Long’s 1:54.36. Virginia’s Sam Schilling took top honors with a 1:38.20 in the men’s 200 free. UofL’s Colton Paulson was second with a time of 1:38.55. Marcelo Acosta was fourth in 1:39.20 and Sam Steele was fifth in 1:41.10.

In 3-meter diving, Virginia’s Sydney Dusel just outscored Cardinal Molly Fears 342.30 to 340.43 for the top two spots. Brianna Price was fourth with 295.13, Annika Holland posted a 281.55 for sixth and Michaela Sliney was seventh with a 273.60. Allyson Schafer scored a 228.98 and Sophia Middendorf posted a 188.70. Fears, Holland and Price’s marks were all NCAA Zone qualifying scores.

In the 200 breast, Virginia’s Kaki Christensen won with a 2:14.43. Morgan Friesen was the top finisher for the Cards, with a fifth place time of 2:17.23. Mariia Astashkina was sixth in 2:17.53. The Cavaliers made it a sweep when Matthew Otto won the men’s event with a 1:59.25. Evgenii Somov was fourth as the top Cardinal finisher with a 2:00.74. Michael Hampel was sixth in 2:07.20 and Griffin Manning was eighth in 2:12.89.

In the 100 back, Cavalier Emma Seiberlich won with a 54.49. Alina Kendzior was second, boarding a 54.61. Annette Schultz went 56.72 and Sofie Underdahl had a time of 56.73 just ahead of Ashlyn Schoof’s 56.78. For the men, Nick Albiero was into the wall first with a 47.84, with teammate Nikos Sofianidis touching third in 48.81 and Mitchell Whyte was fourth in 48.92.

In the 50 free, UVA’s Morgan Hill was first in 22.88. Arina Openysheva was second in 23.04 and Braunecker was second in 23.24 and Lainey Visscher was fourth in 23.41 just ahead of Casey Fanz’s 23.45. In the men’s event, Andrej Barna won for the Cardinals with a 19.93, earning an NCAA B-cut. Mihalis Deliyiannis was third in 20.50 and Matyi Kovacs was fourth in 20.79. Kyle Worrell boarded a 21.35.

Sophie Cattermole won the grueling 1650 free with an NCAA B-cut time of 16.18.07 and Maggie Jahns made it a 1-2 sweep in 16:47.84. Emily Moser was fourth in 17.11.72. For the men, Marcelo Acosta won the men’s race with an NCAA B-cut 15.08.35 time. Graham Barrett was fourth in 15.23.16, also a B-cut. T.C. Smith was fifth in 15:33.29 and Hayden Curley was sixth in 15:40.74.

In the men’s 1-meter board, Virginia’s Ian Shelton won with a score of 318.68. Daniel Pinto was second with a score of 317.18 and Daniel Fecteau was right behind him with a 315.83. Kivanc Gur posted a 287.63 and Sean Riley was sixth with a 277.58. Pinto and Fecteau’s scores were both NCAA Zone qualifying marks.

The Virginia women’s A relay won the final event with a time of 3:19.21. Louisville’s Katie Schorr (50.96), Mallory Comerford (49.22), Avery Braunecker (51.00), Arina Openysheva (49.18) combined for a second place time of 3:20.36. The Louisville men won the final relay with a time of 2:56.79 put up by Nick Albiero (44.97), Andrej Barna (43.32), Evgenii Somov (44.56) and Zach Harting (43.92).

Louisville swimming and diving posted all the race videos from the meet which can be viewed below.

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