Pitt Sets 3 School, 3 Pool Records in Historic Win over Penn State
Pittsburgh set three program records and three Trees Pool marks in sweeping a dual meet against in-state rival Penn State.
Pitt won the women’s meet by a 218-77 score. The margin was 182.5-115.5 on the men’s side. It’s the first time the Pitt women have defeated the Nittany Lions at home since the 1988-89 season.
Avery Kudlac led the way for Pitt. She won the 200 freestyle in 1:46.42, the 50 free in 22.40 and the 100 free in 49.13. The 50 was a 1-2 result with Avery Hafele. Kudlac led off the Panthers’ winning 400 free relay in 48.97, helping the quartet of Sydney Gring, Claire Jansen and Mary Clarke set the Trees Pool record of 3:14.91.
Jansen won the 100 backstroke in 51.92 and the 200 in 1:55.68. She split a program-best 23.93 off the front of the 200 medley relay, though she was on the ostensible B squad that finished second to the quartet of Gring, Jessica Strong, Hafele and Clarke (1:39.18).
Gring swept butterfly, setting the program record in the 200 with a time of 1:56.07. She went 51.62 to win the 100.
Angelina Messina swept breaststroke, clocking in at 1:01.96 in the 100 and 2:14.80 in the 200. Kimmy Shannon won the 500 free in 4:48.46, edging Penn State’s Morgan Moore by .04 seconds, then claimed the 200 individual medley in 1:59.28. Pitt swept both diving events via Jess Vega on 3-meter and Presley Deck on 1-meter, Mariana Osorio Mendoza second in both.
Moore picked up Penn States only win in the 1,000 free, a 1-2 with Morgan Jenny. Catherine Meisner was second in both the 200 free and 200 IM.
On the men’s side, Alan Vergine put his name in the record books by going 1:42.49 in the 200 fly. That’s a program and pool record for the freshman. Vergine also won the 200 IM in 1:46.80 and he finished second to teammate Julian Koch in the 100 fly, .06 behind Koch’s winning 46.66.
Koch was the standout for the Panthers. The sophomore won three times, going 19.20 to claim the 50 free and 41.95 to boss the 100 free. After the 100 fly win, he led off the 400 free relay in 42.26, teaming with James Allison, Georg Filippov and Donat Fabian to win in 2:55.29.
Allison won the 200 free and was third in the 100 free. Fabian was third in the 50 free, and Filippov finished third in the 100 fly. Vergine and Fabian were the back half of the winning 200 medley relay, joining Mason Leach and Eli Hobson to go 1:26.15, in a race where Penn State’s A team was disqualified. Ethan Radio swept the diving events for the Panthers, his score on 3-meter rising to 379.05 points.
Penn State had better luck in terms of wins on the men’s side. Eduardo Cisternas went 9:07.06 to win the 1,000 free and 4:22.53 in claiming the 500. Cooper Morley pulled off the backstroke double, stopping the clock in 46.51 in the 100 and 1:45.19 in the 200. Mariano Lazzerini did the same in breaststroke, with a 52.26 in the 100 and 1:53.41 in the 200.
