West Virginia University Intrasquad
- Morgantown, West Virginia
- Saturday, September 29, 2018
- Full Results
- Scores: Blue 238.5 Gold 224.5
Press Release Courtesy of WVU Athletics
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University swimming and diving teams opened the 2018-19 season with a victory by the Blue team in the annual Gold-Blue Meet on Saturday morning at the WVU Natatorium.
The Blue team claimed an overall win of 238.5-224.5 over the Gold team. The men’s Blue team won, 120-85, while the women’s Gold team won by a score of 119.5-87.5.
“I think both teams raced really well,” WVU coach Vic Riggs said. “The Blue team might have thought they had it in the bag, and that might have motivated the Gold team to come through and step up a little bit more than they thought they could. Overall, I thought we saw a lot of good racing, we got to see our freshmen and transfers for the first time, and I really enjoyed the environment. I think the kids had a really good time with the meet. We’re all one team, but it was fun to see them interact and challenge each other.”
“I always look forward to kicking off the season with the Gold-Blue Meet,” WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. “The divers love it because it’s a fun opportunity to dive synchro, and it makes it a team event. It’s really going to be a great season.”
Senior Merwane El Merini and sophomore David Dixon paced the men’s Blue team with two individual wins and two relay victories, while junior Morgan Bullock led the women’s Blue team with two individual wins and a relay victory.
Saturday marked the second consecutive win for the Blue team in the annual event.
The meet opened with a split in the 200 medley relay, with the women’s Gold team and men’s Blue team winning. Freshman Megan Zartman, senior Emma Harris, junior Julia Miranda and sophomore Giselle Gursoy led the women’s Gold team, while El Merini, senior Tristen Di Sibio, Dixon and junior Sam Neaveill paced the men’s Blue squad.
The meet’s first individual event was the 800 freestyle, where freshman Lauryn Kallay earned a win for the Gold team in the women’s race, and sophomore Ben Brooks won the men’s event for the Blue team.
Meanwhile, on springboard, redshirt freshman Jacob Cardinal Tremblay and freshman Nick Cover, earned a win for the Blue team in the 1-meter synchronized event.
The next event in the pool was the 200 freestyle, where Gursoy, for the Gold team, and Dixon, for Blue, picked up their second win overall, and first individual, of the meet.
The Blue team picked up their first sweep in the 50 freestyle, as Bullock and El Merini both earned their first of two individual wins.
The Gold team followed it up with a sweep of their own in the 200 individual medley. Junior Julia Miranda paced the women’s race, while sophomore Philip Kay touched the wall first for the men.
In the 3-meter synchronized diving event, seniors Madelyn Woods and Averly Hobbs added another win for the Blue team.
The Blue team then won the next four races, as Bullock and sophomore Denys Kostromin won the 100 butterfly, and junior Julia Nilton and El Merini won the 100 freestyle. It was Bullock’s second individual win of the meet and El Merini’s third overall and second individually.
The Gold team answered with a sweep of the 100 backstroke. Zartman posted her first individual win and second victory overall, while sophomore Angelo Russo touched the wall in first for the men.
The Mountaineers split the 400 freestyle, with Kallay winning for the women’s Gold team and Dixon with a victory for the men’s Blue team. Dixon’s win was his third overall and second individually. It also was Kallay’s second victory on the day.
The final individual event was the 100 breaststroke, where Harris claimed a win for the women’s Gold squad and Di Sibio posted a win for the men’s Blue team. Their wins were their first individual wins of the day to go along with victories in the 200 medley relay.
The meet concluded with the 200 freestyle relay, and the Blue team claimed both wins. Sophomore Luisa Winkler, Bullock, freshman Emma Bliss and Nilton picked up the win for the women, while Neaveill, Brooks, Dixon and El Merini won for the men.
The Mountaineers will officially open the regular season at the West Virginia State Games, from Oct. 12-13, in Huntington, West Virginia. The two-day competition, which features collegiate swimming and diving programs from across the Mountain State, opens on Friday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m. ET, at Marshall’s Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium. The meet concludes on Saturday, Oct. 13, beginning at 10 a.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.