Courtesy: Pittsburgh Athletics
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh swimming & diving program begins three consecutive weekends of home meets at Trees Pool when the Panthers host an event for the first time in 2020 on Friday afternoon against Denison.
Pitt will meet Denison, an annual contender for national championships at the NCAA Division III level, for the seventh consecutive season. Friday’s diving action will begin at 12 p.m., while the swimming events – featuring a special sprint dual meet format with shorter distances – are scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
For the past few years, the Panthers and Big Red have used their annual dual meet matchup as a tool to prepare for next month’s championship postseason.
This year, Pitt enters its meeting with Denison coming off the Jan. 4 Backyard Brawl at West Virginia, which saw the Panthers win the women’s dual but suffer defeat on the men’s side.
Leading the Panthers will be some of the top athletes in the ACC and NCAA.
Junior Blaise Vera, one of the nation’s top men’s swimming sprinters, should be set to thrive in the unique sprint dual meet format, while seniors Samy Helmbacher and Eben Vorster boost Pitt’s efforts to win against Denison for the seventh consecutive season.
Seniors Valerie Daigneault, Sarah Giamber and Madelyn Shaffer offer a winning mindset and presence to the Panthers in the women’s swimming events, with each looking to make the most of their final meets at Trees Pool over the next three weekends.
In diving, sophomore Amy Read and senior Krista Jones will likely top the field when competition begins in the noon hour, while freshman Dylan Reed has emerged as a stand-out men’s diver for the Panthers.
Admission for Friday’s meet with Denison is FREE for all fans.
The meet will also be broadcast on ACC Network Extra via ESPN3 and the ESPN app at this link.