University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt Open ACC Championships with Strong Dives, Historic Relay
2/19/2020 7:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
GREENSBORO, N.C.—The University of Pittsburgh opened the 2020 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships with several strong diving performances and a great relay swim from the Panthers at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
The first day of action at the conference's annual postseason meet was highlighted by a pair of Panthers underclassmen scoring valuable team points in diving before the Pitt women's 800-yard freestyle relay team comprised of Valerie Daigneault, Madison Nalls, Madelyn Shaffer and Dakota Elliott finished seventh in the event with a time of 7:11.19 – more than five seconds better than their seed time.
The result tied the best Pitt women's relay finish in ACC history in the conference's current format.
"I'm really proud of this team," said Pitt head coach John Hargis. "We faced adversity in the opening relay and the athletes showed incredible resiliency. It was amazing how eager they were for the next swim. And the result was the second fastest 800 free relay in program history and a historic finish. Our focus is already on tomorrow. We're extremely excited to get back in the pool and continue competing."
In the opening diving events, sophomore Amy Read and freshman Dylan Reed both posted impressive performances to score double-digit points for the Panthers. Read placed 14th on 1-meter springboard with a total of 245.10 to score 13 points for the Pitt women's team, while Reed finished 16th on 3-meter springboard with a score of 285.35 to tally 11 points for the Pitt men's team in his postseason debut.
"Overall, we had a pretty good first day," Pitt diving coach Katie Hazelton said. "Of course, we had to get over some early nerves, but we showed some great consistency throughout the day. It was exciting to see Amy and Dylan showed what they're capable of by contending for finals. And all of our divers proved that they have the ability to score at this meet. We're looking forward to carrying the confidence we built today in to tomorrow's events with the goal of scoring more team points."
Also competing in diving for the Panthers on Wednesday, Wesley Ahart (25th, 253.80) and Josh Parquet (34th, 222.50) finished just outside the scoring placements in men's 3-meter springboard action, while Serena Buchwald (27th, 217.40) and Krista Jones (33rd, 202.50) also contended for points during the afternoon's women's 1-meter springboard competition.
Thursday's finals will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra beginning at 5 p.m. Matt Schumacker, Brooke Bennett, Jason Baumann and Melanie Newman will be the on-air talent at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, bringing fans color from one of top meets in collegiate swimming and diving. Fans can watch the meet at this link.
Stay tuned to @Pitt_SWIM_DIVE on Twitter for updates from the 10 a.m. preliminary action from Greensboro.
Here is the remaining schedule of events for the ACC Championships:
Thursday
Men's 1-Meter Springboard Diving
Women's 500-Yard Freestyle
Women's 200-Yard Individual Medley
Women's 50-Yard Freestyle
Women's 3-Meter Springboard Diving
Women's 200-Yard Freestyle Relay
Friday
Women's 100-Yard Butterfly
Women's 400-Yard Individual Medley
Women's 200-Yard Freestyle
Women's 100-Yard Breaststroke
Women's 100-Yard Backstroke
Men's Platform Diving
Women's 400-Yard Medley Relay
Saturday
Women's 1,650-Yard Freestyle
Women's 200-Yard Backstroke
Women's 100-Yard Freestyle
Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke
Women's 200-Yard Butterfly
Women's Platform Diving
Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
#H2P | #H2oP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The first day of action at the conference's annual postseason meet was highlighted by a pair of Panthers underclassmen scoring valuable team points in diving before the Pitt women's 800-yard freestyle relay team comprised of Valerie Daigneault, Madison Nalls, Madelyn Shaffer and Dakota Elliott finished seventh in the event with a time of 7:11.19 – more than five seconds better than their seed time.
The result tied the best Pitt women's relay finish in ACC history in the conference's current format.
"I'm really proud of this team," said Pitt head coach John Hargis. "We faced adversity in the opening relay and the athletes showed incredible resiliency. It was amazing how eager they were for the next swim. And the result was the second fastest 800 free relay in program history and a historic finish. Our focus is already on tomorrow. We're extremely excited to get back in the pool and continue competing."
In the opening diving events, sophomore Amy Read and freshman Dylan Reed both posted impressive performances to score double-digit points for the Panthers. Read placed 14th on 1-meter springboard with a total of 245.10 to score 13 points for the Pitt women's team, while Reed finished 16th on 3-meter springboard with a score of 285.35 to tally 11 points for the Pitt men's team in his postseason debut.
"Overall, we had a pretty good first day," Pitt diving coach Katie Hazelton said. "Of course, we had to get over some early nerves, but we showed some great consistency throughout the day. It was exciting to see Amy and Dylan showed what they're capable of by contending for finals. And all of our divers proved that they have the ability to score at this meet. We're looking forward to carrying the confidence we built today in to tomorrow's events with the goal of scoring more team points."
Also competing in diving for the Panthers on Wednesday, Wesley Ahart (25th, 253.80) and Josh Parquet (34th, 222.50) finished just outside the scoring placements in men's 3-meter springboard action, while Serena Buchwald (27th, 217.40) and Krista Jones (33rd, 202.50) also contended for points during the afternoon's women's 1-meter springboard competition.
Thursday's finals will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra beginning at 5 p.m. Matt Schumacker, Brooke Bennett, Jason Baumann and Melanie Newman will be the on-air talent at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, bringing fans color from one of top meets in collegiate swimming and diving. Fans can watch the meet at this link.
Stay tuned to @Pitt_SWIM_DIVE on Twitter for updates from the 10 a.m. preliminary action from Greensboro.
Here is the remaining schedule of events for the ACC Championships:
Thursday
Men's 1-Meter Springboard Diving
Women's 500-Yard Freestyle
Women's 200-Yard Individual Medley
Women's 50-Yard Freestyle
Women's 3-Meter Springboard Diving
Women's 200-Yard Freestyle Relay
Friday
Women's 100-Yard Butterfly
Women's 400-Yard Individual Medley
Women's 200-Yard Freestyle
Women's 100-Yard Breaststroke
Women's 100-Yard Backstroke
Men's Platform Diving
Women's 400-Yard Medley Relay
Saturday
Women's 1,650-Yard Freestyle
Women's 200-Yard Backstroke
Women's 100-Yard Freestyle
Women's 200-Yard Breaststroke
Women's 200-Yard Butterfly
Women's Platform Diving
Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
#H2P | #H2oP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Players Mentioned
DIVE
/ Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/FREE/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
BREAST/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Swimming & Diving
DIVE
/ Swimming & Diving
FLY/FREE
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