Two Pitt Swimmers Advance to ACC Championship Finals
2/27/2020 9:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
GREENSBORO, N.C.—A pair of Pitt men's swimmers – senior Samy Helmbacher and junior Blaise Vera – advanced to championship finals to lead the Panthers on Thursday at the 2020 ACC Men's Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Both Helmbacher and Vera finished sixth in their respective event finals, with Helmbacher completing the 200-yard individual medley in 1:44.90 and Vera swimming the 50-yard freestyle in 19.54.
With Helmbacher making his second appearance in a conference championship final and Vera appearing for the fourth time in an ACC title swim, those two are now the only Pitt men's swimmers to have advanced to multiple ACC championship races since the Panthers joined the league in 2013-14.
Also scoring big points for the Panthers on Thursday was senior Eben Vorster, who finished 15th in the 200-yard individual medley to add 12 points with a final time of 1:46.71.
Pitt's 200-yard freestyle relay of Vera, Ellis Cannon, Szymon Pytlarczyk and Armin Remenyi also contended for a podium place before finishing seventh in 1:18.14.
"It was another solid day that keeps us ahead of last year's pace in team points," said Pitt head coach John Hargis. "That improvement is important, and it shows how far this program has come that we had two ACC championship finalists, yet we walked away slightly disappointed. We know we have individuals and relays capable of getting on the podium here. We need our youth and depth to step over the next two days because there plenty of great opportunities remaining for this team."
Also competing for the Panthers on Thursday, several athletes posted strong efforts and top times in the morning preliminary session.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Ryan Schonbachler (40th, 4:27.55) paced the Panthers, with newcomers Wojciech Dutkowiak (43rd, 4:28.79) and Stephen Hopta (48th, 4:30.91) not far behind.
The prelims of the 200-yard individual medley resulted in top times for the Pitt trio of Jerry Chen (40th, 1:51.04), Judd Fishman (41st, 1:51.25) and Cooper van der Laan (45th, 1:52.29).
And the 50-yard freestyle heats resulted in numerous top times for the Panthers. Competing for Pitt: Ellis Cannon (35th, 20.19), Armin Remenyi (38th, 20.20), Szymon Pytlarczyk (39th, 20.24), Alec Hoch (46th, 20.48), Serhii Ahadzhanian (55th, 20.85), Dominic Toledo (62nd, 21.06) and Jered Moore (21.18).
The ACC Championships resume at 10 a.m. tomorrow with a full day of action. The 6 p.m. evening finals on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra.
This week, legendary American swimmer and broadcaster Rowdy Gaines and the ACC Network Extra broadcast crew bring fans color from one of top meets in collegiate swimming and diving.
Stay tuned to @Pitt_SWIM_DIVE on Twitter for updates from each morning's preliminary action.
The remaining schedule of events at the ACC Championships will be as follows:
Friday
Men's 100-Yard Butterfly
Men's 400-Yard Individual Medley
Men's 200-Yard Freestyle
Men's 100-Yard Breaststroke
Men's 100-Yard Backstroke
Men's 400-Yard Medley Relay
Saturday
Men's 1,650-Yard Freestyle
Men's 200-Yard Backstroke
Men's 100-Yard Freestyle
Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke
Men's 200-Yard Butterfly
Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
#H2P | #H2oP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Both Helmbacher and Vera finished sixth in their respective event finals, with Helmbacher completing the 200-yard individual medley in 1:44.90 and Vera swimming the 50-yard freestyle in 19.54.
With Helmbacher making his second appearance in a conference championship final and Vera appearing for the fourth time in an ACC title swim, those two are now the only Pitt men's swimmers to have advanced to multiple ACC championship races since the Panthers joined the league in 2013-14.
Also scoring big points for the Panthers on Thursday was senior Eben Vorster, who finished 15th in the 200-yard individual medley to add 12 points with a final time of 1:46.71.
Pitt's 200-yard freestyle relay of Vera, Ellis Cannon, Szymon Pytlarczyk and Armin Remenyi also contended for a podium place before finishing seventh in 1:18.14.
"It was another solid day that keeps us ahead of last year's pace in team points," said Pitt head coach John Hargis. "That improvement is important, and it shows how far this program has come that we had two ACC championship finalists, yet we walked away slightly disappointed. We know we have individuals and relays capable of getting on the podium here. We need our youth and depth to step over the next two days because there plenty of great opportunities remaining for this team."
Also competing for the Panthers on Thursday, several athletes posted strong efforts and top times in the morning preliminary session.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Ryan Schonbachler (40th, 4:27.55) paced the Panthers, with newcomers Wojciech Dutkowiak (43rd, 4:28.79) and Stephen Hopta (48th, 4:30.91) not far behind.
The prelims of the 200-yard individual medley resulted in top times for the Pitt trio of Jerry Chen (40th, 1:51.04), Judd Fishman (41st, 1:51.25) and Cooper van der Laan (45th, 1:52.29).
And the 50-yard freestyle heats resulted in numerous top times for the Panthers. Competing for Pitt: Ellis Cannon (35th, 20.19), Armin Remenyi (38th, 20.20), Szymon Pytlarczyk (39th, 20.24), Alec Hoch (46th, 20.48), Serhii Ahadzhanian (55th, 20.85), Dominic Toledo (62nd, 21.06) and Jered Moore (21.18).
The ACC Championships resume at 10 a.m. tomorrow with a full day of action. The 6 p.m. evening finals on Friday and Saturday will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra.
This week, legendary American swimmer and broadcaster Rowdy Gaines and the ACC Network Extra broadcast crew bring fans color from one of top meets in collegiate swimming and diving.
Stay tuned to @Pitt_SWIM_DIVE on Twitter for updates from each morning's preliminary action.
The remaining schedule of events at the ACC Championships will be as follows:
Friday
Men's 100-Yard Butterfly
Men's 400-Yard Individual Medley
Men's 200-Yard Freestyle
Men's 100-Yard Breaststroke
Men's 100-Yard Backstroke
Men's 400-Yard Medley Relay
Saturday
Men's 1,650-Yard Freestyle
Men's 200-Yard Backstroke
Men's 100-Yard Freestyle
Men's 200-Yard Breaststroke
Men's 200-Yard Butterfly
Men's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
#H2P | #H2oP | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Players Mentioned
FLY/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BREAST
/ Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
BREAST/FREE/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
FLY/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
FLY/FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
FLY/FREE/IM
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