Pitt Sends Four Swimmers to ACC Championship Finals
2/28/2020 9:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
GREENSBORO, N.C.—The University of Pittsburgh men's swimmers made history on Friday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center – over and over again.
A program that had previously qualified just four individuals for ACC championship final races advanced four Panthers to title swims on Friday night – with seniors Samy Helmbacher and Eben Vorster, junior Blaise Vera and sophomore Cooper van der Laan also securing their places in medal races.
Helmbacher and Vorster became the first Pitt swimming duo to compete in the same A Final at the conference meet since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013-14. That 400-yard individual medley final resulted in Helmbacher just missing out on a medal by taking fourth in 3:44.96, while Vorster posted his career-best ACC finish of seventh with a personal top time in the event of 3:46.24.
Making his fifth career appearance in an ACC gold-medal heat, Vera took sixth in the 100-yard butterfly in 46.22 – an improvement on his eighth-place finish in the event last year. Meanwhile, Pitt's international newcomer van der Laan broke the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke twice on Friday on his way to placing sixth in that event with a final time of 52.71.
"It was truly a great day for this team," Pitt head coach John Hargis said. "It's special to watch these seniors lead by example and have tremendous success in their final conference meet; they stepped up today, for sure. We're in a battle in the conference standings, and we need to finish this meet with another great day tomorrow."
Also scoring points for the Panthers on moving day at the ACC Championships, three other swimmers advanced to consolation finals on Friday.
Senior Luke Smutny finished 16th in the 100-yard backstroke with an evening time of 47.81.
Freshman Jerry Chen scored in his debut at the conference meet, winning his evening heat in the 100-yard breaststroke to place 17th in the event with a personal-best time of 54.30.
Junior Armin Remenyi secured a 24th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.47.
Pitt's 400-yard medley relay of Luke Smutny, Cooper van der Laan, Eben Vorster and Blaise Vera concluded the evening by bringing home an eighth-place finish in 3:09.46.
The Panthers ended the penultimate day of these ACC Men's Championships in eighth as a team with 384 points.
Also competing for Pitt on Friday in Greensboro, numerous athletes posted strong efforts and top times in the morning preliminary session.
The 100-yard butterfly heats resulted in Serhii Ahadzhanian (26th, 47.41), Luke Smutny (33rd, 48.06), Luay Hilmi (40th, 49.48) and Szymon Pytlarczyk (47th, 51.12) showcasing their improvements.
The 200-yard freestyle session was highlighted by top times by Pitt swimmers Wojciech Dutkowiak (37th, 1:38.39) and Dominic Toledo (48th, 1:39.41).
The 100-yard backstroke saw strong swims for Luay Hilmi (30th, 49.08) and Jered Moore (36th, 51.24), and the 400-yard individual medley prelims saw Judd Fishman take 26th in 3:57.35.
The ACC Championships resume at 10 a.m. tomorrow with the final day of action in Greensboro. The Saturday evening finals will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra at 6 p.m.
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:
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
A program that had previously qualified just four individuals for ACC championship final races advanced four Panthers to title swims on Friday night – with seniors Samy Helmbacher and Eben Vorster, junior Blaise Vera and sophomore Cooper van der Laan also securing their places in medal races.
Helmbacher and Vorster became the first Pitt swimming duo to compete in the same A Final at the conference meet since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013-14. That 400-yard individual medley final resulted in Helmbacher just missing out on a medal by taking fourth in 3:44.96, while Vorster posted his career-best ACC finish of seventh with a personal top time in the event of 3:46.24.
Making his fifth career appearance in an ACC gold-medal heat, Vera took sixth in the 100-yard butterfly in 46.22 – an improvement on his eighth-place finish in the event last year. Meanwhile, Pitt's international newcomer van der Laan broke the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke twice on Friday on his way to placing sixth in that event with a final time of 52.71.
"It was truly a great day for this team," Pitt head coach John Hargis said. "It's special to watch these seniors lead by example and have tremendous success in their final conference meet; they stepped up today, for sure. We're in a battle in the conference standings, and we need to finish this meet with another great day tomorrow."
Also scoring points for the Panthers on moving day at the ACC Championships, three other swimmers advanced to consolation finals on Friday.
Senior Luke Smutny finished 16th in the 100-yard backstroke with an evening time of 47.81.
Freshman Jerry Chen scored in his debut at the conference meet, winning his evening heat in the 100-yard breaststroke to place 17th in the event with a personal-best time of 54.30.
Junior Armin Remenyi secured a 24th-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.47.
Pitt's 400-yard medley relay of Luke Smutny, Cooper van der Laan, Eben Vorster and Blaise Vera concluded the evening by bringing home an eighth-place finish in 3:09.46.
The Panthers ended the penultimate day of these ACC Men's Championships in eighth as a team with 384 points.
Also competing for Pitt on Friday in Greensboro, numerous athletes posted strong efforts and top times in the morning preliminary session.
The 100-yard butterfly heats resulted in Serhii Ahadzhanian (26th, 47.41), Luke Smutny (33rd, 48.06), Luay Hilmi (40th, 49.48) and Szymon Pytlarczyk (47th, 51.12) showcasing their improvements.
The 200-yard freestyle session was highlighted by top times by Pitt swimmers Wojciech Dutkowiak (37th, 1:38.39) and Dominic Toledo (48th, 1:39.41).
The 100-yard backstroke saw strong swims for Luay Hilmi (30th, 49.08) and Jered Moore (36th, 51.24), and the 400-yard individual medley prelims saw Judd Fishman take 26th in 3:57.35.
The ACC Championships resume at 10 a.m. tomorrow with the final day of action in Greensboro. The Saturday evening finals will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra at 6 p.m.
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:
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
BREAST
/ Swimming & Diving
FREE
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
BREAST/FREE/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
BACK/FLY/IM
/ 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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