Swimming and Diving: Men, Women fall to Virginia

Strong performances by two Pitt swimmers couldn’t bring victory to the men’s or women’s… Strong performances by two Pitt swimmers couldn’t bring victory to the men’s or women’s teams in their dual meet against the University of Virginia this weekend.

The women’s team came within 30 points of No. 12 Virginia with a final score of 159-133 at the meet in Charlottesville. The men also put up a solid effort before falling 162-130 to the No. 15 Cavaliers.

This contest against Virginia marks the first loss for the Pitt men since Nov. 4 against Louisville.

“We just looked flat in the first part of the meet,” head coach Chuck Knoles said. “As we got going, I think we looked better. In the second half of the meets we had some great swims, won some events. On paper it didn’t look like we would win any events, so that was nice to see.”

Both Pitt teams rebounded in the second half of the meet, with strong individual performances by juniors Kelsey Herbst and Adam Maczewski.

Herbst started off the meet with what she described as “a sluggish 1000-yard freestyle,” finishing in fourth at 10:15.51. She also finished fifth in the women’s 200-yard freestyle at 1:53.67.

“I was really pleased with my 500, but I’m still trying to figure out my paces for my shorter and longer events,” she said.

In her signature event, the 500-yard freestyle, Herbst pulled out a first with a 4:55.81 and finished a body length in front of her closest competitor, Virginia’s Kelly Grant.

Knoles agreed that the longer race didn’t go as well. “She had a so-so 1000,” Knoles said. “She took it out kind of slow, but had a great second half. Her first half was just too tentative to be able to place well. I think she learned her lesson when she dove into the 500. She got it going right away and led it start to finish.”

Both the Cavalier women’s A and B 200-yard medley relay teams bested the Pitt women’s A team. The Panther women picked up only three top-three finishes in the first half of the meet, compared to 13 top-three finishes in the last half of the meet against Virginia.

But in the second half of the meet, there were no swimmers participating for points in the last three women’s events.

“[Virginia’s] definitely top of the line in the ACC,” Herbst said. “But I think we had a really great attitude going in, and I think everyone gave everything they had.”

The Pitt men benefited from the same benevolence. The Panthers began the meet with the same slow start that plagued the women’s team, recording no top-three finishes in the first three individual events. The lead allowed Virginia to pull their swimmers from competing for points in the last three events.

“I think maybe we kind of scared of our opponents in the first part, because the second part looked so much better,” Maczewski said.

But that doesn’t take away from a dominating performance by super-star backstroker Maczewski. The junior took first in both of his individual events, the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, competing against a full Cavalier lineup.

The junior posted a 49.12 in the 100-yard backstroke, just shy of the NCAA B cut in the event. He’s swum below that cut before, but Knoles expects him to break his best time at Big East championships.

“I tried my best,” the Pitt junior said. “I’m happy that I won, but I’m not really satisfied with my time.“

Knoles offered a more spirited review of his performance.

“Adam Maczewski was lights-out today,” Knoles said. “He’s getting tougher and tougher. He’s expressed his dislike for the 200 backstroke, and we’ve expressed our side of things that he needs to embrace that event — it’s his. I don’t think Adam has lost the 100 backstroke in two years in a dual meet.

“I would hope that he could get in the 46 range, fast enough to get that NCAA cut,” Knoles said. “He’s competed against some of the best backstrokers in the country, so I expect him to go to NCAA Champs.”

Getting the elusive A cut guarantees him a position at the NCAA Championships. Without it, only a small fraction of the next-fastest swimmers — the B cuts — are added to flesh out the event.

Pitt will have a tune-up quad meet against Clarion University, Grove City College and California University of Pennsylvania next Saturday, Feb. 4, at 11 a.m. at Trees Pool. It will be the teams’ last meet before the Big East Championships are held on the following two weekends at Trees Pool.