The Pitt men’s diving team dominated this weekend, sweeping the one- and three-meter dives on… The Pitt men’s diving team dominated this weekend, sweeping the one- and three-meter dives on consecutive days. Dennis Nemtsanov captured first place in the three meter in both meets, while freshman Alex Volovetski dove to consecutive first place finishes in the one-meter event to pace the Panthers to two victories.

Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams won against St. Bonaventure on Friday and Syracuse on Saturday to start the season 2-0 and 1-0 in the Big East conference.

“It was a good start to our season to return home with four wins,” head coach Chuck Knoles said. “We have been talking a lot at practice about maintaining focus and technique. It was nice to see that focus and technique prove successful in competition.”

On Friday against St. Bonaventure, the men’s team cruised to a 165-78 victory, while the women won, 148.5-94.5.

Newcomers led the way for Pitt. Freshman Jonathan Buchanan won both the 1000- and 500-yard freestyles. Fellow freshman Patrick Mansfield captured first in the 200 free. And Chad White – back from a year off – took the 100 butterfly. In the 100 free, Darryl Washington led the pack.

The men’s 200 medley relay team of Jeff Leath, Washington, White and Michael Bernardi raced to earn yet another first place finish for the Panthers. And the 200-free relay team of Bernardi, Mansfield, Nathan McCutcheon and Andrew Kyrejko swam to victory as well.

The Pitt women swept the top three places in four events, led by Kathy Siuda’s three first-place finishes. Siuda won the 1000 free, the 200 individual medley, and the 500 freestyle.

Freshmen Stacie Safritt and Brittany Stevens also had a victorious day, claiming first in the 50 free and 100 back, respectively. The 200-free relay team of Kristin Brown, Jordan Wallace, Andrea Shoust and Safritt swam to victory as well. Shoust also won the 100 back, while Brown went on to win the 200 free.

The female divers also found success Friday. Kristin Caiazzo claimed victories in both the one- and three-meter dives, and Megan McCandless and Colleen Kristobak finished 2-3 to help Pitt sweep the three meter.

The Panthers carried their momentum into Sunday, and the young team was not phased by its first Big East meet of the year.

“Both teams are young and have a lot of heart,” Knoles said. “I now know that we also have a lot of talent on both teams as well.”

The men claimed 11 first-place finishes, splashing in with a 169-74 win over the Orange, while the women earned 10 first-place finishes of their own in a 173-70 victory.

The 400-medley relay team of Thomas Bird, Warren Barnes, Jason Miller and Washington swam to a first-place victory for the Panthers, while Bird teamed with Leath, Mansfield and McCutcheon to win the 400-free relay.

Bird also claimed the 50 free with a 21.05-second victory, and Washington again earned first place in the 100 free. Chris George paced the distance events, winning the 1000 and 500 free. Miller took the 200 individual medley, and Leath led the pack in the 200 back.

For the second consecutive day, Caiazzo dove to a first-place finish in the one meter event for the Pitt women. Kristobak claimed the three meter.

Relay wins opened and closed the meet for the Panthers. The 400-medley relay team of Laura Rosenberg, Samantha Nasakaitis, Sarah Wagner and Kimmie Baird won to start things off, and Brown, Baird, Kelly Redcay and Kelly O’Hara turned in a first-place finish in the 400-free relay to end the meet.

In the 50 free, the Panthers claimed the top three spots with O’Hara, Safritt and Shoust swimming a close 24.50 seconds, 24.51 seconds and 24.69 seconds, respectively. Karla Leite got into the win column with a victory in the 200 breast.

“Our depth helped us win both meets,” Knoles said. “We had more than 20 different event winners at the St. Bonaventure meet and more than 30 different event winners at the Syracuse meet.”

Pitt’s home schedule begins on Friday when the Panthers host defending conference champion Notre Dame at 4 p.m.