Cardinals Start Strong Against Virginia

Friday, November 2

LOUISVILLE, KY

5:00 P.M.

University of Louisville

Virginia

Daniel Pinto dives during Louisville's meet against Kentucky in 2017.

November 02, 2018 | Swimming & Diving

UofL v Virginia Friday Results Photo Gallery

The Louisville men won all nine events, led by a school record on the 3-meter for Daniel Pinto.

By: Kylie Klotzbach

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Highlighted by a school record on the 3-meter by sophomore diver Daniel Pinto, the University of Louisville men's and women's swimming and diving team posted a collective 12 wins and five NCAA B cuts on the first day of competition against No. 7/16 Virginia Friday evening at the Ralph Wright Natatorium. After sweeping all nine events, the No. 13 Louisville men lead Virginia 109-58, while the No. 8 women trail 91-74.

"I think we're racing really well," said UofL head coach Arthur Albiero. "There's been some surprisingly good swims in a lot of areas. A two-day meet is designed to be like this, it's a great championship rehearsal. No matter what happened tonight, we have to put this behind us and come back tomorrow. It's 0-0 tomorrow. We have to have the energy to bring it in the morning."

For the second straight meet, the Cards swept the opening relays. The Louisville women finished first and second in the 200 free relay as Arina Openysheva (22.81), Mallory Comerford (22.11), Avery Braunecker (22.41) and Casey Fanz (22.52) won with a time of 1:29.85. The Cardinals also captured the top two spots in the men's race with Andrej Barna (20.04), Zach Harting (20.01), Mihalis Deliyiannis (20.18) and Matyi Kovacs (19.86) combining for the top spot in a time of 1:20.09.

Diana Dunn and Grace Oglesby finished second and third respectively in the 200 IM, finishing in times of 2:02.23 and 2:02.74 respectively. Daniel Sos earned the Louisville men their second straight victory, stopping the clock nearly two seconds ahead of the next closest competitor in a time of 1:47.67. Jarrett Jones was third with a 1:49.26.

In the women's 200 back, Alina Kendzior was the Cards' top finisher, placing second with a 1:57.33. Nicolas Albiero picked up the third consecutive victory for the Cardinal men in the 200 back, leading from start to finish to post a time of 1:45.11.

Openysheva and Sophie Cattermole staged a two-three finish in the 500 free, touching in times of 4:49.83 and 4:50.91. In the men's event, Marcelo Acosta continued the winning streak, posting an NCAA 'B' cut time of 4:23.33.

In the 100 breast, Astashkina swam to a time of 1:02.60 to take second. Evgenii Somov edged two Virginia competitors in the men's race where the top three finishers were separated by less than two tenths of a second, winning with a time of 54.93.

Comerford earned the first individual win of the evening for the women, finishing with an NCAA B cut time of 48.49 in the 100 free. Barna also registered a victory in the men's event with a season-best time of 43.99.

Oglesby picked up a second consecutive win and NCAA B cut for Louisville in the 200 fly, recording a time of 1:58.55. With the Cardinal men's win streak on the line, Albiero used a strong final 50-yards to overtake Virginia's Zach Fong and secure the victory in an NCAA B cut time of 1:46.57.

In diving, Molly Fears (291.98) and Michaela Sliney (281.40) earned a pair of NCAA Zone qualifying scores on the 1-meter. On the men's 3-meter, Pinto set a new program record, winning with a score of 384.30.

The 400 medley relay team of Kendzior (54.04), Astashkina (1:02.32), Oglesby (53.29) and Comerford (47.86) combined for second place in a time of 3:37.51. The men closed out the meet with a sweep of all nine events as Albiero (47.74), Somov (53.95), Harting (46.89) and Barna (43.13) posted a dominant victory in the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:11.71.

"I like where we are, I liked the way we showed a lot of fight tonight. We just need to continue that and build on it in a couple spots. We've got to find a way to make some small improvements," said Albiero.

The Cards return to the Ralph Wright Natatorium tomorrow morning for the final day of action against Virginia. Competition is slated for 10 a.m.