Panthers Men’s Swim and Dive ranked 22nd in CSCAA

The Pitt Men’s Swim and Dive team had their first meet this past weekend at home in the Backyard Bowl against the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Panthers pulled off an impressive performance winning 193 – 107. This win increased the Panthers’ lead in the all-time meetings with the Mountaineers, 22 – 5. Junior Cooper Van der Laan had arguably the highlight of the day. He broke his own school record in the 100-meter breast event, ultimately posting a time of 52.41.

Following the win, the Panthers became nationally ranked in the CSCAA poll with a rank of 22^nd. This gives the Panthers their highest rank since 2004. Freshman Warren Briggs broke both a school and pool record in the 1000-meter free swim with a time of 9:08.74. Freshmen Jackson Salisbury placed third in the 3-meter and, overall, the Panthers placed three of the top five in the platform.

This is a great statement for the Swim and Dive team to have such a dominating performance and look to keep this type of performance going in their next meet. The team is the latest of the Olympic Sports programs to become more competitive on the national landscape.

The next meet for the Men’s Swim and Dive team will be January 30^th at Trees Hall vs Army.