WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Virginia Tech men and women combined to win the first 16 events as the Hokies cruised past UNC Wilmington in swimming and diving action Saturday at the Seahawk Natatorium. The men earned a 120-101 win while the 22nd-ranked Lady Hokies won 138-93.

The Hokies improved to 7-3 on the men’s side while the women, who were ranked 22nd in the latest Collegeswimming.com poll, improved to 9-2. The Seahawk men dropped their third straight outing and dipped to 1-6 while the women moved to 3-7.

The Lady Hokies 400 Medley Relay set the pace for the meet with a winning time of 3:57.80. Junior Megan Newell swam the third leg of the relay and later added a win in the 100 Freestyle (53.21). Joining Newell on the relay and winning events later in the meet were sophomore Jessica Earl and senior Courtney Walsh. Earl won the 200 Breaststroke (2:25.27) and Walsh swam on the winning 400 Freestyle Relay (3:35.54). 

The Hokies also opened the men’s meet with a win in the 400 Medley Relay (3:30.80). Sophomore Scott Harkins swam the second leg of the relay and added a win in the 200 Breaststroke (2:10.80). Freshman Richard Ulatowski, who swam the anchor leg of the 400 medley, also swam on the winning 400 Freestyle Relay in the final event. 

Junior Danielle Mortensen paced the Lady Seahawks winning the 500 Freestyle with a season-best time of 5:03.51 while adding a second-place finish in the 200 Freestyle with another season-best mark of 1:55.97. Sophomore Laura Chinni added a first-place finish in the 200 Backstroke (2:08.91). 

Aiding the Hokie effort were divers Mike McDonald and Sarah Milton. McDonald, a sophomore, claimed both the 1 and 3-meter fives with scores of 342.30 and 376.50, respectively. Milton, a freshman, also picked up two wins taking the 1-meter with a total of 247.43 points and the 3-meter with 261.23. 

UNCW freshman diver Kobi Salinas finished second in the 3-Meter Dive with a score of 316.50. Senior Matt Layne added a second-place finish in the 200 Breaststroke (2:11.80). 

The Seahawks have a short turnaround before returning to the pool on Sunday for an 11 a.m. start against regional-rival College ofCharleston.  - Courtesy UNCW Sports Information