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CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech swimming team hosted the second annual Virginia Tech Invitational as it welcomed North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Washington & Lee, James Madison, UNC Wilmington, Ferrum College and Greensboro College to the Christiansburg Aquatic Center Saturday. On the first day of competition, the H₂Okies sit atop the standings, taking home seven titles in 14 events.

“Great performances from our men and women today,” commented head coach Ned Skinner. “Many of these kids are not going to be on our ACC Conference team and yet are posting times that have scored in the previous ACC Championships so we are really excited about what they are doing. The energy is excellent by our team and it’s so awesome to see our conference team here supporting our swimmers as they have their championship experience.”

Abby Houchin opened the meet for the women taking home the gold in the 200 freestyle setting a career-best 1:50.75. For the men, Ben Gastrock touched the wall first at the 1:39.65 mark, bettering his career best time by almost three seconds.

In the 400 IM, the H₂Okie women did not participate, while Philip LaRosa swam a time of 4:01.19 to place him third for the men as North Carolina’s Brian Bollerman took the gold and set a new pool record.

Caroline Higgins and Aubree Duncan took third and fourth place in the 100 backstroke, respectively. Higgins set a career best as she touched the wall at the 56.37 mark, while Duncan also swam a career-best 57.11. Michael Hallock set a career best and pool record for the men, as he came in with a time of 48.36. Tom Sheranek followed with a time of 49.03, which was good for second place.

In the 100 breaststroke, Natalie Leake took home the title with a career-best 1:04.68 for the women, while Harrison Cefalo touched the wall first at the 55.61 mark for the men.

James Crabb won the 100 butterfly title with a time of 48.89, bettering his career best by two seconds. Blaire Kinsey took home the 500 freestyle title with a career-best 4:56.02.

Kayla Hammerberg placed third in the women's 50 freestyle and set a career-best 24.00. For the men, Adam Skipper placed third as well with a time of 20.84.

The women's 200 freestyle relay team consisting of Heather Savage, Margaret Parcell, Carne and Emily Ferguson swam a time trial of 1:32.62 that set a new pool record to conclude the night.new pool record.

Competition will wrap up tomorrow with the final six events for each team. The preliminary round will begin at 10 a.m. with the finals starting at 4 p.m.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).