Cincinnati Withdraws from Dual Meet Against West Virginia, Sparking Controversy

The University of Cincinnati has withdrawn from its scheduled dual meet against West Virginia scheduled for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning in Morgantown, West Virginia. The meet was scheduled to be the teams’ second as Big 12 opponents after splitting the victories last season in a two-day affair hosted by Cincinnati. There, the Bearcats won the women’s meet 241-112 and the Mountaineers won the men’s meet 162-191.

West Virginia posted the news of the cancellation on their Instagram page, with assistant coach Sydney Pickrem calling it a “huge disappointment for our swimmers” on her story, adding “Let’s continue to build this sport & always strive to achieve the highest level, especially when we RACE.”

Individuals close to the West Virginia program are telling SwimSwam that Cincinnati forfeited the meet because of a dispute over whether to wear technical racing suits. West Virginia wanted to wear the suits and Cincinnati did not, and felt that this would put them at a disadvantage.

Neither coaching staff took the opportunity to dispute that narrative.

Cincinnati head coach Mandy Commons-DiSalle is currently the president of the Board of Directors of the Collegiate Swimming & Diving Coaches’ Association of America (CSCAA)

Historically, collegiate dual meets have been raced almost-exclusively in ‘practice suits,’ with tech suits reserved for championship meets and mid-season invitationals. More recently, however, teams have taken to wearing their fast-suits for every meet as a way to more specifically prepare for the racing that will take place in those championships. That includes the Arizona State Sun Devils, who used the tactic en route to last year’s NCAA Men’s Championship in swimming & diving.

These suits improve times by reducing drag, providing muscle compression, and allowing athletes to maintain a better posture in the water.

West Virginia’s official Instagram account “liked” a comment by program alum Logan McFadden saying that “Somebody got scared and doesn’t want to come to town anymore.”

At last year’s Big 12 Championship meet, Cincinnati’s first in the conference, the Bearcats finished ahead of West Virginia in both meets. On the women’s side, Cincinnati was 4th with 918.50 points and West Virginia was 6th with 699 points. On the men’s side, Cincinnati was 4th with 1285.50 points and West Virginia was 5th with 1138.50 points.