Lauren McCandless Sets New Pool Record as New Hampshire Tops Vermont

DURHAM, New Hampshire, October 19. THE University of New Hampshire Wildcats won 10 of 17 events Saturday afternoon, fueled by senior Lauren McCandless’ pool record, en route to a 171-129 dual meet win over America East rival Vermont.

New Hampshire Press Release

Senior Lauren McCandless (Macungie, Pa.) set a pool record in the 200-yard butterfly, fueling the women’s swimming & diving team to a 171-129 win at Swasey Pool Saturday afternoon.

Touching the wall at 2 minutes, 2.03 seconds in the sixth event of the meet, McCandless set the new record by .77 milliseconds, trumping Jenni Roberts’ (Springvale, Maine) mark set against Rhode Island on Nov. 11, 2012.

The Wildcats placed first in 10 of the 17 events against the Catamounts. Jenna Bull (Woodstock, New Brunswick) Katie Mann (Prince George, B.C.), McCandless and Roberts all tallied first in two events.

UNH opened the meet, taking the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Oneida Cooper (Johannesburg, South Africa), Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Germany), Allison Morales (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.) compiled a time of 1:48.67.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Roberts (1:51.72) and Mann (1:56.17) placed first and third respectively. The ‘Cats followed up the event, earning first and second in the 100-yard breaststroke. Mann earned a time of 1:06.49 while Christine Black (Amherst, N.H.) clocked in at 1:08.98.

Leading 79-53, Nicole Zahka (Medway, Mass.) and Kyle Bonus (Philadelphia, Pa.) competed in the one-meter dive. Zahka logged a runner-up score of 224.32 while Bonus placed third, tallying a score of 215:08.

Roberts (2:04.47) and Mann (2:18.51) each tallied back-to-back top finishes in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke respectively.

UNH tallied its third consecutive first place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Taking the top three spots, McCandless paced the ‘Cats in the event, blazing through the water to earn a time of 5:03.61. McCandless was followed by Adria Morales (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and Katie Keefer (Waynesboro, Va.), clocking in at 5:09.46 and 5:11.65 respectively.

Returning to the boards in the three-meter dive, Zahka nearly placed first, recording a second place score if 228.07, .01 shy from the leader.

The Wildcats secured the win, taking the top three places in the 200-yard individual medley and placing second in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Bull (2:06.68), Cooper (2:11.42) and Caspersen (2:11.99) powered the ‘Cats in the 200-yard individual medley. The group of Roberts, Broderick, Bull and Emily Magnivita (South Glastonburg, Conn.) assembled a time 3:34.26 in the relay.

New Hampshire returns to the pool on Saturday, Oct. 26 to clash against Northeastern. The dual meet is set to begin at 12 p.m.

Vermont Press Release

Vermont earned the top spot in seven events, including a sweep in the diving competition, but fell at New Hampshire 171-129 in America East swimming and diving action Saturday afternoon at Swasey Pool.

“We took a huge step today even though we did not come out with a win. I feel we are set up for a great November,” commented head coach Gerry Cournoyer.

The Catamounts collected their first win in the meet’s second event of the afternoon. Freshman Courtney Kent got Vermont off to a good start by earning her first career win in the 1000 free with a time of 10:31.49.

Vermont took the top three spots in the 50 freestyle, led by sophomore Christa Weaver, who won the event after clocking in at 24.04. Freshmen Courtney Gray (24.53) and Sarah Mantz (24.76) finished just behind Weaver for second and third place, respectively.

Weaver also earned a first-place finish in the 100 free in a time of 52.84. The sophomore now has a team-leading six individual wins on the year. Gray registered her second individual victory of the season with a win in the 100 butterfly (57.49) late in the meet.

The Catamounts swept the diving competition after Maggie Preston and Rebecca Schreiber each notched their first victories of the year. Preston won the 1-meter dive with a score of 237.96, and Schreiber followed that up by earning the top spot in the 3-meter dive with a score of 228.08.

Vermont closed out the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Weaver, Gray, Mantz and Diane Brown combined to swim the event in 3:31.97 for the Catamount victory.

UVM is back in action on Saturday (Nov. 2) in its home-opening meet against Siena at 2 p.m at Forbush Natatorium. Live video of the meet will be available via CatamounTV.com.

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