UConn Swimming Sweeps Villanova Wildcats

VILLANOVA – UConn swimming went into Villanova and emerged with a dual meet sweep against the Wildcats.

UConn Press Release

University of Connecticut sophomores Chris Girg (Burbach, Germany) and James Donlevy (Lake Grove, N.Y.) and junior Jeff Magin (Brookfield, Conn.) each won two individual races, as UConn defeated Villanova, 171.5-85.5, in the Huskies’ regular season opener on the road Friday afternoon.

Girg earned first place honors in both freestyle events against the Wildcats, winning the 1000-yard freestyle in 9:46.87 and finishing first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:43.83. Donlevy topped all swimmers in the 50-yard freestyle (21.63) and the 100-yard freestyle (47.37), while Magin swept both backstroke events. The Connecticut junior completed the 100-yard backstroke in 51.99 and finished the 200-yard backstroke in 1:53.91 to earn nine points for the Huskies.

Magin saw another first place finish Friday as he teamed up with seniors Lachezar Shumkov (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Felix Samuels (London, England) and junior Greg Baliko(Fanwood, N.J.) to finish first in the 200-yard medley relay, which the Huskies finished with a time of 1:34.03.

Other UConn swimmers to tally individual first place finishes were Shumkov, junior Ryan Walsh (Monroe, N.Y.), senior Wyatt Boliek (Greenville, S.C.), freshman Kyle Kimura(Tampa, Fla.) and junior Greg Baliko (Fanwood, N.J.).

Shumkov won the 100-yard breaststroke (58.63), while Walsh took home first place in the 200-yard butterfly after finishing the event in 1:56.45. Boliek touched the wall first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:12.51) and Kimura won his first ever event for UConn, as he completed the 500-yard freestyle in 4:45.50 to earn first place honors. Baliko beat all swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 50.70.

Junior Laura Ruttan (Stittsville, Ontario) notched two individual victories to lead the UConn women’s swimming and diving team to a 134.5-127.5 victory over Villanova on the road in the team’s season opener Friday.

Ruttan finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.00, and she continued her impressive night in the 200-yard breaststroke, earning a first place finish after completing the event in 2:23.19.

UConn senior Chinyere Pigot (Miami Fla.), who broke a school record in last season’s conference meet, also had a productive meet for the Huskies on Friday, finishing first in the 100-yard freestyle (51.89) and earning a second place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.10. The Connecticut speedster also teamed up with sophomoresChristine

Pedersen (Vinterbro, Norway) and Tara O’Prey (Ridley Park, Pa.) and Ruttan to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:46.00.

Pedersen also had a good night for UConn, as the backstroke specialist saw a first place finish in the 100-yard backstroke (57.22) before taking second place in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:03.19. Villanova’s Gabrielle Daigneault just edged Pedersen, winning the race in 2:03.16.

“Today was an extraordinary swim meet with Villanova and a great win for our women’s team,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said. “Katy Munzenmaier and Sophie Nothnagle were especially great, and we were able to win the meet, which came down to the last relay.”

Other UConn swimmers to swim to a first place finish on Friday were senior captain Katy Munzenmaier (Lake George, N.Y.) and sophomore Sophie Nothnagle (Victor, N.Y.). Munzenmaier won the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.54), while Nothnagle topped all swimmers in the 200-yard butterfly after swimming it in 2:03.82.

Villanova Press Release

The Villanova women’s swimming team dropped a close meet to the Connecticut Huskies at the Villanova Swim Complex on Friday night, 134.5-127.5.

The Wildcats earned six first place, nine second place and eight third place finishes in total.

Villanova placed second and fourth in the first event, the 200 medley relay, to open the meet.

But the team came back strong when freshman Caitlin Daday (10:10.08, Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic), sophomore Emily Mayo (10:11.15, Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe), Mary Snyder (10:39.55, St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) and Erin Merkle (10:39.99, York, Pa./York Suburban) finished first through fourth in the 100 freestyle in the following event.

Mayo would go on to win the 500 free later in the meet with a final time of 5:02.25, about two and a half second faster than the field.

Junior Kaisla Kollanus (Hyvinkaa, Finland/Makelanrinteen Iukio) also earned a freestyle win in the 50 at 23.95 as half of the Wildcats’ nine-point victories on the evening came via freestyle races.

Freshman Gabby Daigneault (Montreal, Quebec/William H. Hall) won the 200 back at 2:03.16 in a tight finish, only three hundredths of a second ahead of UConn’s Christine Pederson.

Junior Fiona Hardie (Hampshire, England/Bournemouth School) placed first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.95.

Sophomore Jessica Randolph (Davie, Fla./American Heritage) and senior Sara Jurek (Gilbert, Ariz./Chandler) finished one-two in the 200 IM at 2:07.03 and 2:09-flat for 13 Wildcat points.

In the final event of the evening Connecticut picked up 11 crucial points in the 200 freestyle relay to secure the victory. Villanova’s group of Kollanus, Hardie, senior Katrin Heider (Bergisch Gladbach, Germany/Herkenrat) and Jurek finish second in the event at 1:36.73. Kollanus boasted the fastest time in the first leg at 23.91.

In the same race, sophomore Kristin Haufler (Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods), Snyder, Daigneault and freshman Mackenzie Niness (Sutton, Mass./Norte Dame Academy) finished just behind in third place.

The Villanova men’s swimming team fell to the Connecticut Huskies, 171.5 to 85.5, in the second day of the Homecoming Triple Header. The men close out the weekend against West Virginia tomorrow, Sat., Oct. 25 at noon.
The men earned two first place, six second place and seven third place finishes on the evening.

In the first race on Friday, sophomore Mike Rodriguez (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes), freshman Tyler Nussbaum (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Chaminade), junior Murphy Smith (Wayne, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) and senior Jason Moyer (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) finished second in the 200 medley relay for four points.

Sophomore Harrison Rodts (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) placed second in the 1000 freestyle at 9:56.79, almost eight seconds faster than his Thursday time of 10:04.66.

Rodriguez earned an individual second place finish in the 100 back with a time of 53.42.

Moyer also tied UConn’s Felix Samuels with times of 21.71 in the 50 freestyle as each took 3.5 points for their teams.

The Wildcats swept the final two events as the races registered as exhibitions after the Huskies secured the win via point total.

Results: UConn vs. Villanova

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