2023 Big East Championships: Villanova Women and Georgetown Men Lead Through Day 1

Big East Championships (Men’s and Women’s)

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Nassau Aquatic Center, East Meadow, NY
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Villanova (9x)
  • Men: Georgetown (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide

The 2023 Men’s and Women’s Big East Championships began yesterday in New York. The first session featured the 200 medley relay, men’s 1-meter diving, and the 800 freestyle relay. The Villanova women and the Georgetown men got off to a quick start as they top the team standings coming out of day 1.

Team Scores Women:

1. Villanova – 128
2. Connecticut/Georgetown – 110
3. —
4. Seton Hall/Butler – 100
5. —
6. Providence – 94
7. Xavier – 52

Team Scores Men:

1. Georgetown – 137
2. Seton Hall – 118
3. Villanova – 83
4. Xavier – 72
5. Providence – 63

The Villanova women opened with a dominating performance in the 800 freestyle relay, as the team of Molly Benson (1:49.05), Lainey Quinones (1:52.37), Mary Kate Farrell (1:50.04), and Lexi Elkovitch (1:50.37) combined for a time of 7:21.83, topping the field by over 4 seconds. Connecticut made up over a second deficit on Georgetown to take 2nd (7:26.00). Benson’s flat start lead-off for Villanova was also the fastest split of the event.

The men’s 800 freestyle relay came down to the final leg between Xavier and Seton Hall. Xavier trailed by nearly a second when the final legs dove in, but Andrew Martin threw down a 1:35.91 to make up the gap and touch 1st at 6:32.05, just 0.08 ahead of Seton Hall. The first three legs of Xavier’s winning relay included Kyle Hudson (1:37.87), Nathan Wall (1:38.97), and Jon Bernard (1:39.30).

Seton Hall swept the top two spots in men’s 1-meter diving, led by sophomore Quinn Murtha. Murtha scored 569.75 points in finals, as his teammate Trevor Post scored 546.05 points to secure 2nd. Murtha is Seton Hall’s first men’s diving champion since 2015.

The Villanova women collected their second victory of the night in the 200 medley relay. The team of Audrey Pastorek (25.28), Winnie Jalet (28.29), Arabella Lee (24.37), and Perri Stahl (22.54) touched first by over half a second with a final time of 1:40.48. Georgetown took 2nd at 1:41.13, while Connecticut snagged 3rd (1:41.47).

The Georgetown men secured their first victory of the meet with a decisive win in the 200 medley relay, as the quartet of John McEachern (22.34), Bailey De Luise (24.28), Michael Baldini (21.11), and Connor Brennan (19.87) clocked a winning time of 1:27.60.

Today’s action will continue with the 500 free, 200 IM, and 50 free.