Sacred Heart vs Stonehill vs Merrimack
- October 5, 2024
- Milford, Conn.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Sacred Heart Athletics
MILFORD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University swim and dive team defeated Stonehill and Merrimack Saturday afternoon at home 173.50-87.30 and 165-96, respectively. The Pioneers improve to 3-1 which is their best start since 2018-19 season.
The 200-medley relay of Kristen Baker, Rosemery Nieto, Emma Haas and Sophia Velleco opened racing with a win in a time of 1:49.81.
Julia Freshour and Maeve English secured the one-two sweep in the 1000-freestyle with times of 11:17.29 and 11:28.51, respectively.
In the 200-freestyle, Meghan Hammarlund finished second with a time of 2:01.68. Right behind her was Melanie Sanchez in third with a time of 2:02.55.
Baker paced the Pioneers in the 100-backstroke securing the win in 1:01.04. Charlotte Kaduson swam a 1:02.69 finishing fourth.
Nieto secured the first of four first place finished in a row in the 100-breaststroke in 1:08.18.
S. Velleco tabbed the win in the 200-butterfly in a time of 2:12.67. Emma Chambers and Abby Hernandez finished third and fifth respectively.
Continuing the winning streak, Haas secured first in the 50-freestyle in 25.41. Julia Stellato tied at third in a time of 26.61.
In the 100-freestyle, Emma Davis and Brooke Labarge secured third and fifth with times of 56.42 and 58.17, respectively.
Kaitlyn Schwartz paced the Pios in the 200-backstroke finishing second with a time of 2:15.65. A parade of Pios followed her starting with Leila Sofiane in third, Julia Fanning in fourth, and Makayla Lee in fifth.
Meredith Lubelczyk and Olivia Velleco went four and five in the 200-breaststroke with times of 2:36.46 and 2:38.52, respectively.
Four Pioneers finished in the top five in the 500-freestyle. S. Velleco led the pack in first with a time of 5:16.97. Charlotte Kaduson was shortly behind her in second with a time of 5:28.79. Freshour and English secured fourth and fifth, respectively.
Two-thousandths of a second separated the Pios third one-two sweep of the day. Melanie Sanchez and Hammarlund went neck-and-neck in the 100-butterfly with times of 1:00.94 and 1:00.96, respectively. Emma Haas secured fifth place with a time of 1:03.06.
Daniella Palamaro, Nieto and Baker secured third, fourth and fifth in the 200-IM.
The relay team of Davis, Hammarlund, Haas and Labarge secured first in the 400-freestyle relay with a time of 3:46.45.
Up Next:
The Pioneers travel to Iona for a double dual with Wagner on Saturday, October 19th.
Courtesy: Stonehill Athletics
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (October 5, 2024) – The Stonehill College women’s swimming team officially got its 2024-25 season underway with a tri-meet hosted by Sacred Heart University with Merrimack College at McCann Natatorium this afternoon.
Junior Kristy Barry and sophomore Grace Idowu led Stonehill with event wins this afternoon, while also leading strong efforts from the Skyhawks relay teams. Sacred Heart posted a pair of team wins on the day against Stonehill (173.50-87.50) and Merrimack (165.00-96.00), while Merrimack picked up a head-to-head win over Stonehill (137.50-123.50).
Barry took first place out of 12 entries in the 200-yard individual medley relay in 2:16.12. She opened with a 29.12-second split in the butterfly leg, followed by a 35.52-second backstroke leg and a 39.75-second breaststroke leg, before finishing the freestyle anchor in 31.73. Barry also turned in a fifth-place finish out of 14 entries in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:03.07. Idowu took first place in the 100-yard freestyle in 55.92 seconds, leading the field of 14 swimmers by 0.04-seconds. She started the day with a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.96 seconds, while fellow sophomore Sherri Danforth tied for third with her personal-best time of 26.30 seconds.
Idowu and Barry also led Stonehill to a pair of strong relay performances, starting with a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:52.87. Freshman Elizabeth Weston swam the lead backstroke leg in 29.20-seconds before junior Taylor Belanger completed the breaststroke leg in 31.36, and then Idowu swam the butterfly leg in 25.20-seconds before Barry completed the freestyle anchor leg in 25.20.
Stonehill capped the day with a third-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay that clocked in at 3:51.60. Idowu finished in the lead leg in 56.48 seconds, before Weston completed the second leg in 59.31 seconds, freshman Chihiro Bringman swam the third leg in 58.75-seconds and then Barry brought in the anchor leg in 57.06.
Weston turned in a second-place individual finish in her collegiate debut out of ten competitors in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.67, while classmate Sorina Cheng placed fifth in 1:02.82. Weston also placed sixth in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:17.71, while Cheng was seventh in 2:19.27.
Freshman Lilith Peterson and senior Jami Hepburn took second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard breaststroke. Peterson clocked in at 2:33.19, while Hepburn finished in 2:36.10. Stonehill took third through fifth place in the 100-yard breaststroke, led by Belanger in third in 1:09.47, while Peterson finished fourth in 1:10.39, and Hepburn placed sixth in 1:11.38.
Head Coach Matt Distler:
“Overall, a great day of racing against great competition. I am really pleased with our energy on deck and how our freshmen handled their first college competition. We can learn a lot from today’s meet, and I look forward to the team’s continued growth throughout the season.”
More Results
- Junior Azia Koser turned in three top five finishes for Stonehill, led by a third place showing in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:02.75. She also finished fourth in the 1000-yard freestyle in 11:37.27, as well as the 200-yard butterfly out of 11 entries with a time of 2:19.91.
- Bringman placed seventh in the 100-yard freestyle in 58.23-seconds, while fellow freshman Rena Gilligan finished ninth in 58.92.
- Senior Julie Mastroianni led the way for Stonehill in the 500-yard freestyle with her eighth-place finish in 5:53.65.
- Cheng added an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley relay in 2:22.36.
- Danforth added a second personal-best time in the 100-yard butterfly at 1:09.29.
- Freshman Ava Stefanou clocked in a personal-best time of 2:14.38 in the 200-yard freestyle.
Stonehill will have a month off before returning to the pool for competition when it travels to Niagara University for a dual meet on Saturday, November 9, at 1 p.m.
