UConn vs Seton Hall (Women)
- January 13, 2024
- South Orange, N.J.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: UConn Athletics
South Orange, NJ – The University of Connecticut Swimming and Diving Team claimed their first win of 2024 Saturday, beating the Seton Hall Pirates 167-132.
The meet was a good test for the Huskies, facing off after their holiday break on the road against a well-matched conference opponent in Seton Hall. The teams sparred for most of the afternoon, exchanging figurative blows race after race. The Huskies took an early lead, winning the 200y Medley and 1000y Free with a dominant performance by Niamh Hofland. The Pirates would strike back in the next race winning the top two spots in the 200y Free. The Huskies brought momentum back in the fifth event, taking the top three spots in the 100y Back, led by captain Kayla Mendonca. The Pirates bounced back in the sixth event, narrowly besting the Huskies in the 100y Breast by less than a tenth of a second. A similar pattern continued as each team showed their strengths, due in part to several weeks of both training and rest.
On the diving side, Seton Hall’s Silvia Alessio took the top spot in both the 1 mtr and 3 mtr events, closely followed by Huskies, taking the next five places in each. As a team effort, the Huskies showed their depth with contributions from newcomers and veterans alike.
Later in the meet, Niamh took another distance win, this time in the 500y Free. More Huskies would follow suit in the next race, taking the top three spots in the 100y Fly led by Ella Epes and the 200y IM. The Pirates would not be denied one final victory in the 400y Free Relay, edging out the Huskies by about three seconds. The late rally was not enough; however, and the Huskies took home a win marked by resilience and well-rounded effort. Of the day’s performance, Coach Chris Maiello said, “Today was a good win for the team against a much improved opponent. At times the results were not pretty – but overall the team got the job done. It was great to start the meet with a relay win and the win in the 1k by Niamh. She had a great night and was certainly one of our leaders tonight. The team showed strong grit this afternoon after two weeks of hard winter training on campus. Credit to them for putting their aching tired bodies to the test tonight.”
With Saturday’s win, the Huskies improve to 6-2 overall.
Up Next – The Huskies travel to Durham, NH to take on UNH next Saturday.
Courtesy: Seton Hall Athletics
South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall women’s swimming and diving team dropped its first meet of the spring semester on Saturday to UConn, 167-132. Despite the defeat, the Pirates swam a strong meet and earned wins in seven events on the afternoon.
Silvia Alessio (Trieste, Italy) once again posted a pair of winning efforts in the diving portion of the meet. The graduate student kicked off the meet with a win in the 3-meter with a total score of 304.57. Later on, Alessio grabbed the win in the 1-meter with 301.50 points.
Natalie Heim (Middletown, N.J.) also picked up two individual victories on the afternoon for the Pirates. Her first triumph came in the 200 Free, touching the wall in a time of 1:52.74 as she and Amanda Zajdzinski (Mesa, Ariz.) claimed the top two spots. Heim also nabbed a win in the 100 Free with a time of 52.50. Her final win of the day came in the 400 Free Relay, which saw her swim an anchor leg split of 51.98 to help win the race in a time of 3:31.49.
Lea Moeller (New Lenox, Ill.), who swam the second leg of the winning 400 Free Relay, picked up a win of her own in a freestyle event earlier on in the meet. Moeller swam the fastest in the 50 Free, clocking in a time of 24.29. Yosun Hacifazioglu (Istanbul, Turkey) also picked up a victory on the day for Seton Hall, claiming the top spot in the with a time of 1:07.93.
The Pirates return to the pool next Saturday when they will celebrate Senior Day ahead of their home dual meet against Delaware at 12 p.m.
