UConn vs Seton Hall (W)
- Saturday, January 15, 2022
- South Orange, NJ.
- Results
Courtesy: UConn Athletics
South Orange, NJ. – The University of Connecticut women’s swimming and diving team ended the weekend undefeated with a victory over Big East foe Seton Hall by a final score of 167-128.
UConn entered Saturday’s meet verse Seton Hall looking to build off momentum established the day before in the victory over the University of Rhode Island. The Huskies set the tone for the meet instantly by placing first and second in the 200-yard medley relay. The relay team of sophomore Kayla Medonca, senior Katelyn Walsh, senior Linnea Anderson, and freshman Maggie Donlevy took home first place with a time of 1:48.13. The success didn’t stop there as sophomore Niamh Hofland took home first place in the 1000-yard freestyle.
“We are really pleased with how our team has come out of our training camp, picking up two wins over the weekend is a great start to our 2022 and we are looking forward to our next opportunity next week,” said head coach Chris Maiello.
The Huskies took home first place in 10 of the 16 events on Saturday, which included a sweep of the 1 meter and 3-meter diving by sophomore Ana Laura Faoro, freshman Julia Pioso, and Marina Wilkins.
“It was a grind no doubt, racing on the road in diverse venues is certainly a challenge and our team responded well. From top to bottom, every athlete contributed to these two wins. Today in particular was a complete team win, including our divers which swept both boards. Road wins are good, Big East Road wins are even better. We are excited for what the future holds for our team over the next six weeks,” said Maiello.
With the win over Seton Hall the Huskies move to 6-2 overall and 2-1 overall in Big East competition. The Huskies would finish the weekend having placed first in 24 of 32 events.
Up Next
UConn will return home and begin preparing for a matchup in Durham New Hampshire vs. the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. The meet is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday January 22.
Courtesy: Seton Hall Athletics
South Orange, N.J. – Back in the pool for the first time since November, the Pirates competed against the Connecticut Huskies at Arthur E. Imperatore Natatorium on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies took the meet by a score of 167-128.
The Pirates had strong showings across the board, highlighted by individual victories from Natalie Heim (Middletown, N.J.), Cornelia Jerresand (Taeby, Sweden), Amanda Zajdzinski (Mesa, Ariz.) and Madeline Field (Wheaton, Ill.).
In the third event of the afternoon, the Pirates went two-three-four in the longest event, the 1000 Free. Zajdzinksi took second in a time of 10:29.64, Allie Waggoner (Moorestown, N.J.) placed third in 10:42.11 while Madeleine Bachand (Raleigh, N.C.) rounded out the trio with a time of 10:50.02.
Continuing her strong sophomore campaign, Heim paced the pool in the 200 Free. Heim was the first to touch the wall in the event with a time of 1:54.57. Fellow sophomores, Meredith Mutter (Pottstown, Pa.) and Nicole Bastian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) would take third and fourth in the 100 Breaststroke with times of 1:08.40 and 1:08.80, respectively.
The Hall would place two more swimmers in the top-three, this time doing so in the 200 Fly. Sierra Cripps (Seymour, Conn.) placed second with a time of 2:09.85 while Claire O’Neill (Mount Joy, Pa.) finished third in a time of 2:10.20. Wrapping up the first half of the day strong was Jerresand in the 50 Free. Last year’s 50 Free conference champion paced the pool in a time of 24.20 while Leiya Istambouli (Danbury, Conn.) took third with a time of 24.94.
After a brief break for diving, the Pirates picked up right where they left off with a strong showing in the 100 Free. Heim took first in the event with a time of 53.11 while Istambouli again placed third, this time with a time of 53.86. The sophomore, Field, picked up a second-place finish in the 200 Back with a time of 2:07.48
Building upon her strong swim in the 1000 Free, Zajdzinksi led the field in the 500 Free. The sophomore led all swimmers with a time of 5:06.52 while Waggoner earned another third-place finish with a time of 5:09.57.
On the boards Laura Stavila (Oakland, Calif.) earned scores of 221.77 in the 1M dive and 207.60 in the 3M dive. Nicolette Pawar (Lawrenceville, N.J.) accumulated totals of 196.95 in the 1M dive and 177.82 in the 3M dive.
Taking first in the 200 IM was Field, doing so in a time of 2:10.84. The Hall would close the day strong with a first-place finish in the 400 Free Relay as the team of Heim, Istambouli, Josie McCartney (Verona, Wisc.) and Jerresand would combine to touch the wall first in a time of 3:32.85.
The Pirates will be back in the pool next Saturday when the host UMBC at 1:30 p.m. The meet will also serve as Senior Day for the Pirates.
