Vermont vs Rhode Island (Women)
- January 20, 2024
- Kingston, R.I.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: UVM Athletics
KINGSTON, RI – Vermont earned a dominant 172.5-126.5 road victory at Tootell Aquatic Center over Rhode Island in their 2023-24 regular season finale on Saturday. With the victory the Catamounts end the regular season at 7-4 (1-1 AE) matching last season’s win total as the most wins since the 2014-15 season With the defeat the Rams fall to 3-5 (0-1 A-10) on the season.
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Results
COACH’S QUOTE
“I am really pleased with how our team performed today,” said Head Coach Gerry Cournoyer. “I thought we stepped up today in a big way.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Vermont began their day with a first place finish in the 400 medley relay with the combination of Alexis Torykian, Lilly Acker, Jessica Drozdowski and Havana Layton finished first in a time of 3:57.92.
- The Catamounts continued their strong start with a 1-2-3 finish in the 1000 free. Ella Church placed first in a time of 10:29.50 followed by Emily Rocco in second with a time of 10:39.88. Ellie Martin rounded out the top three with a time of 10:47.09.
- In the 200 free Jackie House claimed another first place finish on the season completing the 200 free in 1:53.87, almost a full second ahead of the next closest swimmer.
- First year Julianna Salvador claimed first placed in the 100 back to help Vermont cap their second 1-2-3 finish of the day. Emma Wainwright (1:00.11) and Autumn Bullinger (1:00.18) rounded out the top three.
- Vermont continued their dominance with their third 1-2-3 finish of the day in the 50 free. Zoe Webster earned her first victory of the season finishing first in a time of 24.79 while Layton (24.86) and Ellie Fazio (24.94) finished second and third, respectively.
- House earned her second victory of the day in the 100 free finishing in a time of 52.84.
- Wainwirght earned her first victory of the afternoon in the 200 back with a time of 2:07.94.
- House finished her dominant Saturday with a third first place finish coming in the 500 free in a time of 5:03.57. She finished almost a full four seconds ahead of the next closest swimmer, who was Church (5:07.39) to help Vermont claim another 1-2 finish.
- In the one-meter dive Chloe Smith earned a personal record with a score of 238.65, while Reeve Ferlic also earned a personal best with a score of 221.70.
- In the three-meter dive Vermont earned three personal bests with Nanna Atake placing sixth with a score of 243.68. Smith (228.75) and Ferlic (216.90) each earned personal records as well.
- In the 200 IM Hally Laney earned a first place finish with a time of 2:09.70.
- To complete their dominant meet the Catamounts earned a first place victory in the 200 free relay to seal a 172.5-126.5 victory. The combination of House, Webster, Layton, Szukala finished first in a time of 1:38.16.
UP NEXT
Following today’s season finale with Rhode Island, the Catamounts will prepare for the America East Championships in Lexington, VA. Vermont will look to improve on their third place finish last year in the America East Championship after winning a record number of individual events. It was also the first time in program history that Vermont received Rookie of the Meet and Swimmer of the Meet in the same year. Natalie Schlemmer earned Most Outstanding Rookie and Jackie House received Most Outstanding Swimmer. The 2024 America East Championships will begin on Wednesday, February 14 with an all-day schedule that will continue through Saturday, February 17.
Courtesy: URI Athletics
Team Scores
Vermont 172.5
Rhode Island 124.5
How It Happened
Junior Hannah Benavides and sophomore Lily Hsu each won a pair of events, but Rhode Island was unable to keep up with Vermont, falling to the Catamounts 172.5 to 126.5 Saturday.
Vermont won each of the first four events, building a 36-point lead in the team standings in the process. Benavides won the 100-yard breaststroke to give the Rams their first victory of the day. Freshman Julianna Tyler followed that by winning the 200-yard butterfly as Rhody cut the deficit to 21 points at 66.5-45.5.
However, that was as close as URI would get. Vermont won seven of the final 10 events to steadily pull away.
Standouts from the Pool
- Junior Hannah Benavides won both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events.
- She has five wins in the 100 and six in the 200 on the season.
- Benavides also was part of the 400-yard medley relay team that finished second, giving her a team-high 22 team points on the day.
- Sophomore Lily Hsu swept the diving events. It is the third time this season she has won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
- Rhode Island outscored Vermont 32-6 in the two diving events.
- Freshman Julianna Tyler won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:05.08, beating Vermont’s Haily Laney by .52 seconds.
- Tyler also was second in the 200 Individual Medley and part of the second-place 400 Medley Relay team, contributing 17 team points.
- Sophomore Rylee Kelly was second in the 100 Freestyle and 200 Freestyle. She also placed third in the 500 Freestyle and was part of the second-place team in the 200 Freestyle relay.
What’s Next
Rhode Island closes out its regular season against Central Connecticut State in the Tootell Aquatic Center on Saturday, Jan. 27. The Senior Day meet begins at 2 p.m.
