Courtesy: UVM Athletics
SWIMMING AND DIVING NOTEBOOK
The Vermont women’s swimming and diving team (5-3, 3-1 AE) will return to action for the first time in a month when they head to Loudonville, New York to take on Siena (5-3, 1-0 MAAC) on Sunday, January 15. The meet will be held at the Siena Swim Center. The start time for Sunday’s meet is scheduled for 12 p.m. and will be broadcast for free live on Siena All-Access.
WATCH LIVE
Siena All-Access
MEET OUTLOOK
The meet will start at noon ET with both teams competing in a 16 event format. The teams will go head-to-head in two relays: the 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay. They will also compete in the 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 freestyle, the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 100 and 200 butterfly, the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and the 400 IM. Along with the swimming portion the two teams will also participate in the one-meter and three-meter dive.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 20th meet all time between the two programs with Vermont holding a 17-2 advantage in the series. The Catamounts are currently on a 15 meet win streak having won each matchup since October 29, 2005. Vermont is 10-0 at Forbush Natatorium and are 7-2 at the Siena Swim Center. The first time these two teams met was on January 26, 2002, where Vermont took a 166-128 victory at Forbush Natatorium. The last time the Saints defeated Vermont was in Loudonville on October 30, 2004, where Siena defeated the Catamounts 58-54. Last season Vermont defeated Siena at Forbush Natatorium 177-117 on January 16, 2022. In that meet Ella Church and Hally Laney each won two individual events, the Catamounts took home the 200 medley relay and Emily Rocco, Sophia Sinibaldi and Jenny O’Neil all picked up their first career wins.
AMERICA EAST COMPETITION
Vermont is 3-1 in America East meets this season having defeated UMBC, Maine and Binghamton with their only loss coming on the road against New Hampshire. The Catamounts have been dominant this year with multiple swimmers setting pool records and numerous top finishing times in the America East. First year Natalie Schlemmer currently holds the sixth fastest time in the conference in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.38. Schlemmer also holds the America East’s fastest time in the 200 breaststroke with a finishing time of 2:17.09. She also holds the fastest time in the 400 IM finishing in a time of 4:24.26. Jackie House holds the third fastest time in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.88 at the URI Invitational while Mina Poppas has the fifth fastest time also at the URI Invitational finishing in a time of 51.98. Poppas also holds the fastest time in the 200 free in the America East with a time of 1:50.72 while House is third at 1:51.37 and sophomore Ella Church is fourth with a finishing time of 1:51.82. The Catamounts hold the top three spots for the best times in the 500 free with Poppas registering 4:53.56 while House finished in 4:54.45 and Church rounded out the top three at 4:57.60, with all those times coming at the URI Invitational. Church also boasts the fourth fastest 1000 free time finishing in 10:24.19 at the URI Invitational. Hally Laney is second in the 100 butterfly (just .01 behind first) with a finishing time of 55.74 at the Rhode Island Invitational. Laney also set the conference’s fastest time in the 200 butterfly at the URI Invitational finishing in a time of 2:03.54. UVM as a team have the third fastest 200 free relay, second fastest 400 free relay and the fastest 800 free relay times in the conference.
WHAT’S NEXT
Following the Catamounts first meet of 2023 at Siena they will return home to Forbush Natatorium when they take on Rhode Island. That meet will be the Catamounts last home meet of the season and their Senior Day Presented by the Alumni Association.
HOMECOMING
Vermont’s final meet of the season at Forbush Natatorium will come on Saturday, January 21 against Rhode Island. The meet will be the Catamounts Senior Day Presented by The Alumni Association. The meet is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. ET and will be streamed live on AmericaEast.TV. The Senior Day recognition will take place prior to the start of the meet with the ceremony beginning at 10:20 a.m. ET.
