RICHMOND VS. VILLANOVA
SCORES
PRESS RELEASE – VILLANOVA
RICHMOND, Va.— Women’s Swimming & Diving traveled to Richmond, Va. Friday afternoon to compete against Richmond. The Wildcats defeated the Spiders, 165-123.
“Our women did a real nice job today with a very tough and well coached Richmond team. Each year at this time, the Richmond athletes start having some nice break-through swims as they get closer to their conference championships. Our women knew this would be the challenge and they did a great job stepping up,” Wildcats Head Coach Rick Simpson said.
Alexa Fabbri continued to show strength as she earned three wins Friday afternoon. Her first win came in the 200 freestyle followed by the 50 free (23.59) and 100 free (51.47). Caitlin Daday won the 1,000 free (10:17.52) and 500 free (4:59.85). Mackenzie Niness also captured two wins in the 100 butterfly (58.20) and 200 butterfly (2:06.43). Heather Farley finished first in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:05.65.
The relay teams remained strong Friday afternoon. The 200 medley team consisting of Darby Goodwin, Heather Farley, Micaela Grassi, and Taylor Wilscon placed first (1:45.58). Fabbri, Samantha Cheruk, Milly Routledge, and Wilson won the 200 freestyle relay (1:36.95).
Bridie Dunn placed second in the 1-meter and met the NCAA Diving standard with a score 267.55. Katie Walker placed fourth (255.97) in the 1-meter dive. In the 3-meter dive, Dunn placed third (271.35) and Walker finished fourth (258.37).
Up next for the squad is a trip to Morgantown, W.V. on Saturday Jan. 27 where they will meet West Virginia and Iowa State. The men’s team will also compete against West Virginia. Action is set to begin at 11 a.m.
PRESS RELEASE – RICHMOND
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The Spider Swim & Dive program had a strong showing against Big Ten foe, Villanova on Friday afternoon at the Robins Center. Sophomore divers Sydney Weiskopf and Maddy Chaohighlighted the meet, hitting NCAA Zone Qualifying marks.
Weiskopf won the 3-meter event with a career-best score of 282.67. Chao won the 1-meter at 271.41, also her career-best.
Sophomore Hannah Gouger won the 100 back (55.75) while senior Hannah Verrette took third (57.57). Verrette was the first to touch the wall for Richmond in the 200 back (2:03.83) with freshman Ellie Ronan right behind her at 2:08.45.
Senior Erin Barry won the 200 breast stroke in a time of 2:23.06, just out touching Villanova‘s Heather Farley. Sophomore Lexie Gilbert registered a top-five finish in the event at 2:28.98. Junior Nicole Piercy won the 400 IM (4:28.98) out touching Villanova‘s Elise Pidutti by two-seconds. Gilbert notched a third-place finish in the 400 IM at 4:32.04. Piercy also finished third in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:27.41.
Sophomore Virginia Marsh logged a second place finish in the 200 free in a time of 1:51.50. Freshmen Ronan (1:58.17) and Mallory Shake (1:59.89) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the event. Marsh also took second in the 50 free touching at 23.97 and the 100 free (51.71).
Along with Weiskopf’s performance on the 3-meter, freshman Alex Beran took second (271.43) and Chao rounded out the top-five (257.17). Senior Laura Rokopfinished in the top-three in the 1-meter at 261.52.
In the 100 breast stroke, senior Annie Lane paced the Spiders for a second place finish touching the wall at 1:06.27, while classmates Barry and Emily Landonfinished at 1:07.65 and 1:11.63, respectively.
Lane also recorded a top-three finish in the 500 free at 5:04.02 with junior Lauren Wallace coming in at 5:12.89. Junior Morgan Soulia notched a second place finish in the 200 fly (2:08.92) with Gilbert placing in the top-five at 2:09.28. In the 100 fly, the Spiders placed three in the top-five with Gouger (58.99), Soulia (1:00.41) and Ronan (1:01.41).
The Spiders return to action tomorrow as they host Campbell University at 11 a.m. Prior to the meet, the team will recognize its seniors.
