Villanova vs. Duquesne vs. West Virginia
- January 25, 2025
- Mylan Park Aquatic Center — Morgantown, WV
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Full Results
Villanova swept the women’s tri-meet, beating Duquesne 184.5-115.5 and West Virginia 160-40. The West Virginia women beat Duquesne, and the Mountaineers triumphed in their dual against the ‘Cats, which marked the team’s first dual meet victories under first-year head coach Brent MacDonald.
Men’s Recap
MacDonald and the Mountaineer men decisively won the team’s first dual meet of the season, winning all but one event against Villanova. Not only did the Mountaineers win 15 events, but they earned at least the top two spots in 13 of those wins. They took the top four spots in five events: the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 50 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and 200 IM.
The West Virginia seniors showed out during the final home meet of their careers. Connor McBeth swept the sprint freestyle events, clocking 20.23 to win the 50 freestyle and 44.59 to win the 100 free. Justin Heims was another double-event winner for the home team. He swept the backstrokes, clocking 48.08 in the 100 back and leading West Virginia’s top-four sweep of the meet. Later, he completed the sweep by swimming 1:48.53 in the 200 back. Jake Young led the 100 breaststroke with a 54.82.
Will Mullen got the ball rolling for West Virginia by taking first in the 1650 freestyle (15:39.38). The other event winners for the Mountaineers included Adam McDonald (200 breast, 2:00.34), Ian Mckinney (500 free, 4:32.91), 100 butterfly (Braden Osborn, 48.71), and Joey Stebbins (200 IM, 1:49.84).
Sophomore Justin Nowicki earned Villanova’s lone event win on the day. He won the 200 butterfly, pulling away from the field with a 1:49.31 and winning by 2.32 seconds. The team also disrupted West Virginia’s stranglehold on the podium in the 1650 freestyle and 200 freestyle. They went 2-3 in both events, with Patrick Casey (15:53.96) and Owen Nye (15:56.35) taking the silver and bronze in the 1650 freestyle. Casey’s swim was a new lifetime best. Later, Gavin Peck and Gavin Jones took second and third in the 200 freestyle, swimming 1:40.81 and 1:41.51 to finish behind West Virginia’s Nick Lugo (1:38.36).
West Virginia’s dominance extended to the relays. The Mountaineers went 1-2 in the 200 medley relay, with Heims, Young, Osborne, and McBeth winning in 1:28.36. Then, the team swept the podium in the 400 free relay. McBeth, Roanoke Shirk, Osborn, and Max Nielsen touched first in the 400 free relay (2:59.74).
Women’s Recap
Villanova took control of the women’s meet, winning two out of the first three events. The Villanova squad of Alana Leen, Winnie Jalet, Anna Farley, and Lainey Quinones edged out Duquesne to win the 200 medley relay by three-hundredths with a 1:42.95. Then, sophomore transfer Riley Kudlac won the 200 freestyle in a lifetime best 1:49.26, breaking 1:50 for the second time in her career.
Later, Kudlac also won the 50 freestyle. She clocked 23.48 to win, stopping the clock two-hundredths ahead of teammate Lexi Elkovitch and Duquesne’s Kaitlyn Connors’ tie for second place. Anna Farley led a 1-2 finish for the ‘Cats in the 100 butterfly, swimming 54.14. Meghan Tiernan rounded out the team’s individual event wins with a 2:02.87 in the 200 IM. The team picked up a second relay victory in the 400 freestyle relay as Martina Lonati, Kudlac, Quinones, and Elkovitch sealed the sweep with a 3:24.67.
Haley Scholer led Duquesne’s effort. She swept the backstroke events, clocking 54.77 to win the 100 back ahead of a West Virginia 2-3-4 finish. Later, her 1:59.18 won the 200 backstroke, with teammate Sierra Snow touching second in 2:00.30. Sydney Severini made it back-to-back event wins for the team, winning the 200 breaststroke in 2:16.56.
West Virginia couldn’t keep up with Villanova, but against Duquesne, they were able to use depth to grab a win. The team also earned six event wins, highlighted by sophomore Maddie Smutny winning the 200 fly (1:59.34) and 500 freestyle (4:52.71). The distance events were a strength for the Mountaineers at the meet; Olivia Busch won the 1650 freestyle to kick off the day (16:50.08). Sofia Deste also grabbed the win in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.40), edging ahead of Villanova’s Winnie Jalet by .32 seconds.
The Mountaineers won both diving events. Abigail Sullivan earned top marks on the 3-meter, while Amari Brown Swint won a contentious 1-meter competition by .6 points. Swint scored 254.5 points, finishing just ahead of Duquesne’s Ashley Felitsky (253.85) and her teammate Sara Krusinski (253.10).
