EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- On the third day of the 2020 BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships presented by Jeep, Villanova's women's team began pulling away from the rest of the field thanks to five gold medal finishes.

With 610 points, the Wildcats hold the lead by a wide margin over the competition. Georgetown is in second with 549 points, while Xavier has 436. Seton Hall, Butler and Providence round out the field.

On the men's side, Villanova sits in fourth place with 412.5 points, behind Xavier (514.5), Seton Hall (456) and Georgetown (445). Providence is in fifth with 186 points.

Kelly Montesi kicked the night off with a first-place finish in the Women's 400 IM. She swam the event in 4:18.19, while teammate Kaitlin Gravell went 4:21.39 for second place. Emily Provenzo took eighth with a time of 4:27.57.

Justin Cucchi took first for the men in the 400 IM, swimming 3:50.91 to break the Villanova record by more than two seconds. Francis Prikasky went 3:59.95 to take eighth.

Micaela Grassi touched first in the Women's 100 butterfly, swimming 54.87 in the event. Tarryn Els came in sixth place with a time of 56.14. Nick Fiddler and Stephen Krecsmar came in fifth and seventh respectively on the men's side.

In the 200 freestyle, Milly Routledge took first by over two seconds, going 1:47.05 in the event. Gracie Wielar took seventh but claimed fourth in the 100 backstroke.  For the men, Reid Hutcherson tied for sixth in th 200 freestyle, swimming 1:40.56. Andrew Kelley went 48.59 in the 100 back, taking second. 

Villanova swept the 100 breaststroke on the women's side. Maggie Kleinsmith touched first, barely edging out Rayann Jaryszak. Perri Stahl rounded out the top three. Bridie Dunn scored 527.20 points in the Women's 3 mtr dive, taking home the silver in that event.

The Wildcats closed out the night by taking first in the Women's 400 medley relay and fourth in the Men's 400 medley relay.