PROVIDENCE, R.I.. – The first road trip of 2022 proved to be successful for Villanova, leaving Providence with a 110-95 win on Saturday afternoon at the Taylor Natatorium.
Villanova (3-2) grabbed four one-two finishes in the victory over Providence (0-5), giving it its second straight dual win of the season.
Jake McIntyre (Essex, Vt.) and
Reid Hutcherson (Richmond, Va.) led the squad with two winning swims each. McIntyre won the 800-meter Free (8:38.27) and 400-meter Free (4:08.28) while Hutcherson won the 200-meter Free (1:54.55) and was a part of the winning 400-meter Free relay. Hutcherson did not see a finish outside of the top-two on the day, also finishing second in the 100-meter Free (52.87).
The only Wildcat team in the 200-meter relay, the unit of
Ethan Brown (West Hartford, Conn.),
Henry Halloran (Brookhaven, Ga.),
Kevin Geist (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) and
Patrick Hemingway (Harrisburg, Pa.) finished second with a time of 1:45.82 to open the day.
McIntyre and
Charlie Hinckley (New York, N.Y.) provided the first one-two finish for the 'Cats in the 800-meter Free. Hinckley was just over a second behind the winning McIntyre, touching the wall in 8:39.41.
Hemingway was the fastest Wildcat in the 50-meter Free, claiming second-place with a 24.11 finish. In the 400-meter IM, Villanova had three of the four fastest times. Halloran finished second with a 4:37.22. He was followed by
Richard Nolan (Wilton, Conn.) and Brown in third and fourth, respectively, logging times of 4:43.96 and 4:44.76.
Geist and
Ryan Maher (Phoenixville, Pa.) took second and third in the 200-meter Fly, touching the wall in 2:08.79 and 2:11.54, respectively.
Villanova took the next races in one-two fashion. Brown and
Carson Brockette (Dallas, Texas) locked up the top two spots in the 200-meter back at 2:06.29 and 2:08.55. The 400-free belonged to McIntyre and Hinckley at 2:23.42 and 2:24.87. In the 200-meter Breast, Nolan had the fastest time at 2:23.42 followed by Henry at 2:24.87.
The final event of the day saw the Villanova group of Hutcherson, Maher, Hinckley and Hemingway win the 400-meter Free Relay with a time of 3:29.46. The finish solidified top-two days for Hutcherson, Hinckley and Hemingway, not finishing lower than second-place in any of their three events.
The Wildcats stay on their road swing with a trip to Pittsburgh on Thursday, Jan. 20. The dual with the Panthers starts at 2 p.m. with diving followed by swimming at 4 p.m.
