MORGANTOWN, W.V. – Villanova men's swimming and diving had 15 competitors with at least one top-five performance but fell 198-92 to West Virginia at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park on Saturday.
Of those 15 Wildcats, 12 recorded at least one top-three showing between individual and relay events for Villanova (3-4).
Ethan Brown (West Hartford, Conn.) recorded the lone win for the team on Saturday in the 200 Back (1:51.96). He edged out the closest West Virginia (1-1) swimmer by one-tenth of a second. The win is his fifth top-five showing in the event this season. Of those finishes, two have been in the top-two. He also won the 200-meter Back at Providence on Jan. 15.
In diving, both
Nicholas Jubilee (Painted Post, N.Y.) and
Michael Ackert (Rye. N.Y.) recorded top-five scores in their dives. Jubilee was fifth in both the 1-meter (245.20) and 3-meter (233.30) while Ackert was fourth in the 1-meter (246.65) and third in the 3-meter (273.05).
Two relay teams picked up top-three times for the 'Cats.
Jesse Marsh (Kingston, Jamaica),
Ryan Maher (Phoenixville, Pa.),
Reid Hutcherson (Richmond, Va.) and
Patrick Hemingway (Harrisburg, Pa.) finished second in the 400 Free Relay (3:10.13).
Charlie Hinckley (New York, N.Y.),
Henry Halloran (Brookhaven, Ga.), Marsh and Hemingway landed third in the 200 Medley Relay (1:34.22).
Jake McIntyre (Essex, Vt.) went head-to-head in the 1650 Free with WVU's William Mullen, finishing second (16:16.58). Hutcherson and Hinckley went 4-5 in the 200 Free, respectively, with times of 1:44.47 and 1:45.10.
Brown was the second-fastest swimmer in the 100 Back (51.94), sitting just under two seconds out of the lead.
Aubrey Bowles (Richmond, Va.) and
Carson Brockette (Dallas, Texas) were fourth (52.94) and fifth (53.06), respectively. Halloran touched fourth in the 100 Breast (59.84).
Nolan Danus (Morris Plains, N.J.) picked up a second-place showing in the 200 Fly (1:53.86) with
Kevin Geist (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) behind him in fourth (1:57.68). Hemingway was the lone Wildcat in the top-five of the 50 Free, finishing third with a 21.44 time that had him three-tenths of a second out of first. He also finished fourth in the 100 Free (46.94).
Villanova had three of the top-five finishers in the 200 Back, led by Brown's winning performance. Bowles took third (1:52.70) with Brockette tagging fifth (1:55.16). The same was said in the 200 Breast, with the 'Cats going 2-3-4 in a race where just 57-hundredths of a second separated first and fifth. Danus took second (2:09.55) followed by
Richard Nolan (Wilton, Conn.) in third (2:09.72) and Halloran in fourth (2:09.84).
Hinckley and McIntyre were top-three swimmers in the 500 Free, finishing in second (4:43.08) and third (4:45.32), respectively. The 100 Fly brought a close finish with Geist in fourth (51.25) and Marsh in fifth (51.30). Danus finished third in the 200 IM (1:54.64) with Brown following him in fourth (1:56.86).
Villanova stays on the road this week, heading to Penn State on Friday, Jan. 28. That meet is set to begin at 5 p.m. from the McCoy Natatorium.
