RICHMOND, Va. – The calendar year started on a high note for Villanova as the women's swimming and diving team defeated Richmond 161-139 on Friday afternoon at the Robins Center Natatorium.
This is the eighth consecutive victory for Villanova (2-3) in the series with Richmond (2-5). The Wildcats racked up 10 wins throughout the afternoon with four coming in sweeping fashion for
Claire Feick and
Audrey Pastorek. Feick set the tone for the crew in the diving portion to start the meet, winning the 1 meter (264.68) and 3 meter (252.60). Pastorek was victorious in the 100 Back (56.73) and 200 Back (2:01.93), marking her third sweep in the Backstroke this season.
Kaitlin Gravell also earned a pair of winning swims, touching first in the 1000 Free (10:16.13) and the 400 IM (4:22.06). Her 400 IM win brought a top-two showing for the 'Cats with Pastorek touching second in 4:32.36.
Maggie Kleinsmith and
Winnie Jalet posted 1-2 finishes in both the 100 and 200 Breast. Kleinsmith won the 100 Breast in 1:04.21 while Jalet was second in 1:05.53. The 200 Breast saw Jalet come out on top, edging Kleinsmith by just five-hundredths of a second with times of 2:21.05 and 2:21.10, respectively.
Katie White had a strong showing in the 200 Fly, distancing herself from the rest of the field by six seconds with a winning time of 2:02.19. The freshman has won the 200 Fly four times now this season.
Mary Kate Farrell won the 500 Free with a 5:07.09 showing.
Brenna McLaughlin finished just behind Gravell in the 1000 Free, posting a 10:36.15 that was good enough for second place. One second separated all three of the Wildcats in the 200 Free.
Lexi Elkovitch took second (1:54.84) with
Molly Benson and Farrell following closely in third (1:55.75) and fourth (1:55.84).
Perri Stahl grabbed a third-place finish in the 50 Free, touching in 24.06. Elkovitch posted another second-place showing with a 53.00 time in the 100 Free. White was 15-hundredths of a second shy of the lead in the 100 Fly, finishing second in 56.45.
Caroline Blankenbecler finished fourth (205.58) in the 1 meter while
Mimi Danzis was fifth (198.38). The pair switched spots in the 3 meter with Danzis finishing in fourth (206.63) and Blankenbecler in fifth (203.70), respectively.
Villanova's A teams in the relays brought in a pair of second-place finishes. Pastorek, Jalet,
Lainey Quinones and Stahl teamed up for a 1:46.51 finish in the 200 Medley Relay. In the 200 Free Relay, Elkovitch, Quinones,
Cara Stapleton and Stahl finished in 1:37.19.
Villanova is back in action on January 21 when it visits Rutgers. That meet at the Rutgers Aquatic Center is set to begin at noon.
