WASHINGTON – In its first dual of the year that saw the men and women competing, Villanova Swimming and Diving split its day with Georgetown at the McCarthy Pool in Washington, D.C. The women logged a 156-144 victory while the men suffered a 206-92 loss to open its season.
 
The women's team logged seven event wins to propel itself to a 12-point victory. The men had four victories on the day.
 
Audrey Pastorek had another dominant outing, winning all three of her individual events. The senior started the day off taking the top spot in the 100 backstroke in 57.42. Besting the field by five seconds in the 200 backstroke, the Savanah, Ga. native tapped the wall first in 2:02.58 while teammate Hannah Wasmuth finished second in 2:07.19. Despite winning her first two events by a sizeable margin, Pastorek fought to hold off Georgetown's Erin Hood in the 200 IM, clocking in at 2:06.00 to just beat Hood's 2:06.15. Pastorek joined forces with junior Lainey Quinones, sophomore Winnie Jalet and freshman Alyssa McHale to pick up important points in the 200 medley relay, swimming to a 1:44.91 time that landed the group second.
 
Freshman Martina Lonati had a solid day in the pool, winning the 100 freestyle (52.59) and 100 butterfly (56.47). Lonati also picked up a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:54.36). The Guglionesi, Italy native combined with McHale, Quinones and freshman Carlota Colomer in the 400 freestyle relay finishing second in 3:30.68.
 
Other notable performances came by way of sophomore Katie White and freshman Peri Gaguzis. White won the 200 butterfly in 2:03.83 just ahead of her teammate senior Lauryn Johnson who finished second in 2:05.79. In a tight race in the 1000 freestyle, Gaguzis finished second with a time of 10:26.38, just narrowly behind Georgetown's Kira Agne's 10:26.25.
 
On the platform, freshman Alexa Fegley led the way for the Wildcats scoring 235.73 to win the 1 meter event. Teammates in sophomore Caroline Blankenbecler (232.65) and freshman Meghan Scott (218.18) finished second and fourth, respectively. Blankenbecler (232.83) and fellow sophomore Mimi Danzis (226.85) finished second and third to add important points to the board.
 
On the men's side, senior Charlie Hinckley out-reached Georgetown's Jack Januario to win the 1000 freestyle in 9:41.27. Hinckley also won the 500 freestyle in 4:42.65, besting freshman teammate Justin Nowicki (4:46.74) by four seconds.
 
Junior Aubrey Bowles and freshman Josh Seidman secured the top two spots in the 200 backstroke clocking in at 1:53.71 and 1:54.19 respectively.
 
Other notable performances came by way of sophomore Gavin Jones and senior Nolan Danus. Jones recorded the fastest time of the competition in the 100 freestyle at 47.55 while Danus finished runner-up in the 200 IM, tapping the wall at 1:54.08.

Villanova will have a quick turnaround as the men's team hosts Rider for its home opener this Wednesday. The women are back in action on Nov. 4 when La Salle comes to town.