INDIANAPOLIS – Villanova picked up a trio of medals on Wednesday at the BIG EAST Championships to finish out the first day of action at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis. Both women's relays finished in the top two while the men earned bronze to close the night in the 800 Free Relay.
The women sit third with 171 through the first day while the men are fourth with 60 points.
The Blue and White won the women's 800 Free Relay for the 11
th consecutive year thanks to
Molly Benson,
Mary Kate Farrell,
Marlene Blanke and
Lauryn Johnson posting a 7:15.39 time. Benson provided a massive start for the crew with a 1:46.82 opening split that not only set a new personal best for the senior but makes her the third fastest 200 Free performer in program history with the fourth fastest time. Her lead-off showing was nearly three seconds faster than the rest of the field with the next closest opener being Xavier's Kali Fischer at 1:49.77. The Wildcats' time marks the eighth fastest in team history.
Villanova's first medal of the weekend came from the 200 Medley Relay squad of
Audrey Pastorek,
Margaret Kleinsmith,
Arabella Lee and
Lainey Quinones. The group earned silver with a 1:40.60 mark that sits as the seventh-fastest time in program history. They were edged out by Xavier who turned in a 1:39.95 time, marking the time Villanova finished outside of the top of the podium in a relay since 2021.
Charlie Hinckley,
Justin Nowicki,
Gavin Jones and
Sam Randall had a big result in the 800 Free Relay, earning bronze with a 6:36.84 time that is now the fourth-best in team history. They were just over a second out of second where Georgetown finished in 6:35.76. Hinckley's opening split of 1:39.01 gives him three of the program's top-10 fastest 200 Free times, this one tying him for eighth.
In the men's 200 Medley Relay, Villanova turned in a fifth-place time of 1:30.40 from Hinckley,
Henry Halloran,
Henry Gingrich and
Patrick Hemingway. The anchor spot came up big for Villanova with Hemingway posting a strong 19.76 time, the fastest split among the 'Cats relay group.
Diving action got underway with the women's 1-meter.
Michelle Kasulka earned a spot in the championship final with a 252.15 prelim score before going 242.20 in the finals to finish eighth.
Alexa Fegley was second in the consolation final at 247.45, landing her 10
th overall.
The first full day of action comes on Thursday starting with swimming prelims at 10 a.m. for the 500 Freem 200 IM and 50 Free with men's 3-meter diving prelims at 3:15 p.m. Finals are set to begin at 5:45 p.m. with the 200 Free Relay closing out the evening.
All of the action including prelims, finals and awards will air live on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports Presented by Invesco QQQ which can be found at
this link. Fans can also follow the team on
X, formerly known as Twitter, and
Instagram feeds at @novaswimdive for all of the latest up-to-the-minute updates throughout the week.
