Villanova Univeristy Athletics

PERSONAL BESTS
50 Free	22.87	WVU Invitational (11.18.2021)
100 Free (relay)	50.42	BIG EAST Championships (4.10.2021)
100 Free (open)	52.05	High School
200 Free (relay)	1:46:53	BIG EAST Championships (2.23.2022)
200 Free (open)	1:49.45	High School
500 Free	4:55.03	High School
1000 Free	10:15.85	La Salle (11.26.2019)
50 Back	24.39	BIG EAST Championships (2.23.2022)
100 Back (relay)	53.23	BIG EAST Championships (2.25.2022)
100 Back (open)	52.45	NCAA Championships (3.18.2022)
200 Back	1:53.25	BIG EAST Championships (2.26.2022)
100 Breast	1:11.41	Georgetown (11.3.2018)
200 Breast	2:26.67	La Salle (1.16.2019)
50 Fly	25.46	La Salle (11.22.2021)
100 Fly	53.88	High School
200 Fly	1:58.60	BIG EAST Championships (2.23.2019)
100 IM	58.78	La Salle (11.22.2021)
200 IM	1:58.98	NCAA Championships (3.17.2022)
400 IM	4:10.22	Bruno Invitational (12.1.2018)

 

CAREER HONORS AND AWARDS
2021-22 (Senior)
Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer	BIG EAST Championships
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Individual Medley (1:59.94 prelim) (1:59.24 final)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Individual Medley (4:14.28 prelim) (4:11.84 final)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Backstroke (1:54.93 prelim) (1:53.25 final)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Freestyle Relay (3rd Leg) - 3:20.68 (49.62 split)
BIG EAST Champion	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg) - 7:14.72 (1:46.53 split)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Medley Relay (1st Leg) - 1:39.53 (24.39 split)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Medley Relay (1st Leg) - 3:40.16 (53.23 split)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Medley Relay
All-BIG EAST	800 Yard Freestyle Relay
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Medley Relay
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Backstroke
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Freestyle Relay
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	November 2
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	January 18
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	January 25
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	February 1
2020-21 (Junior)
Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer	BIG EAST Championships
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Butterfly (2:01.05 prelim) (1:58.94 final)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Individual Medley (2:02.03 prelim) (2:00.90 final)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Individual Medley (4:16.74 prelim) (4:11.98 final)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg) - 3:22.21 (50.42 split)
BIG EAST Champion	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (Anchor) - 7:19.35 (1:46.35 split)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Medley Relay (Butterfly Leg) - 1:41.74 (24.24 split)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Butterfly
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg)
All-BIG EAST	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (Anchor)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Medley Relay (Butterfly Leg)
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Medley Relay (Butterfly Leg)
2019-20 (Sophomore)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Backstroke (1:59.83 prelim) (1:58.00 final)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Individual Medley (2:02.67 prelim) (2:01.33 final)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Individual Medley (4:17.74 prelim) (4:18.19 final)
BIG EAST Champion (tie)	400 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg) - 3:21.62 (50.52 split)
BIG EAST Champion	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg) - 7:16.85 (1:48.54 split)
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Medley Relay (Backstroke Leg) - 1:40.44 (25.30 split)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Medley Relay (Backstroke Leg) - 3:43.29 (54.84 split)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Backstroke
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg)
All-BIG EAST	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (1st Leg)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Medley Relay (Backstroke Leg)
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Medley Relay (Backstroke Leg)
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	November 25
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	January 27
2018-19 (Freshman)
Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer	BIG EAST Championships
BIG EAST Champion	200 Yard Butterfly (2:01.09 prelim) (1:58.60 final)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Individual Medley (4:14.36 prelim) (4:10.25 final)
BIG EAST Champion	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (Anchor) - 7:10.63 (1:47.26 split)
BIG EAST Champion	400 Yard Medley Relay (Butterfly Leg) - 3:40.92 (53.55 split)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Butterfly
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Individual Medley
All-BIG EAST	800 Yard Freestyle Relay (Anchor)
All-BIG EAST	200 Yard Medley Relay (Butterfly Leg)
All-BIG EAST	400 Yard Medley Relay (Butterfly Leg)
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week	November 7
ACADEMIC HONORS
CSCAA Scholar All-American - Honorable Mention (2018-19), First Team (2021-22)
BIG EAST All-Academic Team (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22)
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team (2019-20, 2021-22)
Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022)
Office of Academic Support Student-Athlete of the Month (January 2020)

Villanova Career: Became the first Wildcat since 2013 to represent Villanova at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, competing in three events to wrap up her career in 2022 … Swam the fastest 100 back in BIG EAST history with a 52.45 at nationals … Has become one of the most accomplished athletes in BIG EAST history during her career … Three-time Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at the BIG EAST Championships … Reset the conference record in the 200 Back at the 2022 Championships with a winning time of 1:53.25 …  Closed her career as a 24-time BIG EAST champion and a 27-time all-conference honoree … Has won 11 individual BIG EAST gold medals, with four titles in the 400 IM to go along with three in the 200 IM and two each in the 200 fly and 200 back … Has been a 13-time BIG EAST champion on Villanova relay squads and has helped lead the Wildcats extend their run of consecutive BIG EAST team titles to nine in a row … Has excelled just as much in her academic pursuits as in the pool … As a freshman was an honorable mention CSCAA Scholar All-American … Four-time selection to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team and six-time member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll … Named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team as a sophomore and senior.
 
2021-22: Represented Villanova at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, competing in three events … Named the Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at the BIG EAST Championship for the third time in her career … Won seven titles in her final conference championship run, including individual crowns in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 Back … Part of four championship relay teams … Reset the BIG EAST record in the 200 Back with a winning time of 1:53.25 … Swam a 52.45 in the 100 Back at nationals, the fastest backstroke in BIG EAST history … Helped lead Villanova to ninth-straight BIG EAST title … Set multiple program records throughout the season, including the 100 Back (52.45), 200 Back (1:53.25), 200 IM (1:58.98) and was a part of the 200 Medley Relay team that posted a 1:39.53; NCAA Championships (3/17-19): Participated in three events … Set the program record in the 100 Back with a 52.45 that was good enough for 30^th in the field, also marking the fastest in the BIG EAST … Reset the program record in the 200 IM with a 1:58.98 time that landed her 55^th … Swam a program-best 1:53.25 in the prelims of the 200 Back, good enough for 39^th; BIG EAST Championships (2/23-26): Walked away from the conference meet with gold in all seven events she competed in … Won individual gold medals in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 Back … Swam on four championship relay teams, including the 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay and 400 Medley Relay … Tabbed the Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer and was an All-BIG EAST performer in all seven events … Set the BIG EAST record in the 200 Back with a winning time of 1:53.25 … Swam the opening-leg for both the 200 Medley Relay and 800 Free teams that won in 1:39.53 and 7:14.72, respectively … Won the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.24 and the 400 IM in 4:11.84 … Hit the lane first for the 400 Medley Relay squad that won in 3:40.16 and was the third leg in the 400 Free Relay that posted a winning 3:20.68; Penn State (1/28): Won the 200 IM in 2:02.85 … Also posted top-three showings in the 200 Back with a second-place 1:57.83 and the 50 Free with a third-place 23.47 … Swam the third leg for the “A” team in the 200 Medley Relay that finished third in 1:43.59; West Virginia/Iowa State (1/22): Posted winning swims in all three individual races, including the 100 Back (55.44), 100 Fly (55.37) and 200 IM (2:02.86) … Swam the opening leg of the winning 200 Medley Relay team that posted a 1:43.90 time; Pittsburgh (1/20): Won the 100 Back (54.81), 200 Back (1:58.68) and 400 IM (4:23.04) and anchored the “A” Team to a win in the 400 Free Relay (3:27.34); Rutgers (1/17): Recorded winning swims in the 200 IM (2:04.00) and 200 Back (1:59.13) … Was the anchor for the winning 400 Free Relay team that finished in 3:28.42; Richmond (1/14): Collected winning times in the 100 Breast (55.61) and 100 Fly (55.57) while also swimming the opening leg of the 200 Medley Relay team that won in 1:45.56; La Salle (11/23): Swept all three of her individual events, winning the 100 Back (56.16), 50 Fly (25.46) and 100 IM (58.78) … Part of the second-place 200 Free Relay team that finished in 1:36.28; WVU Invitational (11/18-11/20): Had a monster outing in Morgantown, logging eight top-two performances in eight events between individual and relay swims … Collected wins in the 200 Back (1:54.95), 200 IM (2:00.72) and 400 IM (4:15.08) … Anchored the winning 400 Free Relay team that won in 3:21.79 … Swam the opening leg for second-place relay teams in the 200 Medley (1:42.90) and 800 Free (7:25.52); Penn (11/10): Did not see a finish lower than second … Won the 400 IM in 4:25.05 … Claimed second in the 100 Fly (55.36) and 200 Fly (2:03.39) … Opening leg of the 200 Medley relay that finished second (1:44.03); Georgetown (10/30): Double individual winner in the dual and swam in a winning relay … Touched the wall first in the 500 Free (5:05.20) and 100 Back (56.19) … Swam leadoff for the 200 Medley Relay team that won in 1:45.43; UCONN (10/16): Won all three of her individual swims and helped pick up a relay victory … Finished first in the 100 Back (56.11), 200 Back (2:00.24) and 100 Fly (54.91) … Hit the lane as the third leg to help her 400 Relay team win in 3:31.16.
 
2020-21: Chosen as the Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at the BIG EAST Championships for the second time in her three collegiate seasons … Recorded a total of six championship performances at the BIG EAST meet, including being a triple individual winner in the 200 IM, the 400 IM and the 200 fly … Swam on three championship relay teams and a fourth relay which had a runner-up finish … Helped lead the Wildcats to the team title at the BIG EAST Championships for the eighth straight season … Competed in all four of the regular season meets during the abbreviated season prior to starring at the conference meet; BIG EAST Championships (4/7-4/10): Won individual gold medals in the 200 IM, the 400 IM and the 200 fly … Part of championships teams in the 400 free relay, the 800 free relay and the 200 medley relay in addition to a runner-up finish in the 400 medley relay … Named the Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at the meet and came away with six gold medals and seven All-BIG EAST accolades … On the first night of the championships swam the butterfly leg of the 200 medley relay as Villanova tied for a first place finish with a time of 1:41.74 … Also anchored the 800 free relay to a winning time of 7:19.35 … Won the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.90 on the second night of the meet after earlier leading a field of 36 competitors in the preliminaries with a time of 2:02.03 … Had the fastest time in both the prelims (4:16.74) and the final (4:11.98) of the 400 IM … Swam the butterfly leg of the 400 medley relay in which Villanova came in second with a time of 3:42.42 … Won the 200 fly in 1:58.94 while cutting more than two seconds off her leading mark of 2:01.05 in the prelims of the event … Led off the 400 free relay which Villanova won in 3:22.21 … Her 100 free split of 50.42 on the first leg of the race was a personal best … Her winning times in the final of the 200 IM, the 400 IM and the 200 fly were each the fastest recorded by a Villanova swimmer during the season; Delaware (2/13): Double winner in the 100 fly (56.75) and the 200 fly (2:05.05) in the season opener … Runner-up in the 200 IM (2:08.10) and led off the 200 medley relay which came in second with a time of 1:47.48; Drexel (3/3): Touched the wall first in the 100 fly (57.97) and came in second in the 200 fly (59.50) in a home meet versus the Dragons; Seton Hall (3/7): Triple winner in the 200 back (2:03.99), the 200 fly (2:05.36) and the 200 IM (2:08.60) … Swam the third leg of the 200 medley relay which the Wildcats won in 1:47.39; Loyola Md. (3/13): Won three races for the second straight meet as she finished first in the 100 fly (56.72), the 200 fly (2:03.74) and the 200 IM (2:06.16) … Swam the third leg of the 400 medley relay on a team which won its race in 3:53.92.
 
2019-20: Recorded seven championship performances at the BIG EAST Championships … Was a triple winner individually with a conference title in the 200 yard backstroke and a sweep of the 200 yard and 400 yard individual medley events … Swam a leg on four champion relay teams, including the 200 yard and 400 yard medley relays as well as the 400 yard and 800 yard freestyle relays … Second straight year she was a BIG EAST champion in the 200 IM, the two medley relays and the 800 free relay … Her individual winning times were 1:58.00 in the final of the 200 back, a season-best mark of 2:01.33 in the final of the 200 IM and 4:18.19 in the final of the 400 IM … During the year her other top times were 56.63 in the 100 yard backstroke against Richmond and 1:57.04 in the 200 back at the WVU Invitational, 55.41 in the 100 yard butterfly against Connecticut and 2:01.05 in the 200 yard butterfly versus Georgetown, 4:15.18 in the preliminary heats of the 400 IM at the WVU Invitational, and 10:15.85 in the 1000 yard freestyle and 2:32.75 in the 200 yard breaststroke versus La Salle … Including her wins at the BIG EAST Championships, posted a total of 34 first-place finishes during the season … Triple winner in dual meets against Georgetown (200 back, 200 fly, 400 IM), Penn (200 back, 100 fly, 200 fly) and Connecticut (200 back, 100 fly, 200 fly) … Double winner in the 1000 free and the 200 fly at La Salle, as well as the 200 back and 200 IM at Richmond … Won the 200 back and the 400 IM at the WVU Invitational … Named the BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week on November 25 following the WVU Invitational and on January 27 after the dual meets against Richmond and Connecticut.
 
2018-19: Named the Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at the BIG EAST Championships after winning two individual conference titles, swimming a leg of two champion relay teams and finishing in the top three of two more events … Earned a total of six All-BIG EAST honors over the four-day conference meet … Her individual championships came in the 200 yard butterfly and the 400 yard individual medley, and she posted NCAA “B” cuts in each event … Won the 200 fly with a personal best time of 1:5860 in the final and touched the wall in the 400 IM with a mark of 4:10.25 in the final … Also came in third in the 200 yard individual medley with a personal best time of 2:00.24 … Anchored the 800 yard freestyle relay team which finished first and set a school record with a winning time of 7:10.63 … Had a split of 1:47.26 on the anchor leg of the race … Also took the butterfly legs of both the 200 yard medley relay and the 400 yard medley relay … Had a split of 53.55 in the latter race, which the Wildcats won in 3:40.92 … Villanova came in second in the 200 medley relay in 1:40.32 … Her other top times during the season were 58.26 in the 100 yard backstroke against Richmond, 54.76 in the 100 yard butterfly and 2:01.24 in the 200 yard backstroke at the Bruno Invitational, 1:51.10 in the 200 yard freestyle against Princeton and Rutgers, 4:56.20 in the 500 yard freestyle versus Penn State and 2:26.67 in the 200 yard breaststroke against La Salle; Prior to her success at the BIG EAST Championships she tallied 15 individual top-two finishes during the regular season … That included victories in the 400 IM against Georgetown, Penn and at the Bruno Invitational … Double winner in the 500 free and the 200 fly against La Salle and in the 100 fly and the 200 IM versus Connecticut … Added a win in the 200 back against Georgetown to go along with her first place finish in the 400 IM.
 
Greenwich High School: Earned four varsity letters in swimming … Five-time All-American during her scholastic career, including earning a pair of All-America honors during both her sophomore and senior seasons … State record holder in the 100 yard butterfly … Named the Connecticut High School Swimmer of the Year.
 
Personal: One of three children and the only daughter of John and Margaret Montesi … Has an older brother, Jack, and a younger brother, William … Both parents were college swimmers, father at Tufts and mother at USF … Older brother, Jack, also swam in college at Notre Dame … Enjoys spending time with family and friends … Chose to attend Villanova for the culture of both the university and the swimming & diving program … Nursing major.