UConn swimming and diving beat Boston College this weekend in both men’s and women’s competitions. (Eric Wang/ The Daily Campus)
UConn’s men and women’s swimming and diving teams had an outstanding meet in Wolff-Zackin Natatorium against Boston College on Friday. The women’s team won with a score of 170-119 and the men’s team with a score of 160.5-114.5. Head coach Chris Maiello explained his expectations were exceeded, adding “they deserve a good meet and they had one tonight.”
The Huskies managed to score first place a lot throughout the meet, which assisted them in being on top in the end. Karl Bishop set the tone on the men’s side with his first-place victory in the 1000-yard freestyle, which was the fourth event of the night. Bishop added a first-place win in the 500-yard freestyle, alongside senior Markus Hunter’s win in the 100- and 200- yard breaststroke, as well as Will Kearsey’s first place wins in the 100-yard backstroke and the 50-yard freestyle.
As far as women’s swimming is concerned, these Huskies are a force to be reckoned with, starting with freshman Katelyn Walsh, who managed to place first in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomores Ryan Dulaney and Georgia Apostolu gave their races all the had, while also placing first in two races each; Dulaney in the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle and Apostolu in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke. Senior Jackie Van Lew is far too familiar with the process and place first in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle races.
On the diving side of the spectrum, the Huskies continued to prove their excellence. For the men, Kyle Kennedy managed to place first in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, while Torrington Wagner came in second to Kennedy in the 3-meter and Justin Corres in the 1-meter. For the women, Elizabeth Drab attempted difficult dives and successfully executed them, allowing her to win the 1-meter diving event and her teammate, Monica Marcello winning the 3-meter event.
“My expectations were for our team to show up with some heart and some intensity and race very well and they did that,” Coach Maiello explained. “They probably went one step further than that with some pool records and just some really fast times for this time of year.”
The Huskies have an exciting season ahead of them.
Hanaisha Lewis is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at hanaisha.lewis@uconn.edu.