The UConn Women’s Swim and Dive team secured their first win of the season against Sacred Heart University and Southern Connecticut State University. In front of a sold-out crowd, the Huskies dominated from the start and gave fans a glimpse at what they can expect for the rest of the season.
The meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay, in which UConn took first through fourth place. The relay team of freshman Sydney Perkins, sophomore Maggie Rhodes, junior Alexis Martino and graduate student Kayla Mendonca finished first with a time of 1:45.43.
UConn continued to start the meet off strong as freshman Zoey Griffin placed first for the Huskies in the 1000-Yard Freestyle with a time of 10:42.49. Right behind her was fellow teammate freshman Jordyn Ricciotti, with a time of 10:53.63.
The new Huskies on the team continued to make an impressive start to their season as freshman Stella McCardie placed first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:07.32. Freshman Julia Fondersmith was close behind with a time of 2:07.74.
However, returning Huskies also contributed to the team’s win. Coming off a successful season in her junior year, captain Maggie Donlevy placed second in the 50-yard freestyle, just .9 seconds behind Rhodes. Donlevy set a new school record last year for the 100-yard backstroke during the Big East Championship preliminaries.
Sacred Heart University sophomore Sophia Velleco provided some competition for the Huskies in the 200-yard freestyle, but Martino beat her to second place with a time of 1:55.77 compared to Velleco’s 1:56.54.
Southern Connecticut State University senior Hailey Nyquist was a player the Huskies needed to look out for in the 100-yard backstroke, as she was the 2023 Northeast 10 Conference champion in the event. However, the Huskies dominated the event, finishing first through fourth, with Nyquist coming in fifth.
Under the leadership of new Head Diving Coach Katie Polk, the Huskies also swept the 1-meter diving event. Senior Julia Pioso placed first with teammates sophomore Kate Cooper and junior Darah Ostrom following right behind. Pioso had a final score of 259.95, Cooper had 243.55 and Ostrom had 234.25.
UConn reached the 154-point mark and secured the win with Sacred Heart coming in second and Southern coming in third.
UConn will look towards their first conference meet of the season against Villanova. The Huskies take on the reigning Big East champions at Villanova University on Thursday, October 17th, starting at 11 a.m.