On Saturday, Dec. 7, the UConn women’s swim and dive team will have their third home meet of the season, against Vermont at 10 a.m.
The Huskies are coming off of a dominant performance in the Bucknell Invitational, held at Bucknell University from Friday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 24. The invitational included swimmers from Delaware, Seton Hall, Bucknell, Fordham, Davidson, UMBC and UConn. The Huskies took first place with a score of 1428.5. Delaware and Fordham trailed behind with scores of 1182 and 858.5, respectively.
The Huskies recent win and their array of records set in recent meets demonstrate that they are a force to be reckoned with. In their last home meet against Rhode Island, records were set in three events. A pool record was set in the 400-yard medley relay by Senior Maggie Donlevy in backstroke, freshman Sydney Perkins in breaststroke, freshman Stella McCardie in butterfly and freshman Jessica Sheng in freestyle. This relay team will provide immense competition for the Catamounts.
Another pool record was set by junior Alexis Martino in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:23.09. Lastly, a pool and school record were set by sophomore Bella Hoffman in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.82. These two swimmers will be key assets to the Huskies in their attempt to defeat the Catamounts.
The Catamounts are also coming off of a win at the University of Rhode Island Invitational. The team finished first with a score of 877, followed by the Rhode Island and Holy Cross.
The Catamounts currently have a record of 4-3, while the Huskies have a record of 4-2. However, the Catamounts last win displayed their strength, highlighted by record breaking performances from key swimmers. Vermont dominated in the 200-freestyle relay, where they set a meet and a pool record with a time of 1:34.79. The race was swum by junior Ellie Fazio, senior Jackie House, sophomore Havana Layton and senior Haley Laney. This relay team will look to continue to dominate against the Huskies.
Laney continued to be a key swimmer for the Catamounts throughout the meet, setting records in both the 100-butterfly and 200-butterfly. Laney set a new meet record in the 100-butterfly with a time of 55.56. She also set a Vermont varsity record, pool record and meet record in the 200-butterfly with a time of 2.00.91. Laney will provide competition for the Huskies in these two events.
The Huskies’ last matchup against the Catamounts was last season, where they defeated the Catamounts 188.5 to 111.5 in their last meet of the fall season. Their overall win was accompanied by wins in 10 out of 15 of the events. The Huskies will hope to bring the same energy against the Catamounts this season.