On Friday, the UConn women’s swim and dive team will have their second to last regular season meet against in-state rivals, Central Connecticut State. The out-of-conference matchup will take place at 5 p.m. in New Britain, Connecticut.
The Huskies are coming off a dominant performance against Seton Hall on Saturday, Jan. 18, where they won 174-117. Connecticut had a rocky start but was able to bounce back, winning 10 of the 16 events. Freshman Zoey Griffin largely contributed to the bounce back, thanks to a personal best in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:27.13. Junior Camille Gendron also contributed to the comeback, with her swim qualifying her for the A final in the conference.
CCSU is coming from a loss against Sacred Heart in a two-day meet, last weekend. The Blue Devils lost by just three points with a final score of 178-175.
Although the Blue Devils fell short, they still had some impressive swims, which provided competition for the Huskies. The second day of the meet consisted of impressive first-place finishes. Sophomore Gabi Wroblewski won the 400-meter individual medley events with a time of 4:37.11. Impressively enough, she was about six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Freshman Sophie Milhomens also had an impressive first-place finish in the meet. Milhomens won the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:05.59, about six seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. These two swimmers will provide some competition for the Huskies in these events.
The Huskies are also a powerhouse in the 200-meter backstroke event. At the Bucknell Invitational this season, three swimmers made the 200-meter backstroke A finals: Griffin, sophomore Bella Hoffman and junior Kayla Mendonca. Hoffman’s swim in the event broke the pool and school record. She even got an NCAA B cut for the event with a time of 1:55.82. Hoffman will be a key swimmer and provide competition for Milhomens in the event. The Huskies also have a key swimmer in the 400-meter individual medley, which will provide competition for Wroblewski. Junior Alexis Martino broke a pool record in the 400 IM this season at the Bucknell Invitational.
Last season, the Huskies dominated against CCSU in their spring home opener. UConn had record-breaking performances and earned a win with a score of 245-55. The Huskies hope to bring the same energy against the Blue Devils this season.
This matchup will not be a Big East Conference matchup, as CCSU swims in the Northeast Conference. However, the matchups between key swimmers still makes this a must watch meet.