The UConn women’s swim and dive team is getting ready for the Big East Championship but before that, they must face the Providence Friars.
The Huskies are coming off a huge win over Central Connecticut State University with a score of 225-75.
In addition to this, UConn has performed well this season, with a 6-2-1 record, all due to the help of their stellar roster.
Graduate student Kayla Mendonca has consistently dominated in the 200-yard freestyle, as does fellow teammate freshman Zoey Griffin. These two will be tough competition for Friar’s sophomore Bella Lombard, who is coming off a win in the event from their last meet against the University of Maine.
Lombard swept the 100 and 200-meter backstroke races in Providence’s meet against Maine back in January. She also was a part of the 200-meter relay team that claimed first place early on against Maine. Accompanying Lombard on the relay team was junior Annie Gathof, sophomore Lauren Wagner and junior Rylie Foley. The Huskies can expect to face off against these four again as the team has brought Providence success this season.
UConn had strong performances last meet from sophomore Maggie Rhodes who placed first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.26 and right behind her was freshman teammate Julia Fondersmith, with a time of 2:09.62. The Huskies will look to keep their momentum going against Providence in order to secure a win.
UConn’s diving team has had tremendous success this season with consistent performances from their players. Senior Julia Pioso has placed first nearly every meet in the 1-meter diving event with teammate junior Darah Ostrom right behind her. In their latest meet, Pioso and Ostrom earned the Huskies 16 points right from the start which set the tone for the rest of the events.
Freshman Jaclyn Stadler from Providence is a player that Pioso and Ostrom will need to look out for as she is having a standout first season with her success in the 1-meter diving event.
Both UConn and Providence will bring their A-game for their matchup. Both teams will travel to Geneva, Ohio in a few short weeks to compete in the Big East Championship.
Last year, the Huskies fell just short of a Big East Championship title win finishing as runners-up to Villanova. This was Villanova’s tenth consecutive Big East title win where they finished with a total of 1,534 points. The Huskies were right behind them with 1,316.5.
UConn will look to end their regular season with a win to send them into the Big East Championship hoping for a different outcome from last year.
The Huskies take on the Friars this Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium starting at noon.