Huskies Finish Second at Big East Championships

Wednesday, April 7

Geneva, Ohio

University of Connecticut

Big East

4/10/2021 11:42:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

GENEVA, Ohio – The UConn women's swimming and diving team finished second at the Big East Championship meet held at the Spire Institute. The women picked up first place finishes in several events, setting personal and school records in an impressive conference championship showing.

"We had a solid morning and that really set us up for a great evening. We were able to compete and get some big results and big wins. Niamh [Hofland] won the 1650 free by a pretty big margin as a freshman, so that was really great to see," said head coach Chris Maiello.

"The team really came together and the team culture is great right now, they are having fun and the results are showing that."

Freshman Niamh Hofland grabbed yet another Big East Championship victory, this time in the women's 1650-yard freestyle finals. Hofland won the event with a time of 16:27.97. Senior Ryan Dulaney took sixth in the event, finishing with a time of 17:15.24.

"They [Villanova] have won this meet seven years in a row and we came in and we gave them something to think about. We took a lot of points from them and there's no doubt they know we are here. They are a great program and the mark to get to, but we are really competing, and we can't wait to swim them again."

Fellow freshman Kayla Mendonca also continued her success with a second-place finish in the women's 200-yard backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:59.92, just a fraction of a second off the top finisher. Sophomore Caitlyn Spencer finished in the event, coming in at 2:00.77, while senior Georgia Apostolu finished seventh with a time of 2:02.35.

In the women's 100-yard freestyle finals, freshman Melissa Lowry was the Huskies' top finisher, placing fifth in the event with a time of 51.51. Sophomore Charlotte Proceller placed eighth in the 100 free, coming in at 51.82.

The Huskies claimed the top two spots in the women's 200-yard breaststroke finals. Freshman Angela Gambardella won the event with a time of 2:14.49, while junior Katelyn Walsh finished second with a time of 2:15.03, picking up a combined 37 points for UConn.

Four Huskies finished in the top eight of the women's 200-yard butterfly final event on Saturday. Junior Grace Ali was the Huskies' top finisher, coming in second place with a time of 2:01.33. Sophomore Mia Galat finished fifth with a time of 2:03.30, while junior Linnea Anderson finished sixth, coming in at 2:03.41. Junior Molly Franklin finished eighth with a time of 2:06.24.

In the women's 3-meter dive, four Huskies finished in the top six. Senior Elizabeth Drab won the event with a final score of 522.25. Freshman Ana Laura Faoro finished second with a total score of 510.25. Senior Alyssa Anneberg finished fifth with a score of 449.50 and freshman Elizabeth Katz finished sixth with a score of 419.05.

Elizabeth Drab was also named the Women's Most Outstanding Diver for the 2021 Big East Championship meet.

In the closing race of the 2021 Big East Championship, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Charlotte Proceller, senior Jennie Novak, Linnea Anderson, and Melissa Lowry finished fourth, coming in at 3:26.37.

"I can't go too far into next season without recognizing our freshman. We had freshman win conference championships with Angela [Gambardella] winning the 200 breaststroke, Kayla [Mendonca] yesterday win the 100 backstroke, Niamh [Hofland] and her two victories, just great performances."

"Diving was fantastic today. They obviously helped us so much and Josh [Arndt] was awarded diving coach of the year, which was great for him. It's great to have that dynamic with this team, a lot of schools don't have that, and it's a benefit for us," said Maiello.

Head diving coach Josh Arndt was named the 2021 Big East Women's Diving Coach of the Year. Arndt helped the women's divers to 1^st, 2^nd, 5^th, and 6^th, place finishes in Saturday's 3M dive finals.

On the men's side, junior Tommy Schurer placed sixth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.09, grabbing 13 points for the Huskies.

Final scores and standings of the weekend can be found below.

Women's Team Rankings