University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Earn Strong Road Win Against Villanova to Open Conference Play
10/20/2022 7:36:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Villanova, PA
Coming off a pair of home wins, the University of Connecticut swim and dive team traveled to Villanova Thursday to begin a stretch of away meets this weekend.
Dive kicked off the meet with a pair of wins, putting the Huskies up 31-7 before any swimming began. "Our ladies looked strong today, and we're just getting started" said Dave McKown of the performance. The team placed first in ten of sixteen events, with high placement throughout. Among them, strong wins for Niamh Hofland (1000y, 500y Free), Pioso (1m, 3m Dives), and Martino (50y, 100y Free). Coach Maiello described the day as a "Great team win. We have not beat Villanova since 2014 so it's been a long time. The team earned this win. We are really proud of our team's mindset, race and dive execution and our overall competitiveness. So many athletes had game changing performances and from top to bottom we had a good day. Our staff is enthusiastic about what the future holds for this team.
The win marks the first win over Villanova since 2014 described by Hofland as, "An amazing start to the conference dual meet season. Super excited with my swims, and the team atmosphere! …Now it's about keeping our heads down until February and we'll see what happens then."
The team hopes to carry this momentum as it benefits from continued positive atmosphere, "The meet went very well. The energy from our team is the best part of the meet and what really kept us going. I couldn't have done anything in my races without their support," Martino said.
With wins in both diving events, Pioso said, "I'm feeling so proud to be a part of this major Husky win. It was motivating and energizing to see everyone giving their all and fighting so hard. I can't wait to continue contributing to what's going to be an incredible season for us."
Up Next
The Huskies will continue their road meet weekend with competition against Georgetown set to begin at noon on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
