Vermont Earns a Pair of Victories at Holy Cross

The University of Vermont swimming and diving team traveled to Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon and earned a pair of wins over the host Crusaders and Central Connecticut State. The Catamounts set five pool records as they defeated Holy Cross 229-68 and knocked off the Blue Devils 179-120 to improve to 8-2-1 on the season.

"Today was a great meet and I am thrilled with how we bounced back after yesterday's performance, shaking off the rust from the long layoff," said Vermont head coach Gerry Cournoyer.

Sophomore Kate Weaver (South Burlington, Vt.) led the way, as she was involved in four of the five pool records. Weaver set records by winning the 200 backstroke (2:05.89), 200 freestyle (1:53.24) and was a member of the 400 medley relay team that won in a time of 3:58.10 along with senior Ashley Gillespie (Ithaca, N.Y.), freshman Avery Pittman (Raleigh, N.C.) and junior Colleen Clark (Unionville, Conn.). During the relay Weaver set the pool record for the 100 back with a time of 58.47.

Pittman set the other pool mark on the day with a win in the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.79. Clark also earned a win in the 500 free (5:05.97), while Weaver picked up her third individual victory of the afternoon with a first place showing in the 200 IM (2:10.16).

The Catamounts return to action next Saturday when they travel to face Navy at 12 p.m.

CCSU Splits Dual Matchups in First Meet of 2009
Senior Erin Crowley and freshman Mallory Miller each came away with two first place finishes, while the Central Connecticut swimming and diving team split their first dual match-ups of 2009.  The Blue Devils defeated Holy Cross 216 to 83, but fell to Vermont 120 to 179 in Worcester, Mass., on Sunday afternoon.  Crowley took first in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, touching in at 24.93 and 54.26, respectively.  Miller won both diving events of the meet, scoring 209.90 points in the one-meter and 232.25 points in the three-meter.

Crowley also placed second in the 500 free and was a member of the CCSU 400 medley relay team that took second in the meet.  The Plainville, Conn., native swam to a 5:09.24 finish in the 500 and along with freshmen Alex Czaplicki and Kristen Malski, as well as sophomore Megan McGorry, recorded a time of 4:00.83 in the medley relay.

Czaplicki and McGorry each ended the afternoon with one first and two second place finishes, while Malski added a first and second to go with her second in the relay.  Czaplicki won the 100 backstroke in 1:00.02 and took second in the 200 back and 200 IM with times of 2:08.74 and 2:10.20, respectively.  McGorry did her damage in the butterfly and freestyle events.  She placed first in the 200 fly, touching in at 2:10.50, and was second in the 200 free and 100 fly with times of 1:55.99 and 59.75, respectively.  Malski took home first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.36, while placing second in the 200 breast, touching in at 2:30.25.

The Blue Devils will next be traveling to Florida to compete against the University of Miami on Saturday January 17 at 2:00 p.m.

Holy Cross Falls to Central Connecticut & Vermont
Junior diver Rachael Martinez (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the Crusaders with a second place finish in the one meter and three meter diving competition as the Holy Cross women's swimming and diving team fell to Central Connecticut, 216-83, and to Vermont, 229-68, Sunday afternoon at the Hart Center.

Martinez was a top finisher for the Crusaders, taking second place with a score of 195.10 in the one meter diving competition and second place in the three meter dive competition with a score of 216.50. Freshman Maggie Beaudouin (Madison, N.J.) took third in the 1000 free with a time of 11:17.10, while junior Maggie Gousman (Fanwood, N.J.) finished fourth in the 100 breast with a time of 1:10.97. Freshman Annie O'Shea (Washington, D.C.) finished fourth in the 200 fly with a time of 2:13.40.

Holy Cross continues competition at the Hart Center when it hosts the Worcester City Championship Friday-Saturday, Jan. 23-24.