The University of Connecticut women’s swimming and diving team fell to Dartmouth 154-146 Saturday afternoon on day one of Senior Weekend for the Huskies. With the loss, UConn drops to 3-2 on the year in head-to-head competitions.
The Huskies kept pace with Dartmouth for most of the meet, getting great swims from junior Chinyere Pigot (Miami, Fla.), and freshman Christine Pedersen (Vinterbro, Norway). Pigot won the 50-yard freestyle after swimming the race in 23.77, and in the 100-yard freestyle she earned first place honors with a time of 51.55.
Pedersen also won two races Saturday, swimming the 100-yard backstroke in 57.67 to capture first and she followed that up with a first place finish in the 200-yard backstroke, which she completed in a time of 2:05.49.
Other notable results came from sophomores Laura Hyland (Southport, England), who finished second in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.67) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:24.80) and Laura Ruttan (Stittsville, Ontario), who won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:24.74.
“For the women it was a very close meet with it coming down to the last relay though it was just not enough to pull out the win,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said. “It was a breakthrough for Ruttan and Hyland in the breaststroke events, as each swimmer got back into racing form.”
On the diving side, Taryn Urbanus (Quincy, Mass.) and Alexandra Butera (Havertown, Pa.) finished 1-2 in the both diving events. Urbanus scored a 291.67 to win the 1-meter, while Butera finished second with a score of 264.52. In the 3-meter, Urbanus earned first place honors, accumulating 273.98 points and Butera finished just behind her after scoring 262.72 points.
The Huskies return to the pool tomorrow when they face Colgate. Eight seniors will be honored before the meet, which is set to start at 12 p.m. in the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.
The University of Connecticut men’s swimming and diving team remained perfect in head-to-head competitions Saturday, defeating Dartmouth 152.5-147.5 to improve to 5-0 on the season.
UConn was led by freshman standout Chris Girg (Burbach, Germany), who won two races and tied for first place in another one. Girg finished first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.81) and in the 200-yard butterfly (1:51.47) to pace the Huskies early on in the meet. In the 500-yard freestyle, Girg tied Dartmouth’s Jun Oh for first place with a time of 4:30.97. Sophomore swimmer Mike Lennon (Williston Park, N.Y.) finished second behind the two, swimming the race in 4:40.29.
Junior Felix Samuels (London, England) also had a big day for the Huskies, winning the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 46.41 and finishing second in both the 50-yard freestyle (21.31) and 200-yard medley relay (1:33.00). Samuels was also a part the UConn relay team of freshman James Donlevy (Lake Grove, N.Y.) and seniors Sean Battle (Allison Park, Pa..) and Keith Piper (Naperville, Ill.) that won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:03.90.
“This was a very good win for the men and it gives them a shot at an undefeated season heading into the last dual meet with Colgate,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said.
Sophomore diver John Brice (Bala Cynwood, Pa.) was sensational for the Huskies Saturday, winning the 3-meter with a score of 339.15 and the 1-meter after scoring 324.52 points in the event. Senior Anthony Cortright (Wallingford, Conn.) finished second in the 3-meter (333.52) and third in the 1-meter (283.34).
The Huskies return to the pool tomorrow when they face Colgate. Eight seniors will be honored before the meet, which is set to start at 12 p.m. in the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.
