The University of Connecticut men’s swimming team played host to five schools at the UConn Husky Open, which was held Saturday morning at the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.
The annual event, which follows a time-trial format, allowed swimmers from each school to participate in a variety of races, as some of the schools used the meet to determine who they would be sending to their conference championships.
Four Husky swimmers won races Saturday, starting in the 100-yard breaststroke where UConn junior Lachezar Shumkov (Sofia, Bulgaria) earned first-place honors with a time of 58.13. Sophomore Greg Baliko (Fanwood, N.J.) finished first in the 100-yard butterfly, as he completed it in 52.23 to edge out fellow Husky Sean Battle (Allison Park, Pa.), who recorded a time of 52.84.
UConn sophomore Jeff Magin (Brookfield, Conn.) had another strong day for the Huskies, winning the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 46.91, and junior Sawyer Franz (Pine, Colo.) went on to finish first in the 400-yard IM, swimming it in 3:59.50.
“It was a very productive day for our team,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said. “With over 200 swimmers in a time-trial format, there were a lot of good swims from swimmers from all the schools and it gave us some experience in a big meet format.”
The Huskies now focus their attention on the American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championship, which is set to take place Feb. 19-22 at the Ralph Wright Natatorium in Louisville, Ky.
The University of Connecticut women’s swimming team played host to five schools at the UConn Husky Open, which was held Saturday morning at the Wolff-Zackin Natatorium.
The annual event, which follows a time-trial format, allowed swimmers from each school to participate in a variety of races, as some of the schools used the meet to determine who they would be sending to their conference championships.
The Huskies received good times from several swimmers, beginning with sophomore Laura Ruttan (Stittsville, Ontario), who won the 200-yard IM after swimming it in 2:12.41.
Two UConn swimmers, junior Margot Manning (Frederick, Md.) and freshman Deanna Parsons (Ellicott City, Md.), earned second-place finishes for UConn Saturday as well. Manning completed the 50-yard freestyle in 25.04 to finish behind Northeastern’s Anna Schegoleva (24.61), while Parsons was second (58.74) in the 100-yard butterfly, which was won by Northeastern’s Alexandra Yaeger (57.48).
UConn freshman swimmer Sophie Nothnagle (Victor, N.Y.) also had a strong day for the Huskies, as she finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:57.54) and posted an impressive time (2:10.60) in the 200-yard backstroke.
“It was a very productive day for our team,” UConn swimming coach Bob Goldberg said. “With over 200 swimmers in a time-trial format, there were a lot of good swims from swimmers from all the schools and it gave us some experience in a big meet format.”
The Huskies now focus their attention on the American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championship, which is set to take place Feb. 19-22 at the Ralph Wright Natatorium in Louisville, Ky.
Senior Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.) won the 100 free and finished second in the 200 back as the Bryant University women's swimming and diving team wrapped up its regular season on Saturday at the Husky Invitational hosted by Connecticut.
The invite, featuring UConn, URI and Boston College, served as the final meet before the Bulldogs compete in the Northeast Conference championships from Feb. 19-22.
On Saturday, DeBever continued her strong season, winning an event and finishing second in another. She won the 100 free with a time of 54.18 and then finished second in the 200 back with a time of 2:06.78. Bryant got top three finishes from sophomores Dana Yu (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Jamie Schaefer (Durham, N.C.) as well. Yu finished third in the 200 IM (2:14.69) and Schaefer was third in the 200 fly (2:10.20).
The Bulldogs will now have a week and a half off to prepare for the conference championship meet. Bryant finished third last season, scoring a record 669.5 points.
