A trio of University of New Hampshire swimming & diving team members won a pair of individual events, but the Wildcats fell to Northeastern University, 161-119, Saturday afternoon at Barletta Natatorium.
UNH falls to 0-2 in dual meets this season while NU was triumphant in its season opener. The Wildcats and Huskies each tallied eight wins apiece on the afternoon.
Junior Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark) and freshmen Jessica Harper (Easthampton, Mass,) and Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia) all notched two individual wins. Caspersen logged the top time in the 200-yard breaststroke (2 minutes, 21.43 seconds) and the 200-yard IM (2:09.79). Harper blazed through the water in the 200-yard butterfly (2:07.06) and 1,000-yard freestyle (10:25.25) to place first. Baykova clocked in first in the 100-(52.32) and 200-yard freestyle (1:52.68).
Sophomore Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.) notched the top time in the 50-yard freestyle (24.39) to round out the individual winners. The relay squad of senior Oneida Cooper (Johannesburg, South Africa), Baykova, Broderick and Harper engineered the fastest time in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:35.51.
UNH started the dual meet with a third place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Harper, Caspersen, Cooper and Broderick compiled a time of 1:49.29.
The Wildcats retaliated with first places in the 1,000-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle races with victories from Harper and Baykova respectively. Baykova found herself in a nail-biter finish against NU freshman Sara Touchette-McGowan, landing her hand on the wall just 0.11 seconds before Touchette-McGowan to claim the victory.
Caspersen sustained the scoring for New Hampshire in the 100-yard breaststroke with a 1:07.25 time, ranking third.
Harper registered her second solo victory in the 200-yard butterfly and Broderick bolted to a win in the 50-yard freestyle as the meet tuned to the three-meter dive.
Junior Nicole Zahka (Medway, Mass.) highlighted the 'Cats in the event, placing fourth with a 239.00 score. However, the Huskies pulled away in the meet, occupying the top three spots.
Baykova and Touchette-McGowan again dueled in a neck and neck battle in the 100-yard freestyle. Baykova again prevailed in the event, tapping the wall just 0.08 seconds quicker than Touchette-McGowan for the closest race of the day.
In the next event, Harper was edged out of first place in the 200-yard backstroke with a runner-up time of 2:05.56. Caspersen followed up the fastest time in the 200-yard breaststroke to try to keep pace with the Huskies.
Northeastern maintained its lead late in the meet, collecting wins in the 500-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly and the one-meter dive. Despite a Caspersen win in the 200-yard IM and Wildcat victory in 400-yard freestyle relay, UNH fell short and was handed the defeat.
The Wildcats host their first home meet of the season at Swasey Pool on Saturday, Nov. 1 (2 p.m.) against Central Connecticut State University.
