Swimcloud

Rutgers Beats New Hampshire

Capturing first in 11 of 16 events, the Rutgers Swimming and Diving team glided to a 183-117 victory over New Hampshire at the Swasey Pool on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights improve to an overall dual record of 8-1.
 

“It was a great team win today,” said head coach Phil Spiniello. “I am happy with where we are in our training and how we are able to compete as a whole.”
 
Rutgers notched two first-place finishes in both relay events. In the 200 medley relay, the group of Joanna Wu (Kent, Wash.), Greta Leberfinger (Chatham, N.J.), Morgan Pfaff (Red Lion, Pa.) and Sarah Coyne (Osceola, Ind.) hit the wall first at 1:45.72.
 
Moving to the 200 freestyle relay, the quartet of Wu, Rachel Stoddard (Hillsborough, N.J.), Coyne and Meghan Kiely (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) registered a first-place mark of 1:36.45.
 
Individually, Wu and Leberfinger led RU with two top finishes apiece. Wu paced the field in the 100 backstroke (55.97) and 200 backstroke (2:02.98), while Leberfinger dominated the 100 breaststroke (1:03.67) and the 200 breaststroke (2:17.93).
 
The 200 butterfly was no match for RU as Pfaff finished first touching the wall at (2:05.27), followed by freshman Thomi Lee (Lindstrom, Minn.) with a career-best time of 2:07.67.
 
On the boards, the Scarlet Knights claimed the top-three positions of the 1-meter dive for the second consecutive meet. The Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week and ECAC Co-Rookie of the Week, Addison Walkowiak (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), took first with a score of 306.90, followed by freshman Morgan Engel (Mound, Minn.) in second (287.99) and sophomore Alyssa Black (Middletown, N.Y.) in third (278.17) in the event.
 
Walkowiak also placed first in the 3-meter dive (301.65), while Engel grabbed another second-place finish (287.62).
 
The Wildcats were led by senior Katie Mann with one first-place finish and two second-place performances.
 
Rutgers returns home for its season finale against Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 7. The four seniors, Leberfinger, Brogan Lee (Linstrom, Minn.), Caroline Carlisle (Holly Springs, N.C.) and Lindsey Gibson-Brokop (Edmonton, AB, Canada), will be honored in a Senior Knight ceremony.
 

Despite a valiant effort, the University of New Hampshire women's swimming & diving team fell to Rutgers University, 183-117, Saturday at Swasey Pool.

New Hampshire captured the top spot in five events, led by a pair of first place finishes from freshmen Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia) and Jessica Harper (Easthampton, Mass.). Baykova led the field in the 200-yard freestyle, recording a time of 1 minute, 51.53 seconds. She also added a 52.20 finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Harper won convincingly in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:09.25, 22.59 seconds faster than the next finisher did. She also engineered a career-best performance in the 100-yard butterfly, cutting through the water to clock in at 56.99. 

Senior Katie Mann (Prince George, British Columbia) grabbed the last win for the 'Cats in the 200-yard IM, notching a time of 2:04.76.

"We did really well today against a strong team from the Big Ten Conference," said head coach Josh Willman. "I'm really pleased with the results and it bodes well for us in the upcoming weeks as we prepare for the America East Championships."

The dual meet began with a 200-yard medley relay. New Hampshire's quartet of Nicole Anderson (Dover, N.H.), Oneida Cooper (Johannesburg, South Africa), Sarah Broderick and Mann placed second in the event, combining for a time of 1:45.72.

Bolstering UNH's win in the 1,000-yard freestyle was freshman Bridget Miller (Longmeadow, Mass.). The rookie improved her personal best time in the event, touching the wall at 10:34.68.

New Hampshire again turned in a first and third place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Broderick joined Baykova in the scoring column, reaching for the panel at 1:54.60. 

UNH held an early 28-27 edge through three events, but Rutgers would rattle off wins in the next five events.

Sophomore Emily Giambastini (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Anderson both placed in the top three in the 100-yard backstroke. Anderson headlined the 'Cats with a time of 58.52 while Giambastini sliced through the water to earn a mark of 1:00.89. 

Mann highlighted UNH in the 100-yard breaststroke, slamming the panel for a runner-up time of 1:04.31. Cooper paced the squad in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:09.21.

Broderick nearly snapped the Scarlet Knights run in the 50-yard freestyle, but was outreached by .11 seconds and recorded a time of 24.21.

Transitioning to the boards, senior Nicole Zahka (Medway, Mass.) led the 'Cats in the one-meter dive, logging a fourth place score of 224.55.

Jumping back into the swimming events, New Hampshire put forth a first and third finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Harper joined Baykova in the top three, clocking in at 52.93.

Three UNH swimmers registered points in the 200-yard backstroke. Mann headlined the trio by placing second in the race with a tine of 2:04.68. Giambastini and Anderson joined the senior with marks of 2:09.95 and 2:11.07 respectively.

Junior Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark) and Cooper tallied back-to-back second place finishes. Caspersen parted the water to earn a time of 2:19.26 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Cooper was edged out in the 500-yard freestyle as she was outreached by .12 seconds and registered a 5:04.80 mark.

Following Harper's top time in the 100-yard butterfly, the meet turned to the three-meter dive. Zahka registered a career-high 256.42 score, placing third in the event.  

The Wildcats aimed to finish strong after a first place time by Mann in the 200-yard IM. UNH and Rutgers both fought hard in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Baykova, Broderick, Harper and Caspersen were clipped by .41 seconds in the event, engineering a runner-up time of 1:36.86 to cap off the day. 

UNH hosts its last home meet of the season as the squad renews its rivalry with the University of Maine on Friday, Jan. 30 (5 p.m.) for Senior Day. New Hampshire then competes in the four-day competition at the America East Championships (Feb. 12-15), hosted at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Sports & Recreation Center.

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