New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire swimming and diving team upended the University of Vermont in its season-opener, 179-121, Saturday afternoon at Swasey Pool.
The Wildcats placed first in 12 events and claimed the top two times on six occasions. Junior Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.) and sophomores Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia) and Jessica Harper(Easthampton, Mass.) all merited four first-place wins.
The performance was headlined by a pool record in the 400-yard freestyle relay by freshman Brittany Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.), senior Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark), Baykova and Broderick. The quartet finished the race in 3 minutes, 30.64 seconds, three seconds before any other squad.
To kick off the meet, Harper, Broderick, Caspersen, and Baykova placed first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:46.60.
Freshman Brittany Moffatt (Cedar Falls, Iowa) and sophomore Bridget Miller (Longmeadow, Mass.) highlighted the 1,000-yard freestyle with a one-two finish. Moffatt notched her first collegiate individual win, reaching the wall at 10:37.26. Miller was on Moffatt's heels and clocked in at 10:39.04.
Baykova secured another first place finish in the 200-yard freestyle as she ripped through the water for a 1:53.86 time. Freshman Brittany Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.) followed with a second-place time of 1:55.01.
Broderick secured the top time in the the 100-yard backstroke, hitting the panel at 58.89. Freshman Linnea Lemerise (Brentwood, N.H.) placed second in the event with a time of 59.34.
Caspersen highlighted the 'Cats in the 100-yard breaststroke, parting the water for a second-place mark of 1:06.68. Junior Sarah Olver(Durham, N.H.) also factored in the scoring, engineering a time of 1:09.20.
The 'Cats seized the first- and third-place times in the 200-yard butterfly. Harper paced the field, skimming through the water for a time of 2:03.12. Rookie Vivian El-Sibay (Munich, Germany) seized third-place as she stopped the clock at 2:10.00.
Baykova chalked up another first-place finish 50-yard freestyle, swimming the length of the pool in 24.01.
Transitioning to the one-meter board, sophomore Hailee Miller (Milton, Mass.) highlighted the diving unit with a career-best 214.27 score. Freshman Erin Culluther (Highland Park, Ill.) and Savanna Desmaris (Hampton, N.H.) followed with marks of 205.57 and 191.47, respectively.
Broderick placed first overall again in the 100-yard freestyle, recording a time of 52.76, her second on the day.
Harper and Lemerise seized the top two times in the 200-yard backstroke. Harper led the field with a 2:03.30 time while Lemerise followed with a 2:06.55 mark.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Caspersen prevailed with a time of a 2:21.63 time for first overall. Olver concluded the race, clocking in at 2:25.92.
Driscoll, Moffatt and Miller swept the top-three times in the 500-yard freestyle, completing the race in 5:06.67, 5:09.70 and 5:12.85, respectively.
Harper tallied the lead time in 100-yard butterfly, slamming the panel at 56.34.
On the high board, Cullather garnered the top score. She sprung off the platform to post a second place score of 214.95. Miller followed with a mark of 190.42.
Olver headlined the 'Cats in the 200-yard IM. The junior cut through the water to clock in at 2:14.80. Lemerise was on the heels of Olver, tapping the panel for a third-place time of 2:15.20.
New Hampshire remains at Swasey Pool with a dual meet against Northeastern University on Saturday, Oct. 24 at noon.
Vermont
The Vermont women's swimming & diving team fell 179-121 to the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday in the second meet of the season at Swasey Pool. The Catamounts drop to 1-2 on the season, while the Wildcats won their season-opening meet.
For the second straight week, Maggie Preston won both diving events for the Catamounts. The senior claimed the 3-meter event with a score of 250.72 and took the 1-meter event with a total of 238.11.
Shannon Cowley led the swimmers on Saturday, finishing with a time of 1:06.31 to win the 100-yard breaststroke over UNH's Bettina Caspersen. Cowley also collected a fourth place showing in the 200 breaststroke in 2:30.24.
Audrey Shenkin was the winner of the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.44, followed by teammate Lauren Punger in 2:13.71. Punger (2:09.48) also took second in the 200-yard butterfly for Vermont.
Christa Weaver narrowly missed winning both the 50-yard free (24.16) and 100-yard free (52.93) and claimed second in both events. Andie Blaser (24.88) and Kira Hancock (25.03) registered third and fourth in the 50.
Blaser was also a second place finisher in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.98, followed by Courtney Gray in 58.81. Dani Rocheleau (2:09.72, 200-yard backstroke) and Haley Gula (2:26.30, 200-yard breaststroke) each registered third place finishes for UVM.
The Catamounts have next weekend off before hosting their first home meet against Siena on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. The meet will be streamed live on AmericaEast.TV.
