In a matter of points in the last event of the day, the Northeastern women's swimming and diving team clinched their second win of the season over New Hampshire, 155-145.
"Our team's performance today was exceptional," said head coach Roy Coates. "We competed as a cohesive, inspired and determined group. I couldn't be prouder that we came together, overcame some significant obstacles and found a way to win."
NU led the entire meet, claiming four of the first five events and the top three spots on the diving board. New Hampshire won four straight events (100 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 breastroke, 500 freestyle) to push their score up, but needed three solid finishes in the 400 freestyle relay to win. The Wildcats finished the relay first, but the Huskies edged UNH in the second and third spot to claim the meet.
Northeastern finished with seven first-place finishes out of the 16 events and registered 11 new season bests. NU improves to 2-0 overall (0-0 CAA) and New Hampshire moves to 1-1 overall (1-0 America East).
The Huskies continue on the road with the George Mason Quad Meet in Fairfax, Virginia, on Saturday, Oct. 31. The team will compete against the Patriot and CAA competitors Drexel and Towson.
New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire women's swimming & diving team captured nine victories, including three first-place finishes from reigning America East Swimmer of the Week Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia). However, the Wildcats fell short and conceded a 155-145 decision to Northeastern University on Saturday afternoon at Swasey Pool.
New Hampshire suffers its first loss of the dual meet season, falling to 1-1. Northeastern ups its overall record to 2-0.
Baykova paced the field in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. The sophomore swam the length of the pool, clocking in at 23.98 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle. She followed up with winning times of 51.78 and 1:51.28 in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events, respectively.
Senior Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark) and sophomore Jessica Harper (Easthampton, Mass.) notched two first-place finishes apiece. Caspersen prevailed in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:20.65) and 200-yard IM (2:08.41). Harper was first to touch the wall in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.19) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:03.78).
UNH kicked off the meet with a second place time in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of junior Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.), Caspersen, Harper and Baykova combined for a time of 1:47.77 to garner four points.
In the following event, sophomore Bridget Miller (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Brittany Moffatt (Cedar Falls, Iowa) captured second and third in the 1,000-yard freestyle, tallying seven points. Miller posted a runner-up time of 10:38.25 while Moffatt was right on Miller's heels to tap the panel at 10:38.43.
Joining Baykova in the top-three times of the 200-yard freestyle, freshman Brittany Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.) churned out a third-place mark of 1:55.08 to round out a 12-point swing as the 'Cats trailed in the meet, 32-23.
The Huskies distanced themselves by posting back-to-back first place times in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke despite strong efforts from freshman Linnea Lemerise (Brentwood, N.H.) and Caspersen. Lemerise cut through the water for a third place time of 59.31 in the 100-yard backstroke. Caspersen muscled out a 1:06.55 mark in the 100-yard breaststroke, good for second-place.
Harper was able to help UNH return to its winning ways in the 200-yard butterfly. Rookie Vivienne El-Sibay (Munich, Germany) factored in the scoring by putting forth a third-place effort of 2:10.57.
Baykova made it back-to-back wins by setting the pace in the 50-yard freestyle. The sophomore was joined by freshman Maddie Murphy(Liverpool, N.Y.) and sophomore Kaitlin Cahill (Troy, N.Y.), posting times of 25.19 and 25.58, respectively. After trailing as much as 25 points, New Hampshire pulled within 15 points at 73-58 entering the one-meter dive.
Sophomore Hailee Miller (Milton, Mass.) and freshman Erin Cullather(Highland Park, Ill.) highlighted the Wildcats on the platform, each tallying 208.05 points for fourth. The score by Cullather was a career-best.
After the one-meter diving event and looking up at an 89-61 deficit, the Wildcats surged back, seizing four consecutive events. After victories in the 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke, the run was punctuated by a career-best 5:05.29 performance in the 500-yard freestyle by Driscoll. UNH was able to pull within six points at 116-110 with four events left in the meet.
The Huskies were able to cushion their lead a little bit as Harper was unable to capture the lead time in the 100-yard butterfly, placing second in the event with a time of 55.85.
Transitioning to the three-meter dive, NU bested the high platform by capturing the top-three scores. Cullather highlighted the 'Cats with a personal-best 215.30 score to place fourth in the event. The Wildcats looked up at a 146-118 deficit with two events remaining on the day.
UNH retaliated with a one-two-three finish in the 200-yard IM. Behind Caspersen, Driscoll powered through the water for a runner-up time of 2:10.67. Junior Sarah Olver (Durham, N.H.) rounded out the UNH times with a third-place mark of 2:13.02.
NU's lead was too much to overcome despite engineering the top time in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The squad of Broderick, Moffatt Cahill and Driscoll were able to fuse together the lead time of 3:36.45 to conclude the meet.
The Wildcats aim to return to their winning ways, traveling to Central Connecticut State University for dual meet action Saturday, Oct. 31 (2 p.m.). The 'Cats return to Swasey Pool on Friday, Jan. 29 (5 p.m.) against the University of Maine.
