April 23, 2015 Recap | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio...
On winning the distance medley relay for the fourth straight year: You never get tired of winning. This means a lot to us. This meet is huge for us and obviously losing Emily Lipari was huge. I am really happy for these girls, especially for Stephanie because this was her first shot at anchoring and she came through like a champ. All four of them did. They ran according to plan. That was the plan, to just put Angel in the leadoff and wait 600 meters, then go and then sprint. Angel has 54 second speed and I felt that if we kept it slow early she could just really open it up with her speed.
On Michaela Wilkins and Siofra Cleirigh Buttner: The thing that was great about both of them is they went out hard and they were hurting. They were really both hurting, but they still kept lifting and lifting, and fighting all the way to the end. This was definitely an awesome four person victory. I am just really excited for them and super proud of them.
On another Penn Relays win: Like I said, we don't get tired of winning. I was going out of my mind. It was a really good race. This is our turf and I love it when the girls run like true Villanovans.
On having Stephanie Schappert anchor the relay: I could have put her or Angel in there. I thought about it, and it did take me a few days to come up with this plan. Every year I told [Stephanie] to bring in the lead and she always did it, from her sophomore year on the 4x1500 relay to last year on both the DMR and the 4x1500. Her kick is just as good as anybody in the field. I thought she could do it. It's her turn and she definitely understands what Villanova is all about. She is the fourth person in her family to come to Villanova and the third to run in the Penn Relays. She is the first one to anchor a team victory so she has some bragging rights in the family. I have confidence in all of them and when I told Stephanie that I know you can do this, I am sure that gave her the confidence to get it done.
On not being the favorites to win this year: That just fueled us to be honest. Everything I read was like can anybody stop Stanford, but I feel like we always have the pressure to win at Penn just locally. We are Villanova and we are expected to win here. Whether it is walking around campus or everywhere we go, there are always expectations in our circles at least, even if maybe other teams are better on paper.
On Siofra Cleirigh Buttner: She was amazing. Like I said, she's always calm under any situation. She went out a little too excited in the first lap. She went out in 58 but the thing I love about her is she was hurting, she was visibly in trouble with 300 to go but she just knows how to relax and fight through it. She kept fighting all the way through. Clearly she belongs here. She's a true Villanovan.
Senior Stephanie Schappert (anchor leg, 1600 meters)...
On coming from behind in the last lap and then holding the lead for the final 150 meters: I was pretty confident in my kick. After seeing Angel open up that huge lead and then Michaela and Siofra fight to hold it up, I was just thinking that you were going to have to kill me before I would give up this win, so I was pretty excited.
On her confidence level during the race: When I took the first lap out it was hard to gauge what pace I was going because it was a little windy. Then Elise [Cranny, from Stanford] went by me and the UNC girl went by me, and I just said I'm not going to fall asleep behind here. I moved right back up on Elise and then I was just telling myself to take it one lap at a time and stare at her back until there were 200 meters to go, then give it all you have. I was pretty confident and not that nervous through the race.
On running the anchor leg: It is completely different. I have never run a relay at Penn where I haven't led off. Usually I'm used to running the first leg and then getting out there and cheering. It was a lot different and we were all talking about this being the first race where we really noticed that Emily Lipari isn't here. You are never going to replace an Emily Lipari or a Sheila Reid. You just find a new role and someone steps up. If it wasn't me, it would have been Angel. That's what we do at Villanova.
On whether it was tough to watch the first three legs of the relay before running the anchor leg: It wasn't tough, maybe a little cold. I have so much faith in these girls. We train together every day, these are some of my best friends and I have complete confidence in them.
Junior Michaela Wilkins (second leg, 400 meters)...
On winning the relay with a different lineup than last year: We had different people on it but it was the same energy. We all had the same goal. We went out and got it done like in previous years. No matter who we put on it, we always know that the goal is to get the job done and to always win.
Junior Angel Piccirillo (leadoff leg, 1200 meters)...
On giving Villanova a big lead at the end of the first leg of the relay: We knew there were a lot of good teams in this race and we were going to need maybe a little bit of help on the back end of the relay. I just wanted to do whatever I could to help out. I was first and they were going to have a lot of work to do the last three legs. I wanted to stay as relaxed as I could for the first half of [the leadoff leg] and then just bring it home hard and each 100 meters pick it up and go a little faster, and give Michaela as much room as I could.
Freshman Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (third leg, 800 meters)...
On the Penn Relays: I'm from Ireland so obviously back home we don't come over here, but I just knew about the big legacy and the big boots that had to be filled to just continue with this big event. I had a new nerved but it was in a good way. I was excited to start my journey here.
On what advice she got from her teammates: Just to enjoy it. Stephanie said that a few times, to have fun, enjoy it and just bring it home. We did have a lot of fun out there.