EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – The Villanova men's and women's swimming and diving team competed in the 2019 BIG EAST Championships presented by Jeep from Wednesday, Feb. 20-Saturday, Feb. 23. The women's team captured their sixth straight title while the men took a fourth-place finish. Villanova also received five major individual awards.
Three of the five awards were received on the women's behalf.
Kelly Montesi started the awards off by being named the Women's Most Outstanding Swimmer. Montesi captured first place victories in the 800-freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay, 400-yard IM and 200-yard butterfly and she grabbed a third-place finish in the 200-yard IM.
Bridie Dunn then won the Women's Most Outstanding Diver award after prevailing in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. Dunn took the top spot in the 3-meter after tallying points 525.6 and with her score of 532 she also took the 1-meter on the final day.
For the sixth year in a row, head coach
Rick Simpson and his staff was named Women's Coaching Staff of the Year. This is Simpson's sixth straight BIG EAST Championship title which sets him well above any other coaches in number of BIG EAST titles won in program history.
On the men's side, head diving coach,
Todd Michael also received Men's Diving Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Michael's divers swept both major diving awards. Dunn claimed the title for the women's side while
Michael Perra was named the Men's Most Outstanding Diver for the second year in a row. Perra secured his top finishes in both diving events after recording a score of 617.70 in the 3-meter and a total of 584.20 points in the 1-meter.
Major Awards
Women's Most Outstanding Swimmer –
Kelly Montesi, VU
Men's Most Outstanding Swimmer –
Drew Carbone, GU
Women's Most Outstanding Diver –
Bridie Dunn, VU
Men's Most Outstanding Diver –
Michael Perra, VU
Women's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year –
Villanova (Rick Simpson, Head Coach)
Men's Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year –
Georgetown (Jack Leavitt, Head Coach)
Women's Diving Coach of the Year –
Marc Van Dyken, GU
Men's Diving Coach of the Year –
Todd Michael, VU
