VILLANOVA, Pa.—Five talented newcomers are joining the Villanova women's swimming & diving program for 2020-21, as head coach Rick Simpson announced his incoming class and the Wildcats full roster on Thursday afternoon. Simpson and his staff continue to attract a high level of talent to the program, with the five freshmen on this year's team coming from Georgia, Maryland, Ohio and Ireland. Villanova has won seven consecutive BIG EAST titles and returns 17 members of last year's conference championship team.
 
The newest members of the Wildcats roster are Molly Benson (Kensington, Md.), Lexi Elkovitch (New Albany, Ohio), Audrey Pastorek (Savannah, Ga.), Cara Stapleton (Dublin, Ireland) and Hannah Wasmuth (Peachtree Corners, Ga.).  Each of the five has excelled at a high level during their scholastic careers and add to the depth of talent in the Villanova program.
 
Benson is a butterfly and freestyle specialist who joins the Wildcats after being a four-year Washington All-Met swimmer and an individual state champion in the 200 yard freestyle as a junior. She was a member of the winning 200 yard freestyle relay teams at the Maryland State Meet in both her junior and senior seasons, as well as the winning 400 yard freestyle relay squad her senior year. Benson was her high school team's MVP her sophomore and junior seasons and won the Walter Johnson High School Outstanding Senior Athlete Award in 2020.
 
Elkovitch comes to Villanova as an individual NISCA All-American and a five-time relay All-American during her scholastic career. She was part of the winning 400 yard freestyle relays at the Ohio State Championships as both a junior and a senior. Elkovitch qualified for the Winter Junior Nationals and was an NSCA qualifier in multiple events. She was named a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American in 2019.
 
Pastorek was the Georgia state champion in the 100 yard backstroke and the 200 yard individual medley as a sophomore, and was also the short course state champion in the 200 yard backstroke that year. She was named the Georgia Coastal Empire Swimmer of the Year as both a sophomore and a senior, and is a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American.
 
Stapleton has enjoyed success on an international level and captured a silver medal in the 100 meter freestyle and a bronze medal in the 50 meter freestyle at the Irish Long Course Championships in 2019. She was also a senior member of the winning Leinster interprovincial team and represented Leinster at the Scottish National Championships in 2018 and 2019.
 
Wasmuth comes to the Wildcats after an impressive scholastic career which includes being a two-time 1A-3A state champion in the 100 yard backstroke. She placed sixth at the 2019 Winter Junior Nationals in the 200 yard backstroke. Wasmuth was a three-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American.
 
Leading the group of returnees on this year's team are five athletes who won individual BIG EAST titles a year ago, including senior Milly Routledge (North Ascot, United Kingdom) who was named the Most Outstanding Women's Swimmer at the BIG EAST Championships after sweeping the titles in the 50, 100 and 200 yard freestyle races and anchoring three champion relay teams. Junior Kelly Montesi (Greenwich, Conn.) won that award as a freshman in 2019 and continued her success last season by winning individual titles in the 200 and 400 yard individual medleys.
 
The other returning individual BIG EAST champions for Villanova are junior Nicole Welch (Beverly, Mass.) who won the 500 yard freestyle at last year's conference meet, sophomore Margaret Kleinsmith (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) who was the champion of the 100 yard breaststroke and sophomore Brenna McLaughlin (Milford, Conn.) who captured the title in the 1650 yard freestyle.