VILLANOVA, Pa. – The regular season came to a close on Sunday afternoon for Villanova, honoring its senior class at the annual SprintFest.
Coach
Rick Simpson and his team lauded nine Wildcats in the festivities. On the women's side, they thanked
Kelly Montesi (Greenwich, Conn.),
Abbey Berloco (Cranbury, N.J.),
Nicole Welch (Beverly, Mass.),
Grace Wielar (Richmond, Va.),
Andrea Holtz (Rosemount, Minn.) and
Elizabeth Bailey (Brookhaven, Ga.). For the men, it was
Michael Ackert (Rye, N.Y.),
Jesse Marsh (Kingston, Jamaica) and
Sam Fanatico (Plano, Texas).
"As they walked out today, I felt like all I could do was thank them for their contributions to our program," Simpson said. "I think we have a really great group that they don't show up here trying to figure out what they can get out of Villanova. They show up figuring out what they can add to, what they can contribute to the overall success not only of our program but the university. So, yeah, it's just great having that type of group that from day one said, 'Alright, what's my contribution going to be? What's my role going to be? Community service, academics, a team player, a team performer.' That's the big thing – thank you. Thank you for making this place a better place."
These nine swimmers have helped Villanova to three straight women's BIG EAST team titles and three consecutive top four finishes in the BIG EAST men's championship with a runner-up showing in 2021. At the BIG EAST Championships, they have combined for 15 individual titles, 17 relay titles and 47 All-BIG EAST performances. Ackert reeled in a BIG EAST Most Outstanding Diver nod in 2021 while Montesi won Most Outstanding Swimmer on the women's side in both 2019 and 2021.
Sunday's SprintFest friendly consisted of swimming events between Villanova and La Salle. The entire day culminated with the traditional All-Sports Relay that brought together various teams across the Villanova family including water polo, tennis, volleyball and the swimming coaches themselves in a two-heat competition.
The next event on the docket for the Wildcats is the BIG EAST Championship. That five-day event begins on Feb. 23 in East Meadow, N.Y.
