VILLANOVA, Pa. –Villanova Swimming and Diving opens the 2022-23 campaign on Thursday as the women's teams welcome UConn to the Villanova Swim Complex. The meet will start with diving at 10:30 a.m. before the lanes open for the swimming portion of the day.

The reigning BIG EAST Champions won their ninth consecutive crown this past season, edging UConn (2-0) by 75.5 points by the end of the four-day event. This latest meeting marks the fifth straight year with a dual meet between the two squads with Villanova winning each of the last four. The last time these two sides went head-to-head was on Oct. 16, 2021 with Villanova notching a 166.5-133.5 victory, winning 12 of the 16 events.

Villanova said goodbye to some top performers from the 2021-22 squad to graduation including Kelly Montesi, Milly Routledge and Erin Welch who all won multiple BIG EAST individual titles during their careers. Despite that, the Wildcats welcome back key contributors who have played a hand in the team's recent success at the conference meet including Perri Stahl, Brenna McLaughlin, Audrey Pastorek, Margaret Kleinsmith, Cara Stapleton and Lexi Elkovitch. Villanova welcomes back 15 Wildcats from last year's crew while welcoming eight freshman this year.

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