INDIANAPOLIS – Day two of the BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships proved to be an exciting one for Villanova as Charlie Hinckley and Nolan Danus reset program records in the 500 Free and 200 IM, respectively. All-told, the 'Cats earned six medals on the day, two from the record-setting duo and four from the women's team.
 
The women moved into first in the team standings with 503 points, jumping ahead of UConn (486.5) and Georgetown (412.5). The men hold steady at fourth with 192 points.
 
While Hinckley and Danus both sit atop the top performers list for the 500 Free and 200 IM, they also own five of the top 10 times in program history for each of the events. Hinckley's record performance of 4:23.70 in the men's 500 Free Championship Final was good enough for bronze in a top-three that was separated by nearly two and a half seconds. He was an astonishing five seconds faster in the night session after touching in 4:28.63 during prelims. The senior knocked down the previous record of 4:24.80 that he set at the 2022 conference meet. Danus posted a 1:49.06 in the morning prelims, a time that is now the ninth fastest in team history. In the evening, he was just over two seconds faster, winning in 1:46.87. He led the rest of the field by nearly two seconds, winning the second gold medal of his career and the first in the IM.
 
Audrey Pastorek was victorious for the second year in a row in the women's 200 IM, turning in an NCAA B-cut time of 1:59.20. The senior edged Georgetown's Erin Hood by just under a second to win the seventh gold medal of her career. She now sits in a tie for second on the program's 200 IM performance list alongside Darby Goodwin.
 
Molly Benson and Carlota Colomer Guasch scored a pair of medals on Thursday, one in individual swims and one together in relay action. Benson posted a 4:49.22 in the women's 500 Free to earn a spot on the podium in second place. The senior shaved nearly four seconds off of her prelim time of 4:53.08, finishing just two seconds outside of first. Colomer posted a 23.37 in the morning prelims to earn a spot in the final, joining Lainey Quinones and two other swimmers in a four-way tie for fourth ahead of the night session. The freshman went 22.99 to finish second, just .32 away from an NCAA B-cut time. That time made her the seventh fastest performer in Villanova history, but that placement did not stand for long.
 
Later in the evening, Benson and Colomer teamed up with Quinones and Lauryn Johnson in the 200 Free Relay. They won the tight race with a time of 1:32.36, the ninth fastest in team history and marking the 10^th consecutive win for Villanova. The Wildcats topped the field with just .27 seconds separating first and third, narrowly passing Xavier (1:32.38) and Georgetown (1:32.53). Colomer's opening split of 22.90 moved her up one spot into sixth on the all-time top performers list.
 
Two other freshmen had impressive outings on Thursday on the men's side. Both Justin Nowicki and Ben Tunila made their way into the 500 Free top performers list at seventh (4:29.79) and eighth (4:29.80). They finished seventh and ninth, respectively, on the night.
 
Patrick Hemingway, Mikey Thurk, Sam Randall and Henry Gingrich finished fifth in the 200 Free Relay with the program's fourth-fastest time of 1:21.78. In the diving well, Nicholas Jubilee earned a spot in the 3-meter championship final after finishing second in the prelims at 315.90. He ended up fourth with a finals score of 318.55.
 
Marlene Blanke and Martina Lonati went fourth (4:52.07) and fifth (4:53.79) in the 500 Free. Anna Farley made it into the 200 IM Championship Final, finishing fifth in 2:03.05. Quinones was sixth in the 50 Free at 23.23.
 
Friday's festivities get underway at 10 a.m. with swimming prelims in the 100 Fly, 400 IM, 200 Free, 100 Breast and 100 Back with women's 3-meter diving prelims following at 1 p.m. The night's finals start at 5:45 p.m. with the 400 Medley Relay closing the session. All action and awards will once again air live on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports Presented by Invesco QQQ which can be found at this link. Fans can also follow the team on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram feeds at @novaswimdive for all of the latest up-to-the-minute updates.