Annapolis, Md. – Villanova swimming and diving opened the Navy Invitational with a strong first day of competition on Thursday, highlighted by 11 top five finishes and 23 top 10 finishes. After Day 1, the Wildcat women stand second of seven teams, while the men sit third of five.
The Wildcats opened the night with a runner-up finish in the 200 Free Relay.
Carlota Colomer Guasch,
Riley Kudlac,
Jana Strand and
Anna Farley combined for a time of 1:32.21.
The Wildcats dominated in the 500 Free, placing four swimmers in the top eight and five in the top 10 overall.
Peri Gaguzis secured the event win in 4:51.85, followed closely by
Katie White in 4:51.92.
Martina Lonati (4:56.19) and
Riley Hull (4:56.82) placed sixth and eighth, while
Amylia Higgins finished ninth overall in 4:57.12.
Marlene Blanke added a strong 15th-place effort in 4:58.02.
In the 200 IM,
Anna Farley took second in 2:00.58 followed by
Emily Herr in third (2:02.05),
Alana Leen in fifth (2:03.77) and
Imogen Duffy in eighth (2:04.42). In the B final,
Meghan Tiernan posted the top heat time of 2:01.64 to place 11th, with
Winnie Jalet earning 12th in 2:03.31.
Colomer Guasch placed third in the 50 Free in 23.03 and Kudlac tied for eighth at 23.52. Strand added an 11th-place finish in 23.27, with
Alyssa McHale placing 17th in 23.99.
The Wildcats closed out the women's events with a fifth-place finish in the 400 Medley Relay, as
Arabella Lee,
Anna Kilponen, Jalet and Farley combined for a time of 3:45.07. The B relay followed in ninth at 3:47.55.
On the men's side, Villanova opened with a fifth-place finish in the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:21.10 from
Max Kunisaki,
Zach Sutter,
Sam Randall and
Gavin Jones.
In the 500 Free,
Justin Nowicki led the Wildcats with a 14th-place finish in 4:30.47, followed by
Brady Tierney in 16th (4:37.12) and
Owen Nye in 18th (4:37.54).
The men had one A finalist in the 200 IM, where Nowicki delivered a strong fourth-place time of 1:49.16.
Aiden Bunker placed 15th in 1:50.90 and
Max Christensen secured 20th in 1:51.84.
In the 50 Free, Randall led the Wildcats with a 12th-place finish in 20.47, followed by Sutter in 16th (20.63) and Jones in 19th (20.92).
The men wrapped up the day with a ninth place showing in the 400 Medley Relay, as Christensen, Boris, Randall and Sutter combined for a time of 3:18.54.
On the boards,
Nate Warson won the men's 1-meter with a score of 309.75.
Villanova is back in the water tomorrow for Day 2 of competition.
